The American Soybean Association elected new members to its board of directors. Ohio grower Scott Metzger will be the 2026 ASA president. He farms 1,400 acres of soybeans, in addition to producing corn, wheat and malting barley, and joined the board in 2017. Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland will transition from 2025 president to ASA chairman. Former Chairman Josh Gackle of North Dakota will rotate off the nine-member executive committee.
The ASA board elected Dave Walton of Iowa as ASA vice president, putting him in line to serve as ASA president in 2027. Jordan Scott of South Dakota was also elected as secretary, and Tanner Johnson of Wisconsin was elected treasurer. Additional at-large members of the executive committee elected include: Jamie Beyer of Minnesota, Ryan Frieders of Illinois, Randy Miller of Iowa, and Jimmie Lee Shaw of South Carolina. 
Scott Metzger (ASA photo)
Additionally, ASA announced 13 new directors who begin nine-year terms: Scott Gaffner of Illinois, Corey Goodhue of Iowa; Derek Helms of Arkansas, Gary Hendrix of North Carolina, Darin Johnson of Minnesota, Brent Kohls of North Dakota, Andrew Lance of Missouri, Michael McPherson of North Carolina, Charles Miller of Illinois, Summer Ory of Iowa, Brent Swart of Iowa, Steve Trzebiatowski of Wisconsin, and Drew Peterson of South Dakota.
Sustainable aviation fuel developer Gevo tapped Paul Bloom as CEO and a director on the company’s board. He joined Gevo in 2021. Bloom worked at ADM for 14 years as vice president of sustainable materials, among other roles. Bloom will succeed longtime leader Patrick Gruber, who has assumed the role of executive chair of the board and will officially retire April 1. Board chairman William H. Baum has moved into the role of lead independent director.
The American Farm Bureau Federation hired Autumn Lankford Higgins as director of government affairs. She was government relations manager at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers for the past three years. Earlier, Higgins was manager of public policy at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
Alison Foster joined the American Feed Industry Association as manager of policy engagement. She worked at the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives for the past three years, recently as manager of government affairs and operations. Earlier, Foster worked for the Education Finance Council.
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Samantha Ayoub was promoted to economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. She has been with the organization for over a year and a half, recently as an associate economist. Ayoub is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Colorado State University.
The Fiber Broadband Association hired Lukas Pietrzak as public policy director. He previously worked at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for the past nearly four years in multiple roles, including most recently as chief of staff in the office of internet connectivity and growth. Earlier, Pietrzak worked for Next Century Cities. Jeanne Le Délaizir also joined the Fiber Broadband Association as a policy fellow. She recently graduated from the George Washington University Law School.
Steve Cahillane (Kraft Heinz photo)The Kraft Heinz Co. selected Steve Cahillane as the next CEO effective Jan. 1 and will later transition to CEO of the Global Taste Elevation Co. when the company splits into two companies. Cahillane succeeds Carlos Abrams-Rivera, who will serve as an adviser to the company until March 5. As part of the transition, John T. Cahill will become chair of the board.
Shaun Vey was promoted to president of Syngenta Canada effective Jan. 1, 2026. He has been with the company more than 13 years, recently as head of sales in Canada.
Pivot Bio announced additions to the senior management team. Shekar Govindaswamy was hired as principal scientist. He has more than 25 years of experience in fermentation development and optimization, recently holding roles at Curie Company, BiomEdit, and Lesaffre Advanced Fermentations. Govindaswamy also held a postdoctoral research role with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Peter Jensen was named senior director of regulatory and quality affairs. Jensen worked for Bayer the past 15 years where he contributed to multiple insect-control biotechnology products in North and South America.
Additionally at Pivot Bio, Katie Liberatore was named senior director of product operations and execution focused on driving cross-functional alignment, operational excellence and strategic execution across the company’s research and development portfolio. Theresa Myers is now director of corporate communications, thought leadership and global impact. Rick Williamson was named director of corporate communications, external communications and media. Deepak Pillai was hired as head of digital.
The Bonipak Family of Companies appointed Scott Cruciger as the organization’s next CEO. He has over 20 years of experience in food and beverage, agriculture, and industrial sectors. Cruciger spent 20 years of his career with Ingredion, recently as senior director of global core strategy. Immediately before joining Bonipack, he was North America managing director at Roquette.
Hayley Fernandes joined the personal office of House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., as a legislative assistant covering agriculture, food, labor, and immigration issues. She previously was a policy adviser at the Department of Labor Office of Immigration Policy. Earlier, Fernandes was the agriculture legislative assistant for then-Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore.
Natalie Turner is now communications director for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan. A graduate of the University of Kansas, she was previously communications director for Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz. Earlier, she was deputy press secretary for Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., hired Baltazar Hernández as public engagement specialist. Hernández was previously capacity building program manager at the Nature Conservancy Arizona Chapter.
Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., hired Paola Vazquez-Zavala as a press assistant. She is a University of Georgia alumnus who was recently an intern for Rep. María Salazar, R-Fla.
Katherine Brownlee (LinkedIn photo)The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas elected new members to the group’s board of directors. Those elected as distributor board members for two-year terms include: Jorge Donnadieu of Fresh Farms, Matt Mandel of SunFed, Juan Manuel Ibarra of Marengo Foods, Leonardo Tarriba of Farmer’s Best International, Walter Ram of The Giumarra Companies, Rafael Roiz of TruFresh, Atanasio Panousopoulos of Delta Fresh Sales, and James Martin of Wilson Produce. Additionally, Jorge Ruiz of Agri-Packing Distributors and Ana Maria Cota of Ahern Seeds were elected to serve one-year terms as associate members on FPAA’s board of directors.
California Life Sciences president and CEO Mike Guerra was named the new chair of the Council of State Bioscience Associations. He will lead the national coalition of state and territory-based life sciences trade associations representing the network of innovators, researchers, manufacturers, and accelerators driving America’s bioscience leadership.
Former National Pork Board CEO Steven Douglas Murphy passed away on December 15 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 75. Born in Kentland, Indiana, Murphy was a Purdue graduate and pharmacist before joining NPB in 2001. He led the organization until 2007. Earlier, he was president and chief operating officer at AgWeb.
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