J. Neil Orth to Retire From Charolais Association

After more than two decades of serving as the executive vice president of the American International Charolais Association (AICA), J. Neil Orth has recently announced his retirement. Before taking the helm at AICA, Orth spent more than 30 years as director of field services for the Drovers Journal and executive vice president of the International Brangus Breeders Association. 

Throughout Orth’s career, he has been an ardent supporter of young people through his work serving on many livestock show boards and committees and breed association junior programs. However, his most important contribution is through his mentoring of young men and women that have gone on to become outstanding career beef industry professionals.

As a breed executive, Neil’s ability to work across all demographics, both domestically and internationally, earned respect among his peers and a greater understanding of the complexities of beef production in America. His ability to encourage committees and boards to accept the incumbent fiduciary responsibilities resulted in sound financial positions. Under his leadership, AICA invested in technology upgrades and the implementation of programs that lead to its growth as one of the largest beef cattle breed associations in America.

In notifying the AICA board of his retirement, Orth said, “This breed has value throughout the beef industry after nearly a century of proven contributions toward quality. The financial commitments that have been made to technology improvements make our ability to service the membership a near real-time experience. In other words, I am confident in the position we are in and feel this is the right time for me to step away.”

A national search for the executive vice president position will begin immediately. Industry professionals with proven leadership skills can apply to AICA.EVP.Search@kreagermitchell.com.