Valent, Pace International Leader To Retire After 35 Years
February 27, 2014 Sumitomo Chemical Co., Limited (“Sumitomo”), Tokyo, Japan, announced that Michael Donaldson, president and CEO of Valent U.S.A. Corp. (Walnut Creek, CA), Valent BioSciences Corp. (Libertyville, IL), and Pace International (Seattle, WA), and executive officer for Sumitomo will retire at the end of March 2014.
Donaldson has held numerous leadership positions over his career in multinational companies around the world, with a focus on both biorational products and conventional chemicals for agriculture, forestry and public health. His pioneering work in the area of biorational products spanned more than 35 years and included research and development and business management positions with Sandoz Crop Protection, Abbott Laboratories and Sumitomo. In these roles, Donaldson led efforts to integrate biorational products as partners with conventional chemistries for pest management and the enhancement of crop quality and yield.
During his last 14 years with Sumitomo, Donaldson’s leadership significantly increased the global footprint of the Sumitomo biorational portfolio, culminating in the construction of the first world-class dedicated manufacturing facility for biorational products located in Osage, IA. This facility is representative of the strong foundation in biorationals built by Donaldson during his tenure with Sumitomo, and it also underpins the long-term commitment of Sumitomo to the future of biorationals. After his retirement, Donaldson will continue to support Sumitomo as an advisor, especially to the president of the Sumitomo Health and Crop Sciences Sector.
Sumitomo also announced that Andy Lee, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer of Valent U.S.A. Corp., will assume the role of president and CEO of Valent U.S.A. and Valent BioSciences. As the successor of Donaldson, Lee brings significant experience in both conventional and biorational agricultural products and will be responsible for leading the continued growth of the total portfolio of products from Sumitomo in the NAFTA region and globally for the biorational portfolio from Valent BioSciences. Ted Melnik, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Valent BioSciences, will assume the role of president of Pace International, the global leader in postharvest products.
In addition, Matt Plitt, currently vice president of sales for Valent U.S.A., has been appointed as the new executive vice president and chief operating officer of Valent U.S.A., succeeding Lee.
“We would like to congratulate Mr. Donaldson on his many years of service to the industry and welcome Mr. Lee, Mr. Plitt and Mr. Melnik to their new positions,” said Ray Nishimoto, director and managing executive officer and president of the Health and Crop Sciences Sector for Sumitomo.
Source: Valent
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