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

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​​​​​ALGAENERGY S.A., Madrid, Spain — Bill Schwoerer has joined the company as national sales director for the U.S. Schwoerer will drive growth in the U.S.

Geovainer "Geo" Zúñiga has joined the company as country manager for Mexico. Zúñiga will drive growth in Mexico.

AMERICAN EGG BOARD, Chicago, Ill. — Emily Metz will join the organization as president and chief executive officer, effective in June. Metz will leading the staff and collaborate with the egg industry to build demand for U.S. eggs and egg products domestically and abroad. She was previously with Genus PLC.

AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSN., Washington, D.C. — Virginia Houston will join the association as director of government affairs, effective June 1. Houston will be responsible for the trade portfolio. She was previously with the American Seed Trade Assn.

ANIMAL & PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, Riverdale, Md. — Jason Suckow has been named director of the Wildlife Services program's National Wildlife Research Center in Ft. Collins, Colo. Suckow will help strengthen ties between Wildlife Services operations and research functions. He was most recently acting director of the center.

ANIMINE, Annecy, France — Jennifer Maurin has joined the company as marketing director. Maurin will coordinate marketing activities. She was previously with Pancosma.

Dr. Arturo Piñon has joined the company as research and development (R&D) director. Piñon will collaborate with the scientific team to define new research access for trace minerals and enlarge R&D interactions with marketing and sales teams. He was previously with Neovia Group.

BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ORGANIZATION, Washington, D.C. — Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath will join the organization as president and chief executive officer, effective June 1. McMurry-Heath was previously with Johnson & Johnson.

COBB-VANTRESS INC., Siloam Springs, Ark. — David Lawton has joined Cobb Europe as director of finance for the Europe, Middle East & Africa region. Lawton will be responsible for leading the region's finance team, including budgeting, tax, contracts and ensuring that all key stakeholders understand the company's financial performance. He was previously with Arjobex.

Matthew Wilson has joined Cobb Europe as sales and technical director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Wilson will lead the sales and technical team, support distributors in the region and work with customers to provide a genetic package and technical support. He was most recently a broiler and ventilation specialist with Cobb's World Technical Team.

EW NUTRITION USA, Adel, Iowa — Dr. Miguel Barrios has been appointed technical manager–poultry. Barrios will work with current and prospective customers to support the use of phytochemicals and mycotoxin binders in poultry applications. He was previously with Synexis Biodefense Systems.

Brandon Cox will join the company as executive account manager. Cox will focus on customer-centric strategy and sales management for the pig production industry.

FARMERS NATIONAL CO., Omaha, Neb. — Sam Kain will retire as assistant vice president and national sales manager, effective July 31. Kain has been with the company since 1990.

David Whitaker will join the company as assistant vice president and national sales manager, effective June 1. Whitaker will work with farm managers and real estate sales associates in Iowa, Missouri and other states to list, market and sell agricultural real estate. He previously owned Whitaker Marketing Group.

GREEN POINT RESEARCH, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. — Robin P. Pate has been appointed chief marketing officer. Pate will be responsible for the strategic marketing vision, will aid in the development of new distribution channels and will drive revenue-generating opportunities, including brand development and partnerships. She was previously with The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation.

HAMLET PROTEIN, Horsens, Denmark — Dr. Diego Navarro has joined the company as swine nutritionist for USA, Canada and Mexico (NCA region).

HELM AGRO US INC., Tampa, Fla. — Mary Josephson has joined the company as regional sales manager for the northern Corn Belt. Josephson will be responsible for promoting and initiating sales of crop protection products while delivering added value to channel and grower customers in northern Illinois, northeast Iowa, eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Josephson was previously with Winfield Solutions LLC.

HORMEL FOODS CORP., Austin, Minn. — Swen Neufeldt has been named group vice president and president of Hormel Foods International Corp. Neufeldt was most recently vice president of meat products marketing for the Refrigerated Foods division.

Lisa Selk has been named vice president of meat products marketing for the Refrigerated Foods division. Selk was most recently director of Hormel Health Labs and the CFI business.

Larry Vorpahl will retire as group vice president and president of Hormel Foods International Corp., effective this summer. Vorpahl has been with the company since 1986.

HUVEPHARMA, Peachtree City, Ga. — Dr. Steven Clark has joined the U.S. Poultry Team as veterinary technical services manager. Clark will be responsible for portfolio support and product development activities, specifically focusing on the turkey industry.

Drew Weir has joined the U.S. Poultry Team as director for U.S. poultry. Weir will focus on accelerating the growth trajectory of the U.S. Poultry business.

Joe Williams has joined the U.S. Poultry Team as strategic account manager. Williams will be responsible for large integrators in the U.S.

KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN, Kansas City, Mo. — Manny Loureiro has been appointed vice president and chief engineer. Loureiro will be responsible for the engineering departments in the U.S. and Mexico. He was previously with Canadian National Railway Co.

KINCANNON & REED, Waynesboro, Va. — Jimmy Paulakuhn has joined the firm as managing director focusing on the talent acquisition needs of animal agriculture clients.

MICHAEL TORREY ASSOCIATES, Washington, D.C. — Perry Harlow has joined the firm as member and events manager. Harlow will provide logistics and management assistance for clients in person and at virtual fly-ins, annual meetings and receptions. He was previously with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation.

