To submit an announcement for Names in the News, please email it to Kristin Bakker at [email protected].

AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSN., Washington, D.C. — Wendy Brannen has joined the association as director of policy communication. Brannen will play a role in identifying strategies to communicate with consumers, with the soybean farmers the association represents and with government policy-makers. She was previously with the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

BERG + SCHMIDT AMERICA LLC, Libertyville, Ill. — Kristin Robertson has joined the company as account sales representative. Robertson will be responsible for lead generation, forecasting and sales of key product lines as well as for developing sales for key technologies that include conjugated linoleic acid, encapsulated nutrients and specialty lipids in various market sectors. She was previously with LabDiet.

CHORE-TIME, Milford, Ind. — Mindy Brooks has joined the company as global marketing director. Brooks will be responsible for enhancing the global brand position by partnering with the distribution network and its sales, engineering and customer service teams to tailor market-specific offerings, including setting strategic business goals and determining the best products and resources to deploy in each region.

DIAMOND V, Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Bob Kenney has joined the poultry team. Kenney will serve poultry producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed professionals in the eastern U.S. He was previously with George's Inc.

Jason McCamy has joined the poultry team. McCamy will serve poultry producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed professionals, focusing on the southeastern U.S. He was previously with Zoetis.

RABOBANK, St. Louis, Mo. — Dean Asofsky has been appointed co-head of the Wholesale Banking Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) business in North America. Asofsky was most recently managing director with the North America M&A team.

Gregg Fatzinger has been appointed co-head of the Wholesale Banking M&A business in North America. Fatzinger was most recently managing director, M&A.

Asem Mokaddem has joined the Wholesale Banking M&A team as managing director. Mokaddem will focus on the global M&A business in the packaging and paper sector. He was previously with Sonoco Products Co.

CARGILL, Wichita, Kan. — Sean Leighton will transition to the role of global vice president of food safety, quality and regulatory. Leighton has been serving as food safety and quality leader.

Mike Robach will retire on Aug. 1 as global vice president of food safety, quality and regulatory.

GENEPRO INC., Fitchburg, Wis. — Joel Dennis has joined the Technical Service team. Dennis was previously with Full Compass Systems.

Dathan Smerchek has joined the Sales, Marketing & Customer Service team.

GENESUS INC., Oakville, Man. — Lyle Jones has joined the company as director of sales in China. Jones was previously with Big Dutchman.

NUTRIAD, Dendermonde, Belgium — Liza Fan has been appointed country manager China.

ALLFLEX USA, Irving, Texas — Clayton Mead has joined the company as Great Plains regional manager. Mead will oversee sales and marketing responsibilities for Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.

VITA PLUS CORP., Madison, Wis. — Dave Chamberlin has joined the company as swine technical sales manager for the eastern region swine team. Chamberlin will provide nutritional programming, product development and brand awareness of products and services to the swine team in the eastern region.

CHOICE GENETICS USA, West Des Moines, Iowa — Brent Green has joined the company as vice president of operations.

BIORIGIN, Sao Paulo, Brazil — Eliana Ottati Dantas has joined the company as poultry and pig technical manager in Brazil for the animal nutrition segment. Dantas will be responsible for globally supporting the sales team, clients and distributors.

COBB-VANTRESS INC., Siloam Springs, Ark. — Dr. Esmeraldo "Esmi" San Pedro has joined the company as general manager for Cobb Philippines. San Pedro was previously with Aviagen.

NEWSTAR SOURCING & SERVICE, Omaha, Neb. — Jim Hollmann has joined the company as commodity merchandising manager. Hollmann will lead the merchandising team. He was previously with Archer Daniels Midland.

Karley Kenney has joined the company as a sales trainee. Kenney will focus on pricing analytics, customer service and sales support.

CHORE-TIME, Milford, Ind. — Jeff Harville has been named plant manager for the Decatur, Ala., manufacturing facility. Harville will be responsible for overall management of all local production as well as overseeing the maintenance and inventory control teams, including plant operational performance. He was most recently interim plant manager.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY, West Lafayette, Ind. — Karen Plaut has been named the Glenn W. Sample dean of the College of Agriculture. Plaut will be responsible for administering academic programs in the College of Agriculture, Extension, the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station and a number of state regulatory services. She was most recently interim dean of the College of Agriculture.

AVIAGEN, Huntsville, Ala. — Dr. Marcelo Silva has been named global head of nutrition services. Silva will lead the team of global nutritionists and will provide strategic direction for nutrition research and development. He was most recently senior poultry nutrition specialist.

DEVENISH NUTRITION LLC, Fairmont, Minn. — Dr. Kristjan Bregendahl has joined the company as poultry nutritionist. Bregendahl will provide nutrition consulting for laying hens as well as other poultry. He was previously with ADM Animal Nutrition.

DIAMOND V, Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Wil Guess has joined the company as regional sales manager for the Ruminant Team. Guess will serve producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed professionals, focusing mainly on beef production in western Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. He was previously with Elanco.

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY FOODS ASSN., Washington, D.C. — A. Bailey Wood Jr. has been named vice president of communications, public relations and marketing. Wood will be responsible for developing and implementing a broad range of marketing and public relations activities to support the association’s strategic direction and enhance its position as a thought leader in the food and beverage industry. He was previously with the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Assn.

