Dairy Management Inc. and the U.S. Dairy Export Council have announced the promotion of Krysta Harden from chief operating officer to president and CEO of USDEC.

She succeeds former USDEC president and CEO Tom Vilsack, who has been confirmed as secretary of agriculture in the Biden administration.

Harden was named USDEC COO in May 2020. During that time, she continued her role as executive vice president of global environmental strategy for DMI, which manages the national Dairy Checkoff.

Harden becomes only the third president and CEO to lead USDEC since its founding by DMI in 1995 and is its first female chief executive.

In her new role, Harden will leverage a strong background within agriculture, sustainability and food policy in fulfilling USDEC’s mission to promote dairy exports.

“Krysta has been an incredible addition to the DMI and USDEC staff and will do an excellent job for dairy farmers at USDEC,” Thomas Gallagher, DMI’s CEO, said in a press release.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Krysta’s background and experience in agriculture and with USDEC ready to step into this critical leadership role.”

Harden will direct a staff of dairy trade specialists, trade policy professionals, a global marketing team, a strategy and insights team, and oversee eight international offices.

She will continue to be active in global organizations, including the World Economic Forum, Global Child Nutrition Foundation and the upcoming U.N. World Food Systems Summit.

“Secretary Vilsack’s USDEC leadership since 2017 fine-tuned the organization to reach record growth in U.S. dairy exports, and l look to build on his legacy,” Harden said.

“I will continue his aggressive approach to engaging USDEC member companies, exporters and dairy producers in export market-development efforts. I’ll also work with DMI leadership on issues critical to the dairy industry while leveraging USDEC’s unique leadership role in promoting the United States’ preeminent position as sustainably producing the highest quality dairy products and ingredients anywhere in the world.”

Before joining DMI, Harden was chief sustainability officer with Corteva and DuPont. She also spent seven years working with Vilsack at USDA, nearly three of those years as deputy secretary. At USDA, Harden helped shape agriculture policy and led the implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill.

Prior to joining USDA, Harden was CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts, providing national leadership for thousands of conservation districts across the nation.