AKVA’s Andrew Campbell has been named as the new CEO of aqua feeding technology company, AQ1. He will take up that role in January 2023.
AQ1 founder, Ross Dodd, will stay on in an executive role, to contribute to the company’s future growth, said BioMar, which acquired the firm in April this year.
Campbell has been directing the international operations of the AKVA group, a supplier of technology and services for land and sea-based aquaculture systems, for the past 20 years.
“Sustainable aquaculture will be driven by low-impact feed solutions and intelligent feeding technology, enabling efficient farm management. We believe there is huge potential for growth at the intersection between feed and technology, and Andrew brings vast experience to the table,” said Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar.
Campbell will lead an ambitious strategy for moving beyond feed supply. “AQ1 is a business with huge potential for leading the technological transformation within shrimp farming,” said the new recruit.
Dodd and Campbell both worked together previously in the AKVA group and will collaborate over the next few months to deliver a transition plan, said BioMar.
Carbon capture to feed innovator, Deep Branch, has appointed Tanja van Dinteren to the dual role of chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO). She will lead its financial activities and foster a positive work environment as the company readies itself for commercialization.
Commenting on joining the company, she said: “Deep Branch is a people-oriented company with a strong vision for ensuring food security. We address two of the world’s most significant challenges – increasing CO2 levels in our atmosphere and a growing population leading to higher fish, poultry, and meat demands. The world needs innovations and technologies such as our proprietary gas fermentation platform (R)evolve. I’ve already seen our team's passion, enthusiasm, and professionalism, and it’s great to have the opportunity to join and contribute to our success.”
She brings 25 years of experience in financial roles across multiple sectors to Deep Branch; van Dinteren started her career with KPMG and spent over eight years with renewable energy group, ENGIE, in various roles, including CFO for ENGIE Energy in the Netherlands.
She replaces Deep Branch’s former CFO, Lisa Thomas, who has stepped back from executive responsibilities to explore opportunities requiring less international travel.
Deep Branch’s CEO, Pete Rowe, added: “As a fast-growing company, we must balance being flexible, recognizing that roles and responsibilities can change as we grow, and remaining structured to ensure stability. As we enter a new chapter of our growth, we decided it was time to bring in some new experience and skills and better define the scope of work for our leadership team.
“We needed a candidate for our new CFO/COO hybrid role that was comfortable working in a dynamic start-up culture and understood how and why to evolve the company into a more mature organisation as we grow. This meant that we required someone with experience in larger, rapid-growth organizations comfortable with changes happening quickly. I’m confident we have this person in Tanja.”
Kemin Industries recently added Dr Jason Shelton to the Kemin Nutrisurance leadership team as global VP of R&D for the pet food and rendering technologies business unit.
In addition, he is charged with leading on strategies to support Kemin Nutrisurance's innovation pipeline and long-term growth.
Kimberly Nelson, president, Kemin Nutrisurance, said his tenures in Europe, Asia and North America means he will bring the “global perspective and business savvy needed to grow our portfolio of products and services. His scientific background will further advance innovation in our R&D team and foster a solutions-oriented mindset."
Dr Shelton will be based out of Kemin's worldwide headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, US.
Prior to joining Kemin, he spent more than 18 years with Cargill, holding various leadership positions across multiple functions and geographies. He received his PhD in animal science from Louisiana State University.
"Kemin has a long history of scientific breakthroughs and a spirit of entrepreneurship that aligns with my career path, and I'm eager to merge these together to move Kemin Nutrisurance forward in the global marketplace,” he commented.
Ahmed Hassan has joined the advisory board of Tallinn-based insect ingredient developer, FlyFeed.
The industry veteran will support customer relations and growth strategy, helping optimize product development so that it aligns with the needs of feed producers, including pet food companies, as well as build the customer network in this market and assist with company-wide scaling.
FlyFeed said it is actively expanding to the pet food market with plans to start supplying that sector with commercial products by 2023.
