“It has been my privilege to represent the industry and lead AFIA through a period of exciting and significant change,” stated Newman. “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.”
Newman has led AFIA for the past 15 years, during which he has ushered in a landmark era of change. In the early 2000s, Newman worked with members and staff to develop a strategic focus that better aligned the association to meet the future needs of the changing industry and led to the creation of AFIA’s 4 Promises of Member Value.
Over the years, Newman expanded the AFIA staff team, adding top talent to deliver on the 4 Promises of providing legislative and regulatory representation and member access to top expertise. AFIA’s education programs and networking events also saw tremendous growth during this time. Newman championed an expanded global focus on the development of international food safety standards and opening more international trade opportunities for the industry. Most recently, AFIA has implemented a Sustainability Initiative, which includes the development of collaborative industry messaging to address consumers’ concerns regarding the animal protein industry.
Newman has also 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 Board of Directors, and previously as IFIF’s chairman, and as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Newman will continue to serve as president and CEO of AFIA over the next 12 months and will assist with the transition through the end of 2019.
As part of its succession planning, the AFIA Board of Directors appointed a selection committee in May to lead the recruitment and succession process. The committee will be working with Kincannon & Reed to recruit a strategic, collaborative and results-oriented individual who can lead the organization to deliver on its mission and develop strategies that address its vision for the future.
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 and onboard the new president and CEO in the fall of 2019.
