Western Growers has appointed Rob Yraceburu, president of Wonderful Orchards at The Wonderful Co., as chair of its board of directors. In his role at Wonderful Orchards, Yraceburu oversees the world’s largest grower of pistachios and pomegranates and one of the largest growers of almonds and wine grapes. Before joining the Wonderful Co. in 2015, he spent nearly three decades at Wells Fargo, where he served as a senior banker and as executive vice president and head of national food and agribusiness. During his tenure, he helped finance many of The Wonderful Co.’s acquisitions, including FIJI Water and JUSTIN Vineyards. A fourth-generation raisin and almond farmer from California’s Central Valley, Yraceburu succeeds Stuart Woolf as chair and will serve a two-year term.
Advance Energy United hired Brandon Garcia as policy director for its California team. He previously worked in the California State Legislature for five years, holding multiple roles and working for state Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes. In his new role, Garcia will focus on advancing clean energy and specializing in energy policy.
Kimberly Rodriguez is leaving her role as deputy chief of staff and policy director for California State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire. With more than 20 years of experience working in the California State Legislature, she will become the chief legislative advocate for the California State Association of Counties.
Ray Yraceburu (LinkedIn photo)Tim Barrett joined Tidal Grow AgriScience as a regional sales manager. He previously worked for Yara North America as a senior sales agronomist.
At the Western Growers 2025 Annual Meeting, Stewart Resnick, chairman, president and co-owner of The Wonderful Co., received the Award of Honor, the association’s highest recognition of achievement. He was honored for his 50 years of contributions to the agricultural industry.
Ken Fisher is leaving AmericanHort after 10 years as the organization’s president and CEO. During his tenure, Fisher strengthened AmericanHort’s role as a national advocate for horticulture. Earlier, he held leadership roles with Lone Star Funds, Elmer’s Products, POET and the Coleman Company. He will remain in his role until the end of May 2026.
Grant Leslie has been named government and policy operating partner at S2G Investments. In her new role, Leslie will support the growth of S2G’s portfolio companies by addressing regulatory issues and engaging with government programs. She joins S2G after nearly 15 years at FGS Global, where she served as global head of the food team. Leslie was a senior adviser to then-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during the Obama administration, following a decade of working in the Senate on issues including the farm bill, nutrition programs, renewable energy, rural development and agricultural trade.
CropLife International has appointed Corteva CEO Chuck Magro chairman of the group's board of directors. Before joining Corteva, Magro served as president and CEO of Nutrien, following his tenure as president and CEO of Agrium, a global company that produced and distributed fertilizers, crop nutrients and crop protection products. Agrium merged with the Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan in 2018 to form Nutrien. Magro succeeds Livio Tedeschi, president of BASF Agricultural Solutions.
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Sara O’Neill is joining Bloom Energy as vice president of policy and government affairs. Earlier, she served on the executive leadership team at Aera Energy, LLC for six years.
Michael Ahmed was appointed president and CEO of United Dairy Farmers Inc. He was previously chief operating officer at The Gorilla Glue Co. and earlier held roles at Tyson Foods, AdvancedPierre Foods and Procter & Gamble. Ahmed succeeds Brad Lindner, who is retiring after 27 years leading the organization. UDF celebrated its 85th anniversary this year.
Alison Foster was promoted to manager of government affairs and operations for the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. Foster served as coordinator of government affairs and communications at NCFC for three years following her role as a membership services associate at the Education Finance Council.
Alison Foster (Linkedin Photo)The National Milk Producers Federation has appointed Brian Rexing as its 15th chairman. A fourth-generation farmer, Rexing is a member of the Dairy Farmers of America cooperative and serves on its executive committee. He is also the vice president of Evansville Young Dairymen and received the Indiana Dairy Producer of the Year award in 2021. Rexing and his wife own and operate New Generation Dairy in Indiana. He succeeds Randy Mooney, who served as NMPF's chairman for the past 17 years. Mooney will continue to work for the organization on its executive committee.
The Bipartisan Policy Center hired Kathryn Kline Tyndall as associate director for energy. She will focus on load growth, state utility regulation and advanced energy technologies. Tyndall held leadership roles at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the National Regulatory Research Institute, and served as an economic development and small business fellow for then-Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Marcel Akhame, Daniel Hoenig and Adam Cowie-Haskell also join BPC as senior policy analysts. Nora Teagan is a new project assistant for the energy program.
Chris Cooper is now CEO and board director of XCF Global, a company specializing in the decarbonization of the aviation industry. He has more than 25 years of experience in the global energy industry, having served as president of Neste U.S., where he led strategic initiatives for renewable fuel producers such as sustainable aviation fuel. He also served as head of renewables trading at BGN, a leading energy and commodities trading company, and held leadership roles at Phillips 66 and Chevron. Cooper succeeds Mihir Dange, who served as the company’s CEO and board chair. Current XCF board member Wray Thorn will take over as interim board chair.
Michael Essington will join the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology as chief counsel. Earlier, Essington served as a senior manager of government affairs at EchoStar Corp.
Matthew Perin was promoted to vice president of government relations and regulatory affairs at Kroger. He’s been with the company for nearly nine years, recently as head of government relations and regulatory affairs. Earlier, he worked for Bayer and the House Ag Committee.
