Sue Whittington has joined the AIC, a body representing the animal feed industry and crop protection sector in the UK.
She has been appointed as technical manager in AIC Services, working largely on animal feed assurance and sustainability.
The AIC said Whittington brings over 20 years’ experience in managing and developing assurance schemes and standards both in the UK and overseas.
Most recently, she was with Linking the Environment and Farming (LEAF) where she was involved in developing, monitoring and evaluating the LEAF Marque Certification and Chain of Custody globally. In addition, she also led the LEAF Marque training programme for certification bodies and delivered overseas training.
The Board of Directors pf the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has officially appointed Constance Cullman as president and chief executive officer of the association and the president of the industry’s public charity, the Institute for Feed Education and Research yesterday.
The AFIA said Cullman has been a member of staff since July 29, working with its past president and CEO, Joel Newman, in preparation for his retirement at the end of December.
Prior to joining AFIA, she served as president and CEO of Farm Foundation. She was also US government affairs leader for Dow AgroSciences; senior director of regulatory, technical and international affairs at the Corn Refiners Association; associate administrator for the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS); vice president of agricultural ecology at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; and extension associate at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Cullman has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and a master’s degree in agricultural economics with an emphasis on international trade and agricultural policy from Ohio State. She hails from Marysville, Ohio, where her family owned and operated a cow/calf farm.
Photo: Tim Belstra (left), AFIA's Board chair, with Constance Cullman (right), AFIA's new president and CEO.
Danish feed giant BioMar's commercial manager in Chile, Francisco Valdés, has stepped down from that role. He is seeking new opportunities outside of the aquaculture industry.
Prior to his role in BioMar, Valdés held positions in Alltech and Empresas Iansa.
Michael Adler, who has been working in various roles in BioMar over the past 16 years, replaces Valdés as commercial manager.
Novus’s Board of Directors has decided to hire a former Novus executive, Dan Meagher, as the next president and CEO, effective April 1, 2020.
To ensure a smooth transition, Novus said Meagher was joining the company on October 14, 2019, as executive VP and general manager prior to assuming the role of president and CEO next year.
Meagher previously held the position of president and CEO at Agrivida, Inc.
Photo: Incoming Novus president and CEO, Dan Meagher, speaking to employees from Novus HQ last month.
The International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) said delegates at its 32nd General Assembly, held early October, unanimously re-elected Daniel Bercovici as IFIF chairman for the 2020-2021 term of office.
The organization said they recognized Bercovici’s successful leadership since 2018, under which, it said, the IFIF experienced strong growth in strategic projects and deeper relationships with international stakeholders while attracting a range of new members from across the globe.
Bercovici said through its efforts and partnerships, the organization has positively impacted the environmental footprint, the international regulatory framework, and the efficiency and the image of the feed industry.
Looking ahead, he said the IFIF will continue its focus on its three strategic pillars, namely regulation - promoting a balanced regulatory framework and supporting the dynamic pace of innovation, along with sustainability, relying on science-based standards, to contribute to the measurement and management of the feed and livestock sector's footprint, as well as education around industry best practice including key initiatives such as IFIF’s e-learning feed safety programme as well as the International Feed Regulators Meeting (IFRM).
Enzymes producer, Novozymes, announced mid-October that its chief executive, Peder Holk Nielsen, would step down early next year, stressing it was time to “bring in new leadership”.
“Novozymes has been challenged in recent years and needs to deliver higher revenue growth,” added the company.
Holk Nielsen will continue in his role as CEO of the company until a successor is in place, which will most likely be in early 2020, said its Board of Directors.
The CEO commented on the development: “After 35 years with Novozymes and 25 years as a member of the executive team, I feel I have done what I can for the company and that this is a good time to let others take over. I am very excited about Novozymes’ position today, our global reach to customers and our technology."
