Organic & Natural Health Association (O&N Health) announced the elevatation of Naomi Whittel, founder & CEO of Naomi Whittel Brands, from her board seat to the post of President of the Board of Directors. Whittel, a serial entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and respected thought leader in the health and wellness industry, also serves as an advisory board member for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center. Whittel says her commitment to O&N Health stems from her passion for navigating and improving the supply chain. “This is a very exciting development for Organic & Natural Health Association as it shows how far we have grown and matured under Karen Howard’s leadership,” said Todd Harrison, transitioning founding president and Venable partner, who has been promoted to a new position as board counsel. “With Karen and Naomi leading the association’s efforts, Organic & Natural Health is poised to make huge gains in the near future, and I cannot think of a better person to serve as the president of our association.” O&N Health also appointed a new board member, Sandra Baek Lee, CEO of NJ Labs. Lee is a nationally recognized provider and advocate for quality in chemistry and microbiology testing that serves the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, dietary supplement, cosmetic and cannabis/CBD industries. 

ADM announced that its Board of Directors has nominated Dr. Ellen de Brabander to Executive Vice President for Innovation and Regulatory Affairs. De Brabander previously served as Senior Vice President for R&D at PepsiCo, with company-wide responsibility for food safety, quality, regulatory, and digital transformation in R&D, and before that, for all product innovations for the nutrition category. De Brabander has also held executive leadership positions in Boehringer Ingelheim (then known as Merial), Merck Animal Health (previously Intervet), and DSM. 

Fernando Machado will be joining NotCo as Chief Marketing Officer. Machado is a global marketer with a passion for growing brands and businesses. He is best known for pushing the creative boundaries to drive business growth and has been awarded with industry accolades. Prior to joining NotCo, Machado spent two years as CMO of Activision Blizzard, an interactive entertainment and gaming company. 

Nutrition21 welcomed Volkan Eren as Vice President of Sales and Business Development and Catherine Kwik-Uribe as Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs. In addition, Matt Ruggiero was promoted to Marketing Manager and John Tenorio was promoted to Account Manager.

Pharmacognosist Joseph M. Betz, Ph.D., has been elected to the American Botanical Council (ABC) Board of Trustees. Dr. Betz served in the United States government for 33 years, 12 years as a research chemist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and 21 years at the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). For the past four-and-a-half years, he was the acting director of ODS. 

Small Axe Peppers appointed Daniel Fitzgerald as President & CEO. Fitzgerald succeeds John A. Crotty, who will become Chairman. As part of his new role, Fitzgerald will embark on a cross-country Community Gardens Awareness Tour to highlight the people, places and partners who make up the Small Axe community. He will be documenting the journey and sharing it on the brands’ social media channels.