Alltech has appointed Vice President Aidan Connolly as chief innovation office (CIO) as part of the company’s global research department. Connolly will work closely with Dr. Karl Dawson, vp and chief scientific officer in developing their innovation pipeline and take products from test scale to commercial scale.

Aidan Connolly has been named Alltech’s Chief Innovation Officer, responsible for the commercialization of Alltech’s research. He will be based at Alltech’s corporate headquarters near Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

In his new role, Connolly will put together a team within the company’s research department that will primarily focus on developing innovative, nutrition-based technologies. Their new product development will capitalize on the insights gained through the company’s considerable investment in nutrigenomics, the science of how diet affects gene expression.

“Giving a rapid and effective response, backed up by cutting-edge scientific research, to the market’s changing needs, has always been one of Alltech’s biggest strengths. It is all about how these technologies are implemented to the market,” said Connolly.

Connolly brings a strong commercial background to Alltech’s research team. He graduated from University College Dublin with a master’s degree in international marketing. He has been with Alltech for nearly 25 years, initially in Ireland, and then in France, Brazil and the U.S. He is also an adjunct professor of marketing at University College Dublin and professor of agribusiness at the China Agricultural University in Bejing.

Dawson said of the appointment, “As Alltech is moving forward to become a $4 billion company in the next 4-5 years, it is crucial that the company’s research and technical teams work hand-in-hand with sales and marketing. With Aidan joining our group, we will be even more strongly placed to support the industry with science-based nutritional solutions.”