Land O'Lakes, Inc. announced that Beth Ford has been promoted to group executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Purina Animal Nutrition and U.S. Dairy Foods businesses. In addition, she will retain her previous responsibilities for Supply Chain and Operations, Information Technology and Research and Development across the entire Land O'Lakes, Inc. enterprise.

"Beth has done a remarkable job of establishing and leading a fully integrated supply chain and operations function. Adding IT and R&D to her responsibilities has resulted in even stronger functional teamwork and improved operating effectiveness. These accomplishments and her stronger partnerships with the business units opened new opportunities with our customers and built capabilities for continued rapid growth," said Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes, Inc. "Beth's promotion continues my commitment to executive development and succession management."

Ford joined Land O'Lakes in 2011 from International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF). At IFF, she was responsible for optimizing the company's global manufacturing infrastructure, including consolidation of multiple international facilities as well as the construction of new manufacturing facilities in India, China and Singapore. Prior to IFF, she held leadership positions at companies in multiple industries including PepsiCo/Pepsi Bottling Group, Mobil Oil and Scholastic Corporation.