January 26: Jeff Simmons

By Indy Rotary on January 22, 2021

Join us on Tuesday via Zoom to hear from Jeff Simmons the president and chief executive officer of Elanco Animal Health. A global leader with a 66-year track record of growth, Elanco provides comprehensive products and knowledge services to improve animal health, welfare and food animal production with 200 brands in 90 countries.

As the head of Elanco for the past decade, Simmons has directed the company’s transformation from a primarily US feed additive company to a premier global player with a diversified business. During Simmons’ tenure Elanco has quadrupled in size, created a unique innovation engine, completed 13 acquisitions, and built five new businesses, including a $1 billion companion animal business, and a leading aquaculture business. In 2018, Simmons navigated the company’s separation from Eli Lilly and Company, culminating with Elanco’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent public company solely dedicated to animal health. Most recently, he has orchestrated the industry’s largest acquisition to date with the completion of Elanco’s purchase of Bayer Animal Health.

In his 30 years with the company, Simmons has held an array of roles, from sales and marketing to R&D across multiple continents. In these roles, Simmons gained a new perspective on food, agriculture and companionship that has sparked a deep conviction for the power of healthy animals. Healthier animals are the key to solving some of the world’s most pressing issues, such as food security and nutrition, human health and well-being, and environmental sustainability. Animals are the x-factor the world has been looking for – the game-changing variable that will unlock solutions to these seemingly disconnected issues of physical, mental and environmental health. The Elanco team is purpose-driven, chasing a vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life.

Simmons brings his passions for food security and enabling leaders to life daily through his pursuits with Hatch™ and Edge Mentoring. As the co-founder of Hatch, Simmons and the team have created a unique, donation-free model to deliver sustained food security through eggs to food banks across the country. Simmons also founded Edge Mentoring, one of the fastest-growing mentorship organizations in the country, designed to equip and accelerate whole-life excellence in leaders.

Simmons has also held a number of leadership positions, including serving as a former board member and chairman of the compensation committee for Chiquita Brands. He has completed terms as president of the Health for Animals, chairman of the FFA Foundation Board and as a board member of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.

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