Connie Tipton, IDFA CEO and President, Bids Farewell

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Connie Tipton, the president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and longtime voice of dairy foods companies in Washington, D.C., announced Monday that she will retire at the end of this year. Tipton, who has led the association since 2004, made the announcement before 1,000 dairy executives and other industry stakeholders at the annual Dairy Forum being held this week at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

“I have decided to retire at the end of 2016 after 35 fulfilling years representing the dairy foods industry,” Tipton said. “I have had a wonderful career working with this industry and appreciate all of the opportunities I have been given, the friends I have made and the fun I have had.”

Tipton joined the staff of the Milk Industry Foundation and the International Ice Cream Association in May of 1981, before IDFA existed. That’s where she met her late husband, Tip Tipton, CEO of the associations from 1988 to 2003, and they were married in 1983. Together, they reached many milestones and led significant changes in the industry, including the launch of the Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party in 1982 and the first International Sweetener Colloquium and Dairy Forum, also launched in the 1980s, to bring differing points of view together on policy issues.

In 1990, they formed IDFA as the umbrella organization for the Milk Industry Foundation, the International Ice Cream Association and the National Cheese Institute, and successfully pushed for passage of legislation in the 1990 Farm Bill that established the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP).

After noting the overlapping tenures that created a 50-plus year “Tipton dynasty” in dairy, Tipton said, “It’s certainly time for a change.”

A transition committee of six executives from IDFA member companies will oversee the process for selecting the association’s next leader. Both internal and external candidates will be considered, Tipton said. Jeff Kaneb, executive vice president at HP Hood LLC, will chair the committee. Other committee members are Ed Mullins, executive vice president and CEO, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.; Mike Reidy, senior vice president - corporate affairs, Leprino Foods Company and chairman of IDFA; Patricia Stroup, vice president and chief procurement officer, Nestle USA, Inc.; Gregg Tanner, CEO of Dean Foods Company; and Mike Wells, president and CEO of Wells Enterprises, Inc.

Some Washington-based sources say they would not rule out current USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack as potentially replacing Tipton.

Comments: The search committee to replace Tipton has just started its work. It would make some sense for Vilsack to take the position if offered as it would keep him in DC, and at a post with a salary above his current Cabinet-level post. Plus, he has taken a major interest in food policy issues, with passion, while at the helm of USDA. And, Vilsack would bring his stature as a Cabinet official to the IDFA post, carrying on what has been a rich tradition for the Tiptons relative to the IDFA.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.