Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) announced yesterday the appointment of Kevin O’Donnell as the Cooperative’s new senior vice president, sustainability. In this role, Kevin will be responsible for steering DFA’s sustainability activities and evolving the Cooperative’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts enterprise wide.
“Kevin is a proven leader with tremendous experience in sustainability, and we’re thrilled to have him join our senior leadership team,” says Monica Massey, executive vice president and chief of staff for DFA. “We continue to make progress on our commitment to produce sustainably-made milk and other dairy products. Kevin’s knowledge and experience will be important in guiding our path forward.”
Kevin comes to DFA from FTW Ventures, an early-stage venture fund investing in sustainability focused agriculture and food technology startups, where he served as sustainability strategy advisor. Previously, he held positions at General Mills, Nike, the Chicago Manufacturing Center, Minnesota Technology, Inc., and the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance. In these roles, he established himself as a recognized expert in sustainability and gained broad experience across a range of sectors, most recently with the food value chain from field to plate.
“DFA and its farm families have a great sustainability story to tell, and I’m looking forward to helping write the next chapter,” says O’Donnell. “Through customer partnerships, industry relationships and innovation, we have a lot of opportunity to advance our environmental stewardship on farms and in facilities.”
Kevin holds degrees from Hamline University and the University of St. Thomas.
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a national, farmer-owned dairy cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 11,500 family farm-owners, DFA manufactures nearly every form, function and flavor of nutritional dairy products, including fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, dairy ingredients and more that connect our Cooperative’s family farms to family tables with regional brands such as Alta Dena® Dairy, Meadow Gold® Dairy, Friendly®’s, Borden® Cheese, Plugrá® Premium Butter and Kemps® to name a few. On a global scale, we work with some of the world’s leading food companies to develop ingredients that deliver the greatest source of nutrition to consumers around the world, while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit DFA Milk.