Jon Nash has been named president of Cargill Protein’s foodservice channel, effective June 1, 2017, which coincides with the beginning of the company’s fiscal year.

Nash will lead a team focused on providing foodservice customers with strong industry insights, innovation and sustainable supply chain solutions. He assumes this role after more than a year leading the Cargill Protein strategy and structure transformation that positions the business for future growth through a customer-first focus.

“Throughout his career at Cargill, Jon has imparted his expertise and knowledge to our organization while also displaying the attributes of a top-tier leader,” said Brian Sikes, Cargill corporate vice president and president of Wichita-based Cargill Protein. “Through his thoughtful and determined leadership approach and drive for success, Jon exemplifies qualities we value as an organization.”

Nash earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Virginia Tech. He joined Cargill in October 1998 at the company’s Schuyler, Neb., beef processing facility and gained experience in various accounting and finance roles, in addition to leading multiple business integration and acquisition efforts. In 2005, Nash moved to Cargill’s Fresno, Calif., beef processing facility as the controller and was ultimately promoted to the complex’s general manager in June 2013. In 2015, he was named operations lead for Cargill Value Added Protein, and led the operations, engineering, and environmental, health and safety (EHS) teams. Prior to his latest promotion, Nash was the integration lead for the Cargill Protein transformation.

The appointment of Nash completes Cargill Protein’s customer-first leadership transformation, shifting the organization from a predominantly species and production orientation – turkey, beef, eggs, chicken, case ready, deli – to a customer channel focus that includes retail, foodservice, protein ingredients and growth ventures. The transformation also includes a new model for business operations and supply chain (BOSC) management, and marketing and innovation.

Customer-first oriented leadership positions include:

• Tom Windish, retail channel president, formerly responsible for the Cargill Food Distribution business;
• John Niemann, protein ingredients and international channel president, formerly responsible for the Cargill Turkey and Cooked Meats business;
• Sonya Roberts, growth ventures and strategic pricing president, formerly responsible for Cargill’s egg business;
• John Keating, business operations and supply chain (BOSC) president, formerly responsible for the Cargill Beef business;
• Chuck Gitkin, chief marketing officer, who recently joined Cargill from another protein company.

“A tremendous amount of time and effort has been invested to carefully construct our protein organization for the future to ensure consistent and sustained success in the marketplace and profitable growth for our customers, and Cargill, for many years to come,” stated Sikes. “Our goal is to delight customers by being their protein supplier of choice. To do that, we will engage and develop talent, invest in communities and nourish people, animals and the planet in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.”

Source: Cargill