Diamond V has appointed Steve Willardsen as the poultry integration specialist for its poultry team.

He will work directly with Mike Mitchell, the director of North American Poultry.

"Willardsen brings Diamond V the experience of more than four decades of success in integrated poultry operations," Mitchell said. "(These) include direct responsibility for production, processing, and marketing as well as executive leadership of a major poultry business."

Prior to joining Diamond V, Willardsen was the president of Cargill Value Added Meats headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. He was responsible for Cargill's US turkey operations and cooked meats businesses, which included a fully integrated turkey operation, nine meat processing plants, and the sales of products in the US and abroad. Previously, he was also the corporation's complex general manager for turkey operations in Missouri.

Earlier in his career, Willardsen was the chief operating officer for Rocco Enterprises, Inc. in Virginia, US, where he was responsible for turkey and chicken businesses in the state and North Carolina.

He was also a board member with the National Turkey Federation and was Chairman of the Board in 2012. In addition, Willardsen served on the board of directors for the US Poultry and Egg Association for 12 years and was the organisation's chairman in 2010.

Willardsen holds a bachelor's degree in agribusiness from Utah State University.