Valentina Massa was elected the new president of the European Former Foodstuff Processors Association (EFFPA), at the organization’s AGM on September 30.
Massa is the managing director of DALMA Mangimi, the largest former foodstuff processor in Italy as well as a founding member of EFFPA. She succeeds Paul Featherstone, who was EFFPA’s president since the foundation of the association in 2014.
EFFPA President Valentina Massa said: “I am honored with the trust and appreciation from the EFFPA members to lead the association in its ambition to produce safe and sustainable feed from former foodstuffs. The former foodstuff processing sector is determined to show to policy makers and chain partners that we hold the key to compound feed production with lower climate emissions and food manufacturing with reduced food waste in line with the Farm to Fork Strategy. Our role in the circular food economy is essential to come to more sustainable livestock production.”
EFFPA also elected Guy Lannoy (VALORIA) as vice-president.
Featherstone will retire from the sector.
“It has been a great honor to have served as the first President of EFFPA and to have been able to leave an international mark on the sector that I have worked in for over 30 years. In the past decades I have seen the sector grow into a fully recognized actor of the European feed chain. I leave the sector with great growth potential, considering its essential role in achieving food waste reduction ambitions and enhancing sustainable compound feed production,” he remarked.
The head of the Leiber animal nutrition business unit, Nikolaus Jungbluth, has decided to leave the company at the end of this month in order to take on a new professional challenge.
Helge Jakubowski [pictured] who had been working in Leiber since late 2018 as a key account manager and team leader in sales in the German market, will take over Jungbluth’s role.
Leiber GmbH is a leading manufacturer of specialist yeast products, with two sites in Germany, and additional sites in Poland and Russia.
Calysta says it has signaled its future intentions with the appointment of Dr Geoff Bryant as its chief technology officer.
Bryant has more than 20 years’ experience in leading R&D and technology teams, most recently as Quorn Foods technical and innovation director. He also spent 16 years working at Mars Inc, where he had several regional and global roles.
Based at Calysta’s UK Technology Hub in Teesside, Bryant will oversee global product development, engineering and innovation activities and the delivery of the company's first production facility for its product, FeedKind. That plant is being built under Calysseo, Calysta’s 50/50 joint venture with Adisseo in China.
And, as part of the executive team, Calysta said Bryant will play an integral role in the company's product development strategy and technology roadmap for Asia, the US and Europe.
PHM Brands has announced that Chris Gross has joined the team as VP, feed ingredient merchandising (FIM). In her role, Gross will oversee feed ingredients, commodities, and risk management.
PHM Brands is a vertically integrated food, ingredient, and technology manufacturer based in Denver, US. With this appointment, it said it strengthens its commercial feed offer.
Gross has over 25 years of experience in trading, merchandising, and commodity management.
The company said she brings insights into the workings of multinational grain companies, international business, finished feed manufacturers, vertically integrated chicken and pork processors, and commodity management of food products for both foodservice and retail customers, as well as industrial manufacturers.
Prior to PHM Brands role, Gross was VP, commodity management at Trinidad Benham, where she led the edible beans procurement and risk management for cash commodities, bulk trading division.
In another role, she served as a leader for ConAgra Foods in the KBC edible bean business which consisted of 17 bulk plants throughout the US.
AB Vista has appointed Juan Ignacio Fernandez as its new managing director, replacing Richard Cooper who has retired after 16 years in the role.
Cooper, said the feed additives supplier, has been synonymous with the AB Vista brand since its launch in 2005 and has taken the company from a start-up to a highly respected global player with top three market share positions in its core segments.
During his tenure, the business’s product and services portfolio has grown to span poultry, swine, ruminant and aquaculture sectors. “In addition, he oversaw the introduction of the Quantum Blue superdosing concept, which is widely credited for bringing about a step change in phytase use, where improved feed conversion efficiency became as important as phytate release.”
Juan Ignacio, the former sales director for the EMEA region, has taken over the managing director role.
Ignacio [pictured] is an agriculture engineer by training with animal production specialization and holds an MBA along with various qualifications in animal nutrition. He has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having worked for different feed additives companies before joining AB Vista in 2015.
“The industry is not without its challenges, particularly in current times. However, AB Vista has consistently demonstrated its ability to bring scientific advancements to the animal nutrition industry with products such as Quantum Blue and more recently Signis. I will be looking to continue to build upon the company’s success in feed enzymes, applying the strengths of AB Vista to the wider feed additive market.
“We have a very strong team here at AB Vista with diverse knowledge, skills, experiences and backgrounds. I’m confident the passion and tenacity of our team will lead us to continued success in the coming years,” said Ignacio.
Farmed animal trace mineral provider, Zinpro Corporation, has announced that Greg Heeney has joined the company as country manager for Australia.
“In this newly created role, he will lead the strategic sales and operational direction for the country, providing and customizing products and services to increase animal wellness and to improve efficiencies and profitability for customers.”
Heeney brings more than 20 years of experience to the position having worked with a wide spectrum of customers, including veterinarians, breeding companies and feedlot operations in the animal health and nutrition industry. In addition, said Zinpro, he has extensive experience managing and mentoring territory sales teams, launching new products and technologies and contributing to corporate strategy for increased customer collaboration and engagement.
Prior to joining Zinpro, Heeney worked as a key account manager for a large Australian animal health company. He has a diploma in farm management from the University of New England.
Veramaris, a biotech specializing in marine algal oil high in omega 3, has appointed a new head of business development to manage the launch of Veramaris Pets to the pet food industry.
Jeff Alix takes on the role. He worked at DSM for 18 years, where his most recent role was global marketing manager, pet nutrition, at DSM. However, his pet industry R&D, sales, and marketing career spans 37 years.
DSM, together with Evonik, founded Veramaris in December 2018.
The company notes that is algal oil has been well received by the aquaculture industry, with it now set to enter the pet food space.
