AAD is an innovative R&D company dedicated to bringing highly accurate, rapid animal diagnostic tests to the farm. The company’s first on-farm product will focus on improving milk production and quality by earlier, more accurate detection of mastitis, an infection of the milk-producing gland.

Francis Adriaens will lead the marketing function and be responsible for sales outside of North America. He brings a strong background in the animal health and life sciences industries, serving most recently as director of global marketing for Merck Animal Health. He was responsible for a portfolio of ruminant products and oversaw several successful product launches. He also led sales and marketing efforts for Renessen LLC and held a number of sales, marketing and product development roles at Monsanto.

His experience in managing dairy sales teams in global markets will also be critical as AAD expands beyond North America in coming years. Adriaens earned a bachelor’s degree in veterinary sciences, a master’s in zootechnics, and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Ghent in Belgium.

Gary Winter will focus on building a sales force and distribution network for AAD in North America. He comes to AAD from Novus International where he served as national sales manager of the specialty feed solutions team. Prior to that he was national sales manager of the ruminant products sales force where he led the development of a dairy sales force from the ground up, including recruitment, training, management and coordination with customer service and technical support teams.