Mark Becker has been tapped as the CEO of Mosaic Flavors, succeeding Jim Miller who held the position since August 2022. Becker previously worked for Kerr Concentrates, where he most recently was the general manager. Before that, he was the vice president of sales and marketing at AAK. Before coming to Mosaic Flavors, Miller was an operating partner at Tilia Holdings.
Mark Becker, Mosaic FlavorsTim Rooney is stepping down from the helm of Natural Delights to pursue new opportunities. He has served the last eight years as CEO for the organization. Hector Altamira has been tapped to succeed Rooney as CEO. Altamira most recently served as the company’s chief operations officer. Rooney has accepted a new role that will oversee organizational strategy for Avenir Financial, a credit union based in Yuma, AZ.
Ashley Finster has joined Naturipe Farms as the vice president of marketing. She previously worked for SunFed Ranch where she was the chief marketing officer.
Brendan Lynch has been appointed to serve as the assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. He has served as the acting assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia since March of 2023 and before that was the deputy assistant.
ADAMA has appointed two new members to its executive team. Florian Wagner has been brought on to serve in the new role of executive vice president of portfolio and innovation, while Ruthie Zeltzer is taking the role of executive vice president of people. Wagner joins ADAMA after 17 years with Syngenta, where he most recently was the head of marketing and business development of Syngenta’s crop protection business in Europe, Africa, and Middle East. Zeltzer has been executive director, HR, global talent development for Merck.
The U.S. Grains Council has brought on Linda Schmid, Ellie Yan and Xiaoming Wang to its staff. Schmid is the new manager of ethanol policy and sustainability, based in the D.C. office. Schmid most recently was a consultant working on international trade and industry analysis for companies around the world. She previously held positions at the World Bank and USAID. Yan is the new program manager in the council’s China office, where she will lead the planning, implementation and evaluation of the Council’s programs in the country. Before joining the council, Yan worked for various organizations including the media the Netherlands Agri-Food and Technology Centre and Tsinghua University. Also based in the China office, Wang has accepted the role of marketing specialist, focusing on coarse grain and co-product promotion. He previously served as a consultant at Tractus Asia, serving multiple U.S. states in promoting trade and foreign direct investment in China. His most recent assignment took him to Iowa, where he was the chief representative of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
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Matt Foley has joined Chipotle as the head of government relations. He previously was the director of government affairs at Niagara Bottling. Before that, he worked for the American Frozen Food Institute, Consumer Brands Association, and the National Grocers Association.
Elizabeth Rivera, NAWGElizabeth Rivera has joined the National Association of Wheat Growers as the new director of communications and partnerships. The Sacramento native, previously worked on Capitol Hill as the deputy press secretary for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on the Senate Ag Committee and in Stabenow’s personal office.
Melissa Willhouse is the new communications manager for the Rural Investment to Protect our Environment (RIPE) team. She previously worked for the American Clean Power Association and is an online adjunct instructor for the Unity Environmental University.
RIPE’s board of directors elected four officers to serve for the upcoming year. Bill Beam will replace Eunice “Eunie” Biel as RIPE’s president. Beam is the owner and operator of Beam Farms Inc. in Elverson, Pennsyvania. Minnesota dairy producer Eunie Biel, will remain on the board but in a different capacity, according to a press release. Alana Petersen has been selected as vice president. She previously served as RIPE’s interim executive director in early 2023. She is a principal at Petersen Group-Canary Consulting. Stratton Kirton has been tapped as the next secretary. He is the vice president of government affairs at Liberty Tire Recycling. Tracy Travis will serve as treasurer. Travis is founder and CEO of ImpacTT Collective and the co-founder and managing member of S&T Ag.
The Soil Health Institute has added 10 new members to its board of directors: James H. Baxter IV, owner and operator of Baxter Farms, Delaware; Meredith Ellis, rancher of G Bar C Ranch, Texas; Devon Leahy, global head of sustainability at Ralph Lauren Corp.; Marquitrice Mangham, farmer and CEO of In Her Shoes, Mississippi; Rob Myers, Ph.D., director of the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture; LaKisha Odom, Ph.D., scientific program director for soil health at the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research; Megan Rock, chief sustainability officer, CHS; Karen A. Scanlon, executive vice president, environmental stewardship, Dairy Management Inc. and Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy; Ryan Sirolli, global environmental markets insets lead, Cargill; and Andrew Smith, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Rodale Institute.
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