International agriculture firm H.J. Baker & Bro. Inc. announced that Steve Azzarello has been hired as executive vice president for sales and marketing, reporting to Christopher Smith, president and CEO.
Azzarello began his career as a development engineer at UOP, a Honeywell company. He subsequently held management positions in sales, marketing and product development at Oil-Dri Corp. in Illinois and Novus International in Missouri. Most recently he was the vice president of corporate development at AMCOL International, an international chemical and mineral company based in Illinois.
Smith stated, "We are very pleased Steve is joining our team. He has a tremendous wealth of knowledge in sales, marketing and product development, which will be an asset as we continue to expand domestically and internationally."
Azzarello will be responsible for the commercial sales and marketing efforts of H.J. Baker's feed, fertilizer and sulfur groups. He will also be taking an active role in the development of strategic growth initiatives. Azzarello will be working from H.J. Baker's headquarters in Westport, Conn., and from his office in Illinois.
Azzarello graduated from Michigan Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and received a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Azzarello said, "I am honored to be joining the H.J. Baker family. They have a great reputation for superior products and outstanding customer service in the agriculture industry. I am looking forward to helping them grow their operations in markets where they have expertise and expand into new markets that complement that expertise. H.J. Baker plays a vital role in the feed, fertilizer and sulphur industries and I am very pleased to be a part of that effort."
Smith continued, "This has already been a great year for H.J. Baker. We recently announced the acquisition of two free-choice mineral companies in Brazil. We are expanding globally as well as domestically. Steve's vision and foresight will help us to continue to grow in a measured and pragmatic manner. We are excited he is joining the H.J. Baker family."
