October 15, 2014

 

Alltech appoints chief innovation officer

 

Alltech has appointed its vice-president, Aidan Connolly, as chief innovation officer of the company's global research department.

 

Based at Alltech's Center for Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition near Lexington, Kentucky, US, Connolly will maintain his current responsibilities as vice president of corporate accounts.

 

Working closely with Dr. Karl Dawson, vice-president and chief scientific officer, Connolly will be involved with Alltech's innovation pipeline and lead the commercialisation of the company's research programmes.

 

In his new role, Connolly will put together a team within the company's research department that will primarily focus on developing innovative, nutrition-based technologies. Their new product development will capitalise on the insights gained through the company's investment in nutrigenomics.

 

"Giving a rapid and effective response, backed up by cutting-edge scientific research, to the market's changing needs, has always been one of Alltech's biggest strengths. It is all about how these technologies are implemented to the market," said Connolly.

 

Connolly brings a strong commercial background to Alltech's research team.

 

A veteran in Alltech for close to 25 years, and previously based in Ireland, France, Brazil and the US, he was previously the vice-president for the European market from 2002 to 2008. He went on to serve as vice president of corporate accounts in Washington, D.C., US.

 

In addition, Connolly is known for developing Alltech's annual global feed survey, which assesses global feed tonnage in more than 130 countries.

 

Outside Alltech, Connolly is an executive board member of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF), the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), the National Chicken Council, the National Turkey Federation, and a former board member of the European Union Association of Specialty Feed Ingredients and their Mixtures (FEFANA).

 

He graduated from University College Dublin with a master's degree in international marketing and is currently serving as the institute's adjunct professor of marketing. He is also a professor of agribusiness at the China Agricultural University in Beijing.