Jamie Zitnik, president of Texpac Hide and Skin, was elected chairman of the US Hide, Skin and Leather Association (USHSLA) at the organisation’s 35th Annual Meeting and Convention in Chicago last week. Zitnik replaces outgoing chairman Mike Larson from Tyson Foods.

Zitnik comes from a long line of family members involved in the US hides and skins industry and has worked in the sector for over 37 years. In 1992, he founded Texpac Hide & Skin Ltd., in Fort Worth, Texas, a processor of brine-cured cattle hides and pig/sow skins from the southwest US.

"It is an honour and a privilege to be elected chairman of the USHSLA," Zitnik said. "The global leather industry is entering a new phase of challenges and opportunities, and I look forward to working with fellow Association members and industry colleagues to address those issues directly."