The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has named Clint Lewis, Executive Vice President and President, U.S. Operations, Zoetis, as the 2015 Agribusiness Leader of the Year.This award, which is NAMA's highest honor, recognizes outstanding leadership in private, public or academic service and is conferred each year to a senior agribusiness executive who not only exemplifies excellence in agribusiness but has also made significant contributions to the industry. Now in its 15th year, the award will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2015 Agri-Marketing Conference, "Growing Greatness," April 16, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo.
Zoetis is the world's largest animal health company, established when Pfizer announced that its animal health business would become an independent company. Mr. Lewis helped launch the entity and now oversees the management of the livestock (cattle, pork, and poultry) and companion animal (small animal and equine) businesses in the United States and is also responsible for leading the global genetics business.
Mr. Lewis has helped to spearhead Zoetis' ongoing commitment to support and help advance the veterinarian and livestock producer profession to continuously raise the bar on animal health. Through funding student scholarships, internships, research fellowships and professional continuing education workshops, Zoetis does more to support the veterinarian and producer profession in the U.S. than any other company.
One example of this is the innovative Commitment to Veterinarians platform-a far-reaching, multi-dimensional strategy to address challenges facing the veterinary profession and help ensure its vibrant future-which was launched in 2010 under Mr. Lewis' leadership. Today, under the auspices of the Commitment to Veterinarians platform, Zoetis donates millions of dollars and countless hours to supporting the profession. The Zoetis Commitment to Veterinarians Facebook community now boasts 170,000engaged users-the largest such online community of veterinarians, technicians and allied audiences in the country. In addition, Zoetis' widely popular "Veterinarians on Call" series on YouTube, designed to educate consumers on the important role of vets through a reality-TV approach, boasts more than 4.4 million views and 3,600 subscribers. The series also has a substantial role in educating consumers who are increasingly curious about how their food is produced.
Mr. Lewis has been at the forefront of advancing diversity in the veterinary and animal health professions, specifically in educating the next generation of veterinarians. For six consecutive years, Zoetis has invited second- and third-year students of veterinary medicine to apply for the Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship Program. Since the launch of the scholarship program in the fall of 2010, more than $2.7 million in scholarship funding has been awarded to more than 1,100 exceptional veterinary students.
As a member of Zoetis' Executive Committee and immediate past chair of the Board of Directors for the Animal Health Institute (AHI), Mr. Lewis has played a key role in helping to advance legislation to support both veterinarian and livestock producer groups and to ensure support for animal care. A member of AHI since 2007, Mr. Lewis previously served as AHI chair for the 20011-2012 term. AHI is the trade association for the animal health industry in the U.S. advocating on various issues important to the industry, including efficient and effective regulatory and approval processes by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Prior to his current position, Mr. Lewis served as president, U.S. Operations in the Pfizer Animal Health organization. He joined Pfizer Animal Health in 2007 after nearly 20 years in Pfizer's human health operations.
About NAMANAMA is the nation's largest association for professionals in marketing and agribusiness. NAMA has been encouraging and recognizing excellence in the industry for more than 50 years through initiatives such as Agribusiness Leader of the Year and the NAMA Marketer of the Year. For more information, please visit nama.org or contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 (jennyp@nama.org).
About ZoetisZoetis (z?-EH-tis) is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 60 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented by diagnostic products and genetic tests and supported by a range of services. In 2014, the company generated annual revenues of $4.8 billion. With approximately 10,000 employees worldwide at the beginning of 2015, Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in 120 countries. For more information, visit www.zoetisUS.com.
3.2.2015