Newly Global Foods Business Group Leadership Kickoff for Graham Dugdale

Graham Dugdale has been named president of the J.R. Simplot Company's newly formed Global Foods business group.

Dugdale has worked for Simplot for 18 years, including the past five as managing director of the Australia business group. He started his career in the Finance sector in London, UK, before embarking into the food business in South Africa, his home country.

Simplot Global Foods was established following Mark McKellar's retirement after 27 years of service to the Company, including the previous 12 as president of Food Group. Under McKellar's leadership, Food Group expanded and improved several processing plants; built new, state-of-the-art facilities in Idaho and Argentina; and expanded its vision of global customer service, laying the groundwork for the Company's current success.

“This is an exciting new phase in global foods for the J.R. Simplot Company, one with great promise to better serve a growing customer base with more efficient operations, global supply delivery, and enhanced customer service. I’m grateful for this opportunity and am committed to helping the Company, our employees, and customers as we contribute to feeding our world,” Dugdale recently said.

According to Garrett Lofto, Simplot president and CEO, Dugdale is a strong, collaborative leader who has proven his value while leading the Simplot Australia division for several years and serving on the company’s senior leadership team.

“His track record, strategic thinking, and growth mindset make him the perfect choice to lead our employees and our global customer base into this exciting new phase,” Lofto added.

On the other hand, Lofto said about McKellar that he has been a transformational leader for Simplot.

“He helped us see the vision of what could be and put the structure in place to turn that vision into reality. His legacy with the J.R. Simplot Company will live long past his retirement,” the CEO concluded.

The J.R. Simplot Company is a family-owned, privately held global food and agriculture company headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Its integrated portfolio includes food processing and food brands, phosphate mining, fertilizer manufacturing, farming, ranching and cattle production, and other enterprises related to agriculture. Simplot has major operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, and China, with products and services available to customers worldwide.