ARLINGTON, Va. — After 15 years as president and chief executive officer, Joel Newman said he will retire from the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), effective December 2019.

“It has been my privilege to represent the industry and lead AFIA through a period of exciting and significant change,” Newman said. “I am very proud of the many achievements and successes that we have accomplished together. My deepest thanks go to the AFIA members and staff who have supported and made this success possible.”

AFIA’s board of directors formed a selection committee in May to facilitate the transition process and hired Kincannon & Reed to help recruit Newman’s successor.

Newman ushered in an era of change, working with members and staff to develop a strategic focus that aligned the AFIA to meet the future needs of the changing industry. That led to the creation of the association’s 4 Promises of Member Value.

As part of those promises, Newman expanded AFIA staff, education programs and networking events. He championed an expanded global focus on the development of international food safety standards and opening more international trade opportunities for the industry.

Most recently, the AFIA has implemented a Sustainability Initiative, which includes the development of collaborative industry messaging to address consumers’ concerns regarding the animal protein industry. All of this has led to a more than 50% increase in member engagement and increased industry value.

Newman also has served as president of the association’s public charity, the Institute for Feed Education and Research, since its inception 10 years ago. He has represented the U.S. animal feed industry on international issues, including serving on the International Feed Industry Federation’s (IFIF) board of directors, and previously as IFIF’s chairman, and as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Newman has spent his career in the agriculture and food industries. Prior to joining the AFIA, he had executive positions at Agway, Inc., Maple Leaf Foods, Inc., and United Cooperative Farmers. He has a master’s of business administration degree in finance and marketing from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in animal science from West Virginia University.

Newman will continue as president and CEO of the AFIA over the next 12 months and will assist with the transition through the end of 2019.

The association aims to conduct candidate interviews in the spring of 2019 with the goal of making a candidate recommendation to the board for its review by the summer. Pending the board’s final approval, Newman expects to officially introduce the new president and CEO in the fall of 2019.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.