The Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA) Governance Board is pleased to announce Allyn Shultis as their new Executive Director. Previously, Allyn was the GRMA Board Treasurer, and as a Director of Technical Services at First Quality, he was a key contributor to the NSF/ANSI 455 Standards development process.
“The transition from a Board Position to the full-time leadership position was an inevitable progression for Allyn. His leadership and attention to detail makes him the perfect person to carry our mission forward,” says Mike Finamore Chairman of GRMA.
Since accepting the Executive Director position in the beginning of August, Allyn collaborated with key industry stakeholders to create the GRMA’s Virtual Summit Series. Themed “A Virtual Leap Forward”, the series helps provide the industry with several tools and resources given the challenges and marketplace changes facing the industry due to COVID-19. This series also enables thought leaders to share how technology is advancing both quality and compliance activities.
The GRMA’s Summit Series consists of almost 20 hours of programming spanning 9 webinars, using both panels and featured presentation formats. The industry still has an opportunity to attend several sessions live while also receiving access to the video recordings of past events by registering at https://grmalliance.org/grma-summit/
Additionally, Allyn has spearheaded key initiatives with the Virtual/Remote Auditing Process with the Technical Committee. This enables approved Certification Bodies (CBs) to conduct virtual certification audits that meet Retailer needs while still allowing for ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board) to evaluate virtual/remote auditing during the pilot accreditation process.
“Through the GRMA’s work with members and ANAB, we were able to tap into their ‘best practices’ to build out stringent requirements for virtual/remote auditing. By taking this collaborative approach, we are seeing a spirit of openness and willingness across GRMA members to allow remote assessments,” said Ella Riggs, of Whole Foods and the GRMA Technical Committee Chair.
“The approved guidance document gives all stakeholders a path forward for conformance assessment activities during the pandemic while keeping safety of our members from both a manufacturing perspective and auditing perspective at the forefront,” stated Allyn.
With upcoming advancements in CBD, Medical Devices, and growth of industry partnerships on the horizon, Betsy Crater of Wegman’s and GRMA Board Secretary stated, “Allyn’s industry experience, integrity, and dynamic leadership is quickly growing the GRMA. We are quite excited about how he is ramping up adoption of the 455s with the GRMA certification program across the industry.”
To find out more information on the GRMA, visit us at https://grmalliance.org/ or how you can become a member https://grmalliance.org/membership/.