AGRICULTURAL RETAILERS ASSN., Washington, D.C. — Melisa Augusto has joined the association as director of communications and marketing, effective May 15. Augusto will be responsible for the association's publications, media relations, website, marketing materials and associated issues. She will also support the communications aspects of advocacy efforts on behalf of agricultural retailers. She was previously with the National Association of Conservation Districts.

COBB-VANTRESS INC., Siloam Springs, Ark. — Eric Leow has been appointed planning director for the Asia Pacific region. Leow will be responsible for coordinating all Asia production centers, including New Zealand, China and the Philippines. He will coordinate the planning of breeding stock coming to Asia from Europe and the U.S. and will also be Asia's main point of contact with the planning teams for the company's other regions. He was previously with Pfizer.

THE MOSAIC CO., Plymouth, Minn. — Clint Freeland has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 4. Freeland will lead the global finance and information technology teams. He was previously with Dynegy Inc.

SERVI-TECH, Dodge City, Kan. — Robin Cox has been named key feed accounts specialist. Cox will focus on the feed testing and evaluation business, including customers such as feedlots, dairies, feed manufacturers and feed retailers throughout the Midwest and beyond. She was most recently data review coordinator for the Amarillo, Texas, laboratory.

FMC CORP., Philadelphia, Pa. — Bob West has been named associate director of the new Customer Engagement Center. West will be responsible for developing the strategy, building ongoing business relationships and providing overall leadership for the center. He was most recently Agricultural Solutions business and strategic accounts lead.

GENESUS, Oakville, Man. — Lance Dunbar has joined the company as technical service director. Dunbar was previously with Carthage Systems.

MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP, Washington, D.C. — Emily R. Lyons has joined the firm as associate in the Transactional Practice Group. Lyons will focus her practice on regulatory matters for the Agribusiness, Food & Beverage clients. She was previously with the International Dairy Foods Assn.

AGRILABS, St. Joseph, Mo. — Nancy Heter has joined the company as southern Plains territory manager. Heter will be responsible for managing and implementing sales and providing service to the network of distributors, veterinarians, dealers and producers in the southern Plains region. She was previously with Zoetis.

GROWTH ENERGY, Washington, D.C. — Craig Willis has been appointed senior vice president of global markets, effective June 1. Willis will oversee market development efforts to increase ethanol's footprint at home and abroad. He was previously with Archer Daniels Midland.

BIOZYME INC., St. Joseph, Mo. — Cortney Malter has joined the company as director of marketing outreach and communication. Malter will focus on opportunities for additives and increase the emphasis on communication and training with dealers and staff. She was previously with Boehringer Ingelheim.

COBANK, Denver, Colo. — Eric Itambo has been named chief banking officer, effective July 1, 2018. Itambo will be responsible for all lending operations and banking services. He is currently with Citigroup.

THE MASCHHOFFS, Carlyle, Ill. — Dr. Justin Fix has joined the company as director of genetics. Fix will oversee the portfolio of genetic animals, proprietary genetic lines and data. He was previously with Smithfield Premium Genetics.

Rich Hollis has joined the company as vice president of people strategy and resources. Hollis was previously with Rabo AgriFinance.

KENT NUTRITION GROUP, Muscatine, Iowa — John Culp has joined the Central region sales team as territory sales manager. Culp was previously with VAS.

CIBUS, San Diego, Cal. — Jim Hinrichs has been appointed chief financial officer. Hinrichs was previously with Alere Inc.

AMERICAN FEED INDUSTRY ASSN., Arlington, Va. — Bridget Rinker has joined the association as development assistant. Rinker will help manage programs and communications and will assist with implementation of the overall strategic direction for the Institute for Feed Education & Research, including managing the donor program. She will also work with the events and communications teams to plan, implement and market donor programs. She was previously with the National Parent Teacher Assn.

MERCK ANIMAL HEALTH, Madison, N.J. — Dr. Jessica Lynn Meisinger has joined the veterinary and consumer affairs team as consumer affairs account manager. Meisinger will focus on developing partnerships with key stakeholders in the food and companion animal marketplace. She was previously with the National Renderers Assn. and the Fats & Proteins Research Foundation.

NORBROOK, Newry, Northern Ireland — Steve Schram has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas. Schram will lead all sales and marketing activities across both the North American and Latin American businesses. He was previously with AgriLabs.

ZINPRO CORP., Eden Prairie, Minn. — Dr. Cláudia Silva has joined the company as aquaculture nutritionist. Silva will help direct aquaculture research projects and provide technical services and support to key aquaculture customers across the globe, but primarily in Europe and the Americas.

THE F.L. EMMERT CO., Cincinnati, Ohio — James Mock has joined the company as vice president of finance and administration. Mock will work with the accounting and human resources teams to execute the vision of trust, care, teamwork and excellence.

NOVITA NUTRITION, Brookings, S.D. — David Ledgerwood has joined the company as technical services manager in the western region of the U.S. Ledgerwood will manage technical services for NovaMeal in the western region, primarily California. He was previously with Western Milling.

CAMBRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, Worthington, Minn. — Steve Cady has joined the company as field account manager for the western U.S. Cady was previously with Midwest Veterinary Supply.

Mike Daly joined the company as field account manager for the eastern U.S. Daly was previously with Elanco and Novartis.