Anne Alonzo, president and CEO of the American Egg Board (AEB) will be stepping down from her role.
Alonzo notified the membership and board of the AEB of her decision, which will be effective mid-April.
She has been president and CEO of the AEB since 2016.
In her letter to the AEB board, Alonzo explained that while she was not looking for a new job, “a challenging professional opportunity” found her. While she didn’t identify her future endeavor, she said she will join a newly-public agriculture company and lead its Washington D.C. office.
“Throughout my time at AEB, I was blessed to have the support and friendship of so many folks. A heartfelt thank you goes to several past and present AEB Chair(s)—Paul Sauder, Blair Van Zetten and Jeff Hardin for their tremendous support and counsel. My admiration and gratitude go to my entire staff including my leadership team—John Howeth, Sofia Therios, Mickey Rubin, Bo Gasic, Nate Hedtke and a special mention to my right hand, Gwen Ramirez, for their efforts advancing AEB’s mission. A special shout out to USDA’s Jason Julian and, more recently, Craig Shackelford, as well as consultant, David Fraser for their dedication to the AEB,” Alonzo wrote.
“Going forward, I am confident that AEB’s next leaders can powerfully take AEB’s strong foundation and marketplace value and achieve even greater success in the coming decade.”
During her tenure with the AEB, she received multiple honors, including Latino Magazine’s BRAVA Award, a Chicago United 2019 Business Leader of Color and a Chicago Maestro Award.
In sharing the news with the board, AEB Chair Jeff Hardin said: “Anne substantially transformed and strengthened the AEB — AEB is in a much better place. We are so very grateful for her dedication, many contributions and friendship. We will miss her lots but we're happy for her new opportunity.”
Alonzo will remain with AEB until mid-April to assist in the transition and help deliver two major events — the annual board meeting and the White House Easter Egg Roll.