Urner Barry announced several senior level appointments on Feb. 22.
AgriBriefing, the leading media and information business for the global agribusiness sector, has initiated a period of significant investment in Urner Barry to deliver greater value for subscribing customers in the Americas and overseas.
Kris Carlson has been appointed Executive Director of Urner Barry, and CEO Americas for AgriBriefing. In addition to leading the U.S. Senior Management Group, Carlson will be promoting AgriBriefing’s platform across the Americas and working to expand the AgriBriefing presence outside of Europe. Previously, he was President of Business Information at Farm Journal Media, and prior to that he was Global Head of Agriculture and Metals at Thomson Reuters.
Joe Muldowney has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President and is a member of the Senior Management Group. Muldowney joined Urner Barry in 1989 as a COMTELL Sales Representative. In 1992, he became a Market Reporter for the Yellow Sheet, which publishes red meat markets and commentary. Muldowney reports on several red meat markets, is Editor of Urner Barry’s Red Meat Report and Managing Editor of Urner Barry’s Reporter newsmagazine. He was previously Vice President of the Red Meat Division, with additional responsibility in the areas of sales and customer care.
Jim Kenny has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President, and in addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Senior Management Group, will oversee our Seafood Division. Kenny joined Urner Barry in 1994 as National Accounts Representative in the Instant Market News division, and was later promoted to the position of Boxed Beef Market Reporter. He also served as Manager of the Instant News Department for the firm. Kenny was previously Director of Business Development for Urner Barry, with additional responsibilities in the areas of pork and seafood market reporting.
Chris Ashley has been appointed to the position of Senior Vice President, and in addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Senior Management Group, will continue to lead our Print and Mail Division. Ashley joined Urner Barry in 1995 as the Associate Editor of the Yellow Sheet. He also served as Manager of the Instant Market News Department for the company. Ashley was previously the Director of Operations for Urner Barry, focusing his attention mainly on the printing and mailing division.
Frank McQuarrie has been appointed to the position of Senior Vice President, and in addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Senior Management Group, will continue to lead our Information Technology Department. McQuarrie joined Urner Barry in 1988 as a Computer Programmer and Network Administrator, where he created a new front end to the satellite version of COMTELL. In 1995, Frank wrote the company's first website (www.urnerbarry.com). In 1998, he wrote a new version of COMTELL using the internet as opposed to satellites for its content delivery. McQuarrie was previously IT Director.
Russ Whitman has been appointed to the position of Senior Vice President and will oversee all of our Market Reporting Initiatives. Whitman joined Urner Barry in 1986 and was initially involved with COMTELL sales and support. He also served as Manager of the Instant Market News Department and coordinated the company's marketing efforts. In addition to his primary market reporting responsibilities, Whitman is actively engaged in all facets of Urner Barry's media products and is the Editor of multiple publications. He was most recently Vice President of the Poultry Division.
The executive team of Paul Brown, Rick Brown and Mike O'Shaughnessy continue to work closely with Urner Barry management and will gradually reduce their involvement over the coming months.
Neil Thackray, CEO AgriBriefing added, “We continue to invest in the strength and depth of the team at Urner Barry so that we can continue to provide the quality market transparency the market expects from the benchmark pricing service that the industry has trusted for 160 years.”
