Ron Hovsepian has been tapped as the new CEO of Indigo Ag, effective immediately. He succeeds David Perry, who has stepped down after serving in the CEO position for the last five years. Hovsepian has spent the last eight months as acting chief operating officer. His career includes working 16 years for IBM, serving as the CEO for Novell and Intralinks. He also is an executive partner at Flagship Pioneering.
Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, has been assigned to serve on the House Subcommittee of Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit and the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has elected Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles as its new president. He succeeds North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.
Ryan Quarles
The National Ag Law Center in Fayetteville, Ark., has hired Micah Brown and Sarah Catherine Copper and two new staff attorneys. Brown’s areas of research will be finance and credit, commercial transactions and secured transactions. Copper’s primary areas of research will be food safety and labeling. She is currently working toward her Master of Law degree in Food and Agricultural law at the University of Arkansas.
Elizabeth Benefield has joined Husch Blackwell as senior counsel. Benefield joins the firm from Carolina Farm Credit, where she served as the general counsel and standards of conduct official.
Eric Kalasz has joined FMC as U.S. marketing director. He most recently worked in BASF's crop division as a brand manager. Kalasz has also held marketing, account management and sales positions with Dow AgroSciences and Bayer.
Alfredo Rivera is now the president of Coca-Cola North America, succeeding James Dinkins, who has served in that position since 2018. Rivera has been with the company since 1997, and since 2016 has led the company’s Latin America group.
Mark Turnis has joined CLAAS of America as the new head of distribution development.
Phileo by Lesaffre has grown its North American sales team and has hired Anna Crockett as a regional sales manager for poultry and swine, George Perigo as a regional sales manager for the poultry team, and Nathan Pokowski as a dairy regional sales manager.
Hollie Bunn now serves as the vice president of lending operations for Growers Edge. She brings 25 years of ag financing and customer relationship management, and previously worked as vice president of commercial ag lending for Farmers National Bank of Canfield, Ohio.
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has hired Aimee Dillenberger as its new policy and business development specialist. Dillenberger most recently earned her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in 2019.
The Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data has brought on Lindsay Thompson as new executive director. Thompson brings extensive experience in government and public relations, and association management in agricultural and science-based organizations.
The U.S. Hemp Growers Association has announced the organization’s founding board of directors. Michael Bowman of Colorado will serve as chair of the board, with Doug Edge from Indiana as vice chair. Other members selected include: Bethleen McCall, Colorado; Dion Oakes, Colorado; Harold Singletary, South Carolina; Inga Willis, Alabama; Jamie Campbell Petty, Indiana; John Strohfus, Minnesota; Josh Hendrix, Kentucky; Tim Gordon, Colorado; Egon Badart, California; Ron Conyea, Kentucky; Chris Adams, North Dakota; and Don Palmer, South Carolina.
Cindy Hackman has left the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance where she served as the senior director of communications. She has joined CLUTCH as the director of content and reputation.
Monica Spaller is leaving CHS Inc., where she worked on the government affairs team. Spaller has not yet announced her next move.
Martin Richenhagen announced he is retiring from AGCO, where he served as chairman, president and chief executive officer on Dec. 31. Richenhagen joined AGCO in 2004 as president and CEO and was named chairman of the board of directors in 2006. AGCO has selected Eric Hansotia to succeed Richenhagen. Hansotia currently serves as AGCO’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Amy Lowe, executive vice president for Packer’s Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) died in a plane crash near the Lake of the Ozarks with her husband, Scott Lowe. Lowe was known for her strategic thinking and nurturing support. She joined PSSI in early 2009 and before that worked in human resources for the HON Company.
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