Mark Kaminsky, chief operating officer of Koch Foods, was installed as 2021-2022 chairman of the National Chicken Council (NCC) during NCC’s Annual Conference, held this week in Washington, D.C. It is Kaminsky’s second term as NCC chairman, previously serving from 2018-2019.
Kaminsky started his career at Arthur Andersen after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Accounting at DePaul University. He began his career with Koch Foods in 1990 on the financial side of the business but learned the operational side, including live processing through Koch’s move to become a vertically integrated poultry company in 1996. He has assisted in Koch’s growth from a one-plant operation to one of the leading poultry companies in the United States, through acquisitions, green field site developments and internal expansion.
Other officers
Kevin Garland, CEO of Mountaire Farms, will serve as vice chairman. Mountaire has been in the Cameron family (Kevin’s wife, Sherrill) for over 100 years. Garland has spent the entirety of his career building and leading industrial businesses. Prior to Mountaire, he was a managing partner at The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm in Houston, for 17 years. Previously, Garland was at Enron in mergers and acquisitions, and leading the private equity group. He began his career in investment banking at Stephens Inc. He received a B.A. from Rhodes College and an M.B.A. with honors from Vanderbilt University.
New to the NCC officer corps is Perdue Farms CEO Randy Day, who will serve as secretary-treasurer. Day leads the company’s senior leadership team, including Perdue Foods, Perdue AgriBusiness, and Perdue Farms corporate functions. He was named CEO in March of 2017, after serving as chief operating officer since May of 2016. Day began his professional career with Perdue Farms in 1980, holding various positions of increasing responsibility in the company’s two operating divisions, Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness. He received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Western Maryland College, earned a master’s degree in poultry nutrition from the University of Maryland-College Park, and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
In addition to the three new officers, Mike Brown was elected to an eleventh term as President of NCC.
“2021 has been a challenge for many industries across the United States, and across the world, including the chicken industry,” said Brown. “The determination, innovation and fortitude of this industry continue to amaze me, especially during a year faced with labor shortages, inflation, sky-rocketing input costs, transportation and shipping challenges, and more. As we continue to recover, I will rely on the collective expertise of Mark, Kevin and Randy to shape our priorities and provide direction for NCC and the industry in 2022.”
