Murphy Resigns from Pork Board
US - Steve Murphy, the chief executive officer of the National Pork Board has resigned. He will leave the organisation once a successor has been found.
14 January 2008
3 minute read
Lynn Harrison, President of the 15-member National Pork Board said the board had reluctantly accepted the resignation, but says that finding a replacement could take up to a year.
"Over the past six years, Steve has built an organization that is the envy of agricultural commodity and other trade organizations," Harrison said. "We admire the work he has done and thank him for helping us become a board that is now fully prepared to take charge of its destiny. He has melded pork producer leadership with a talented and dedicated staff to create an organization that is issues-driven and results oriented."
Murphy, a pharmacist by training, has extensive experience both in agricultural sales and marketing and in creating successful information technology businesses. It was that entrepreneurial experience that led to his hiring in 2001.
"The board knew it was creating a new organization and it wanted someone with a different skill set than you typically find in the pork industry. It needed someone who knew how to start a business, and to set goals and to inspire people to move forward. Steve has excelled at all of those," said Harrison.
"If I had to sum it up, I’d say he has pushed us to be better than we thought we could be. At times, he was a step or two ahead of us, but I know that as volunteer board members who have our own businesses to run that we have learned to think more about strategic vision – to see beyond today’s challenges to tomorrow’s opportunities. We have some difficult decisions ahead, including how we structure ourselves and our producer committees to continue our success," he added
Some of the National Pork Board’s successes under Murphy’s leadership include:
"Over the past six years, Steve has built an organization that is the envy of agricultural commodity and other trade organizations," Harrison said. "We admire the work he has done and thank him for helping us become a board that is now fully prepared to take charge of its destiny. He has melded pork producer leadership with a talented and dedicated staff to create an organization that is issues-driven and results oriented."
Murphy, a pharmacist by training, has extensive experience both in agricultural sales and marketing and in creating successful information technology businesses. It was that entrepreneurial experience that led to his hiring in 2001.
"The board knew it was creating a new organization and it wanted someone with a different skill set than you typically find in the pork industry. It needed someone who knew how to start a business, and to set goals and to inspire people to move forward. Steve has excelled at all of those," said Harrison.
"If I had to sum it up, I’d say he has pushed us to be better than we thought we could be. At times, he was a step or two ahead of us, but I know that as volunteer board members who have our own businesses to run that we have learned to think more about strategic vision – to see beyond today’s challenges to tomorrow’s opportunities. We have some difficult decisions ahead, including how we structure ourselves and our producer committees to continue our success," he added
Some of the National Pork Board’s successes under Murphy’s leadership include:
- Getting the organisation to embrace anticipatory issues management
- protecting the future of one of the most successful brands in the country – Pork. The Other White Meat
- Reconnecting producers with the idea of working together through shared contributions and shared vision to accomplish goals they could not achieve alone
- Developing a staff that is accountable to both producers and to sound business principles.
