Olivia Bridges has been named Agri-Pulse’s congressional and trade editor. She has worked as a freelance agriculture and health policy journalist and for CQ and Roll Call covering agriculture and trade policy. Agri-Pulse has also announced title changes for Kim Chipman, congressional and energy editor, and Lydia Johnson, Newsmakers anchor and Washington reporter. Steve Davies was promoted earlier this year to managing editor.
Syngenta Group’s Board of Directors unanimously appointed Hengde Qin as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026. Qin, currently Chief Operating Officer and Head of Seeds, succeeds Jeff Rowe, who will remain in the role through August 1 before returning to the United States after nearly 10 years with the company. Qin will be based in company headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, where he has been located since January 2023. He has served on Syngenta Group's executive team since 2020, holding senior roles across the business, finance, human resources, and global operations. He is a member of the Syngenta Group Board of Directors. Rowe joined Syngenta in September 2016 and was responsible for the successful turnaround of the Seeds business, which saw strong growth and a return to profitability, according to a company release. He then went on to lead the Crop Protection business, the company's largest business unit, before taking over as CEO. He also farms in Illinois.
Governor Gavin Newsom has made some new appointments. Anna Naimark was appointed undersecretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Thomas Gibson has been appointed director of the California Department of Water Resources.
Jared Blumenfeld was appointed to the California State Water Resources Control Board, after Laurel Firestone stepped down. Blumenfeld is the former secretary of the California EPA, which he served from 2019 to 2022. He has been the president of the Waverly Street Foundation since 2022.
The American Frozen Food Institute named Carol Blake as its senior vice president of communications. She has been the acting vice president of communications since March. Prior to working for the American Frozen Food Institute, she worked for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service for 20 years, and at USDA as a press officer for four years.
Thomas Smith has returned to California Giant Berry Farms as the vice president of sales and marketing. He was with the company for eight years, until January 2025. In the meantime, he worked for Somerfield Farms and Gem-Pack Berries.
Western Skies Strategies has added Nathan Serlin as the senior associate for policy and legislative affairs. He’s held a variety of positions previously, including as a legislative majority aide in the Montana House of Representatives, a field organizer for the Montana Republican Party and a chapter chairman and president at Ducks Unlimited. 
Nathan Serlin (LinkedIn)
Jacob DeFant has started as a senior policy associate at Fullwell. He previously served as membership and public policy coordinator at the Agricultural Council of California.
Joe Aguiar is starting at Bicker, Castillo, Fairbanks and Spitz Public Affairs as an account fellow. He recently graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in agricultural communication.
Jonathan Moscone, Regina Callan and Anthony Schlander have been appointed to the 1st District Agricultural Association Cow Palace Fair Board.
Fidela Irigoyen has retired from Wells Fargo after 40 years, where she most recently served as the market executive for Agribusiness West.
Bob Sloate has retired from his role as national account manager for Duda Farm Fresh Foods. He was with the company for 23 years. Before working for Duda Farm Fresh Foods, he spent 28 years with Winn-Dixie.
The American Seed Trade Association is announcing its officers for this upcoming year. Beginning July 1, Bryan Gerard from JoMar Seeds will be the chair. The first vice chair is Crystal Rose Fricker from Pure Seed. The second vice chair is John Marchese from HeinzSeed.
Corteva has announced its new board of directors for its crop protection company when it separates later this year. Greg Page will be the independent chair. The rest of the board is made up of Klaus Engel, David Everitt, Janet Giesselman, Jean-Marc Gilson, Luke Kissam, Nayaki Nayyar, Christopher Policinski and Patrick Ward. It also announced the board of directors for Vylor, its new seed and genetics company. Karen Grimes will be independent chair. The rest of the board will have Victor Aguilar, Raj Kalathur, Marcos Lutz, Chuck Magro, Jannie Oosthuizen and Kerry Preete.
Donna Garren was appointed to be director of FDA’s Office of Produce Safety within the Office of Microbiological Food Safety, effective June 29. She was previously with the American Frozen Food Institute for almost 15 years, most recently as the executive vice president of science and policy.
Dani Bendheim will become president and CEO of Phibro Ethanol, effective July 1. He succeeds Jack Bendheim, who will be executive chairman for the company. Bendheim has been with the company since 1997 and is currently the executive vice president of corporate strategy.
Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, has resigned effective July 17. Heather Taylor will serve as the interim president and CEO until Cho’s permanent successor is named.
The International Dairy Foods Association promoted Tom Wojno to be executive vice president and chief strategy and operating officer. He has been with the association since 2017. IDFA also promoted three others: Tyesha Wilson is now the senior director of financial services and employee relations, Jeffrey Cullen is now the senior director of video and creative, and Mariah Minnick is now the senior manager of marketing and external communications.
Tom Wojno (LinkedIn) Land O’Lakes promoted Kyle Maple to senior vice president international in April. He most recently was the vice president of ag business alliances for over two years with the company.
The American Egg Board has named Cory Sexson the vice president of global business development. He has previously worked for brands like Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and Tropicana.
Barbara Patterson has been promoted to vice president of policy, strategy and innovation at Torrey Advisory Group. She has been with the group for over eight years. Prior to Torrey Advisory Group, she worked for the National Farmers Union.
FMI The Food Industry Association has promoted five of its staff. Daniel Akinmolayan is now the senior director of digital strategy and customer service at the Safe Quality Food Institute. Mike Green was promoted to senior director of state and local government relations. The new director of communications is Matt McKinney. Bianca Ruffin is now the senior director of marketing. The new vice president of web and digital communications is Kelli Windsor.
Gary Millershaski is the new chair of the U.S. Wheat Associates board of directors, and will serve a one-year term. He is from Kansas and grows hard red winter wheat, hard white wheat, dryland corn and milo. He also has a cow calf operation. He previously was a director of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and was a Kansas Wheat Commissioner.
The Northwest Dairy Association and Darigold have hired Tammy Edmonds as the director of farm practices. She was with the association and Darigold for over five years until January 2025, most recently as an NDA manager of environmental stewardship and animal care. She also has worked for Elanco as an executive dairy sales manager.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has hired Katherine Thomas as director of federal affairs. She has worked for over 11 years in Congress, most recently with Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.
Sadie Knight has joined the American Farm Bureau Federation as the managing director of advocacy and political affairs. She worked for National Corn Growers Association for over three years prior to taking this role.
Molly Orr is now a special assistant to the chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. She previously was a staff assistant for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Consumer Brands Association has hired Genevieve Manise as an industry engagement coordinator. She recently graduated from George Washington University with a degree in international relations and affairs. During her undergrad, she interned for Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, among others.
Genevieve Manise (LinkedIn)The Agricultural Retailers Association has hired Jacob Harper as a communications manager. He just graduated in May from the University of Georgia with a degree in agricultural and environmental science communication and has held internships with the Torrey Advisory Group and U.S. Senate.
