Trouw Nutrition welcomes Eduardo Lopes Alberto as its new vice president of innovation and research, a role he officially assumes this month.
Prior to this appointment, Lopes Alberto was seven years at DSM-Firmenich, where he held the position of vice president for North America and, most recently, as the vice president of global innovation for animal nutrition and health.
Lopes Alberto also spent 16 years at Elanco Animal Health, with diverse global roles in marketing, sales and R&D and managing business operations in the US, Asia, and Latin America.
He has a PhD in veterinary medicine, and he holds an MBA from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, supplemented by the general management program at Harvard Business School.
In his new role at Nutreco’s animal nutrition arm, Lopes Alberto will have primary responsibility for ensuring the development and delivery of the global innovation agenda and stewarding the innovation investment. He will report to David Blakemore, CEO Trouw Nutrition.
Blakemore expressed enthusiasm about the appointment, emphasizing Lopes Alberto's two decades of commercial expertise, industry experience, and innovation leadership.
Susanne Palsten Buchardt is joining startup, Algiecel, as its chief commercial officer.
She brings extensive international leadership and commercial experience to the role, having worked the last 10 years with Novozymes, where she headed up global businesses within renewable energy, agriculture, and animal health and nutrition.
Before that she worked as head of strategy at offshore wind power business, Ørsted, and she was also a management consultant for 10 years.
At Algiecel, Palsten Buchardt will lead all commercial and product development activities targeted at bringing novel microalgae-based ingredients to market within the food, feed, and cosmetics sectors.
She will look to unlock the commercial potential of the startup, collaborating with upstream CO2 suppliers, downstream offtake customers, and investors.
The team at Algiecel is optimistic about Susanne's impact, citing her professional background, extensive network, as well as her dynamic personality, drive, and energy as valuable additions to the company's growth trajectory.
Algiecel transforms CO2 emissions and LED light into microalgae biomass and oxygen.
The company has developed a plug & play photobioreactor that can be stacked and packed as it fits into standard shipping containers on-site at small and mid-size industrial clients.
TRACT, the new food and agriculture sustainability measurement platform, has appointed Allison Kopf, a US-based agtech entrepreneur, as CEO.
Kopf takes on the role this month from TRACT co-founder Roel van Poppel, who set up and led the initiative, including overseeing its incorporation, for more than two years.
The organization says her expertise in tech startups and her vision for the agriculture sector will give TRACT a competitive edge as it moves towards its customer launch in early 2024 and beyond.
In taking the CEO role at TRACT, Kopf will depart her current role as chief growth officer at IUNU, the US-based company that acquired Artemis, a company Kopf founded, in 2021.
Kopf is an influential figure in the worlds of technology and agriculture. She was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as the 2021 Global Women Fresh ‘Woman of Impact’ and has spoken on the future of agriculture at TEDx, Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, Forbes AgTech Summit and the Alltech Ideas Conference. She sits on the Boards of Santa Clara University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Ciocca Center for Entrepreneurship.
Commenting on her new role, Kopf said: “I’m committed to bringing together thought leaders, pioneering technology, and forward-thinking investors to create a step-change in efficiency and positive impact in food and agriculture systems. The opportunities for TRACT are exciting, and I’m thrilled to work with the team to drive forward the future of sustainable agriculture.”
Royal Canin North America, a division of Mars, Incorporated, has appointed Chris Moses as site leader for the Royal Canin Pet Health Nutrition Center (PHNC) in Lewisburg, Ohio.
Moses brings nearly 20 years of animal health experience into this role, which the firm says is focused on expanding research capabilities in the rapidly growing North American market.
He will be responsible for overseeing a team of 71 experts who assess digestibility and palatability of the company’s diets. The PHNC team also evaluate skin and coat health, mobility, immunity, and aging in pets.
The PHNC is one of two Royal Canin pet centers globally for the business and the only US based location.
Prior to joining Royal Canin, Moses held various roles across the pet industry, including research, customer service, animal facility management and more. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Virginia State University.
Dr Kelsey Hammers has joined Minnesota, US headquartered company, IDEAL Animal Nutrition, as a swine nutritionist and research coordinator.
Dr Jeff Knott, swine nutritionist and founder/owner of IDEAL, says that Hammers brings fresh knowledge and experience that will benefit IDEAL's customers and strengthen its research activities.
Hammers earned her PhD in Swine Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, building on a master’s degree from Kansas State University and bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri.
Her master’s research involved several nursery studies examining alternatives to feeding high levels of zinc oxide. Her PhD dissertation took a different perspective on this subject, involving studies to examine the implications of high zinc feeding to gestating sows.
For IDEAL, having a balance of people at different career stages with a diversity of experiences and perspectives is important, says Simon Kern, swine nutritionist, who joined in 2018 after Knott started the company in 2014.
“Strengthening our research capacity with Kelsey will enhance our capabilities not only for conducting research but for carrying it forward and applying it in the field,” he says.
Pictured: Kern, Hammers, and Knott (L to R) of IDEAL Animal Nutrition.
Frederik van Essen has joined Novus as regional sales manager dairy for Europe.
Prior to joining Novus, Dr van Essen was an account manager for Benelux at EW Nutrition, sales lead at Olmix Group where he helped grow the business in northern Europe, and team lead and feeding specialist focused on ruminant nutrition and health at Lely International. He began his career as a sales manager at Alltech.
“Dr van Essen has a long history in the dairy business, even on the family side,” said Dr. Uwe Ranft, vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and strategic accounts. “He understands what’s important to professional dairy farmers and brings a passion for animal health and welfare to this role that dairy customers will benefit from.”
Novus says Dr van Essen is accountable for implementing the sales strategy in the region as well as establishing lasting business relationships with dairy customers by supporting the financial and environmental sustainability of their operations.
With expertise in feed additives, nutrition and veterinary medicine, the company says he can provide dairy farmers, nutritionists, and feed mills with a variety of solutions to address challenges as well as options to help them meet production goals.