Cassandra Kuball has joined the firm as vice president. Kuball will provide guidance and representation to clients on a variety of agriculture and food policy issues. She was previously with Edelman.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE, Arlington, Va. — Zachary Gihorski has joined the association as associate director, public policy. Gihorski will lead engagement on issues under the jurisdiction of the Food Systems & Nutrition and Plant Agriculture & Pesticide Committee. He was previously with Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC.

NOBIS AGRI SCIENCE, Plainwell, Mich. — Megan Versau has been promoted to chief operating officer. Versau will oversee the day-to-day administrative and operational functions with a focus on operational excellence, customer satisfaction and the implementation of strategic goals. She most recently managed the marketing, compliance and human resources department.

PEOPLES CO., Clive, Iowa — Joel King has joined the company as Mississippi Delta regional broker manager in the new Jonesboro, Ark., office. King will serve clients in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. He was previously with King Real Estate.

Kim King has joined the company as auctioneer and Realtor. King will bolster the on-the-ground presence in Mississippi Delta states. She was previously with King Real Estate.

RALCO, Marshall, Minn. — Dr. Jennifer Young has joined the company as ruminant account manager. Young will focus on serving the needs of the company's cow/calf producers in western Nebraska and providing technical expertise to the Ruminant Team.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, Brookings, S.D. — Dr. Ben Hause has joined the university as assistant professor in the veterinary and biomedical sciences department and section head of virology at the South Dakota Animal Disease Research & Diagnostic Laboratory. Hause also will serve as an investigator in the university Governor's Office of Economic Development Center for Biologics Research & Commercialization, where his research will focus on development of vaccines to combat infectious diseases of livestock and his projects will involve engineering novel vaccines, demonstrating efficacy in host animals and engaging with industry partners to bring vaccines to market. He was previously with Cambridge Technologies.

STRAUSS FEEDS LLC, Watertown, Wis. — Erin Bronson has joined the company as sales representative. Bronson will oversee sales in Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington. Bronson was previously with Steve Regan Co.

SYNGENTA, Downers Grove, Ill. — Gaël Hili has been appointed head of the Europe, Africa and Middle East Seeds region, effective June 15. Hili was most recently head of East Europe for Syngenta Crop Protection.

David Hollinrake has been appointed head of global seeds strategy and portfolio, effective June 15. Hollinrake will lead long-term strategy development and planning for the global Seeds business, with a primary focus on the U.S. seeds market. He was most recently regional director North America Seeds.

Justin Wolfe has been appointed regional director North America Seeds, effective June 15. Wolfe will focus on leveraging the germplasm pool to expand the products offered in North America and as well as offering growers digital platforms to increase return on investment. He was most recently regional director for Europe, Africa and Middle East Seeds.

TECHMIX, Stewart, Minn. — Kelly Coulson has joined the company. Coulson will support sales and education in the domestic business unit. He was previously with Merck Animal Health.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, Lubbock, Texas — Jason Fritzler has joined the faculty of the School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo, Texas, as associate professor of microbiology. Fritzler will focus on infectious disease. He was previously with West Texas A&M University.

TOPIGS NORSVIN USA, Burnsville, Minn. — Brandy Jacobs has joined the company as multiplication and sale support technician. Jacobs will provide support to multipliers and customers in all areas of production.

Patty Rodel has joined the company as sales manager. Rodel will be responsible for new business development, sales team coordination and marketing support.

Kurt Wolf has joined the company as sales and business development manager. Wolf will work with swine producers to implement new genetic products and programs.

UPL, King of Prussia, Pa. — Brian Ahrens has been named head of U.S. ag sales. Ahrens will oversee all divisions of the U.S. sales division and identify new market strategies for the U.S. manufacturing business. He was most recently lead for the Professional Products Team.

Brian Cardin has been named head of the Key Account Manager team. Cardin will focus on further developing the distribution network. He was most recently head of the U.S. sales team.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, D.C. — Dr. Cindy Nickerson has been appointed deputy chief economist for policy analysis, effective June 7. Nickerson will advise the department's chief economist, secretary and top policy officials regarding the economic implications of programs, regulations and legislative proposals affecting the U.S. food system and rural areas. She was most recently director of the Economic Research Service's Market & Trade Economics Division.

ZINPRO CORP., Eden Prairie, Minn. — Micah Boysel has been promoted to central district manager–North America. Boysel will be responsible for leading and managing the company's U.S. and Canada central district sales teams to drive sales growth and customer success across all species. He was most recently central Midwest account manager.

Nadezda Malova has joined the company as marketing specialist on the sales and marketing team in Russia and the larger Commonwealth of Independent States. Malova will promote ongoing business growth and customer success in this region.

Dr. Fanyi Meng has joined the company as business development manager for aquaculture–North Asia. Meng will provide support for customers in the North Asia region.

Taissia Mortensen has joined the company as dairy account manager on the sales and marketing team in Russia and the larger Commonwealth of Independent States. Mortensen will promote ongoing business growth and customer success in this region.

Piergiorgio Persona has joined the company as country manager—Italy. Persona will be responsible for leading the company's strategic direction in Italy across all species and products.

Sihai Shao has joined the company as technical sales manager–China. Shao will provide support for customers in China.