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The United Dairy Industry of Michigan is building a new future this year with a change of leadership.
Sharon Toth will be retiring as UDIM’s CEO, and her successor will be Dwyer Williams. Williams has been working for dairy farmers for nearly a decade with Dairy Management Inc.
“Most recently, I was the chief transformation officer—looking into the future and understanding signals of change in markets, consumer needs and preferences, and building a plan for the industry to win in the future,” says Williams. “It has been my greatest pleasure to work directly for farmers and understand the issues and opportunities that are ahead for dairy farmers.”
William’s experiences with the national organization lead her to visit hundreds of dairy farms and speak with many farmers. She’s ready to put the time and work to learn about Michigan’s opportunities and challenges for dairy.
“The dairy farmers I’ve worked with in Michigan, they are progressive—they are pioneers,” she says. “I’m looking forward to taking my knowledge in innovation, research and development, and insights around consumers to build a plan to ensure dairy is in the hearts and minds of consumers today and tomorrow.”
Some of that includes building on UDIM’s existing marketing strategies with the rest of the team.
“Working with the staff to look at the next 10 years or so and make sure we have the right plan with enough flexibility to change, pivot, and ensure we’re looking at our programming in a way that’s measurable and returns results to Michigan dairy farmers,” says Williams.
Williams will begin her new role on February 14. For my full interview with Williams, you can check out the January 25, 2022 edition of the MAT Podcast on your preferred podcast app or the player below.