Hassan has more than 30 years of experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, including working as general manager on several continents for Colgate-Palmolive and leading Hills Pet Nutrition’s regional division for six years. He also holds senior advisory and board roles advising startups, SMEs and established companies on strategy, brand positioning, marketing, organization, supply chain and expansion.
“I believe in the importance of innovation, sustainability, and high-value nutrition for pets’ well-being. FlyFeed scores extremely high on these factors, which makes it exciting to partner with a company whose vision and values match my own. The US$115bn pet food market has huge potential for insect farming companies. With a targeted approach, I believe FlyFeed has all the prerequisites to become a market leader within several years,” commented Hassan.
Having run a large-scale pet food business, Hassan has unmatched market knowledge and insight into the businesses of potential clients, said Arseniy Olkhovskiy, CEO and founder of FlyFeed.
Brian Sikes was recently elected president and CEO of Cargill, effective January 1, 2023. Current CEO, Dave MacLennan, will assume the role of executive chair of Cargill’s board of directors.
Sikes will be the 10th CEO in Cargill’s 157-year history. The US agribusiness group said he brings a strong track record of business operational rigor to the role, having grown the company’s global protein and salt operations.
Currently Cargill’s chief operating officer (COO), Sikes has broad experience across multiple businesses, cycles, and geographies, having held leadership roles in the US, Canada, and Europe.
“As Cargill continues to navigate dynamic global markets, both operational excellence and a clearly articulated vision driven by purpose and values will define the company’s success, and there is no better person than Brian to lead Cargill,” said MacLennan. “He’s a person of action and results, with a relentless passion for serving our customers and our people.”
Legacy
MacLennan joined Cargill in 1991 and served in multiple executive roles, including CFO and COO, before becoming the company’s chairman and CEO in 2013.
Cargill outlined how, during his nine years at the company’s helm, MacLennan helped achieve outstanding financial results; his long-term strategic vision and willingness to disrupt are exemplified by his leadership on the largest acquisitions in the company’s history, including Croda (bioindustrials), EWOS (aquaculture), Diamond V (animal nutrition), and Sanderson and Wayne Farms (poultry). “In addition, Cargill built expertise in alternative proteins and has developed technologies and digital solutions to transform farming, supply chains and food delivery during his tenure.”
Under his leadership, the company is on a path to achieve gender parity by 2030 and the representation of women on the executive team has increased to 46%, said the organization. “In addition, he has been an industry leader in sustainability, particularly around climate change. He prioritized action, not just making commitments, with programs like RegenConnect, which has advanced regenerative agriculture practices on 158,000 acres of North American farmland, and BeefUp Sustainability, which has reduced 1.7 million metric tons of CO2.”
UK feed and agri-supply industry representatives, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), recently elected new chairs for each of its sector committees.
Collectively, the new post holders, elected for the feed, arable marketing, crop protection and agronomy, fertilizer, and seed sector boards, represent the immense breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise that makes the agri-supply industry so valuable to UK agriculture and horticulture, said the AIC.
The new feed sector chair is Joanne Gatcliffe [pictured]. She is the technical and quality director at AB Agri Ltd. “It is a pleasure to be Feed Committee Chair at this key time for our industry. I know that our members are concerned about the far-reaching repercussions of the energy crisis and ongoing market volatility. I will work with the AIC team to ensure that their concerns and requests are heard by key policy makers.”
Jonathan Lane, trading director, ADM Agriculture Ltd, is the new arable marketing sector chair, while Richard Hopkins, MD of Fargro, was chosen as the chair of the crop protection and agronomy sector.
Max Winkler, executive chairman, OMEX Agriculture Ltd, was elected the fertilizer sector chair, and Tom Nickerson, head of seed, Agrovista, was voted in as seed sector chair.
Robert Sheasby, chief executive of the AIC, said: “I would like to thank our outgoing chairs for their hard work and dedication over the past years, helping AIC’s team to negotiate the unprecedented challenges of coronavirus and Brexit. As our industry faces an increasingly turbulent and complex landscape, AIC is steadfast in its mission to provide members with dependable insight and represent their interests in discussions with government, NGOs, and other stakeholders.”
