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Eight Questions with Dr. Lyons

March 21, 2018
Eight Questions with Dr. Lyons

Question: What is the most exciting thing to you about Ridley joining the Alltech family?

Dr. Lyons: When I think of Ridley joining the Alltech family, I think of the opportunities to bring our technology to ranchers and farmers around the world. For 35 years, we have developed technologies that help meat, milk and egg producers. This has been done according to our ACE principle of being friendly to Animal, Consumer and the Environment. With Ridley being an Alltech company, we can now connect to more ranchers and farmers and bring them technologies that, based on the initial responses, they are eager to see.

 

Question: How do the cultures of both Ridley and Alltech compare?

Dr. Lyons: I’ve known Ridley for 30 years and, although they were recently a publicly-traded company, they’ve always retained a real family background. Hubbard certainly had a family background and Ridley coming from the Australian side also had a family background. That family-focused culture fits well with Alltech’s own history and is highly respected and appreciated by ranchers and farmers. 

The Ridley team also has the same intense curiosity that Alltech was built upon. The Ridley managers and technical teams that I’ve met all want to find and apply new solutions in a quick and efficient manner to help meat, milk and egg producers around the world.

Ultimately, this is a perfect cultural fit of Family, Curiosity and Speed.

Question: How are producers, farmers and ranchers going to benefit from Ridley being an Alltech company?

Dr. Lyons: The fact of the matter is that ranchers and farmers are under immense pressure. They’re under pressure to produce more from less. They’re under pressure to avoid pollution. They’re under pressure to have total transparency. They’re under pressure to get the latest technology. One solution to these problems is science, and Alltech has a primacy in science. For example, Danish farmers are using Alltech technology to get 36 pigs per sow per annum, much more than their U.S. counterparts who don’t use our technology. Additionally, we are helping cows on the West Coast produce much more milk than some Midwest cows. By combining Ridley and Alltech’s primacy in the application of science, we are going to give ranchers and farmers access to the solutions they want and need.

Question: How do the employees of Alltech and the employees of Ridley benefit?

Dr. Lyons: Back in 1980, my wife and I were the only two employees. Fast forward to 2015 and we now have 4,200 smart and ambitious team members. Alltech is a private company and is not for sale. We, therefore, have the ability to be able to put our profits back into the company.

If I had to identify one big benefit that relates to our 4,200 team members, it would be opportunity. If our employees have curiosity and want to make things happen, then this is the place to be. Alltech will provide them with a lifetime of opportunity. 

Question: What is your vision for Ridley?

Dr. Lyons: We have a primacy in science and technology that ranchers and farmers around the world need and want. With Ridley, we have the opportunity to support more ranchers and farmers, especially in North America. I believe our journey together will be characterized by excitement and curiosity and ultimately take us past the $4 billion mark I’ve set as a goal.

Question: Alltech has a revenue goal of $4 billion in the next few years and even as much as $10 billion beyond that. How does Ridley help us achieve that goal together?

Dr. Lyons: By having critical mass, you can move much faster toward your goals. $10 billion is just a number. Are we going to be disappointed if we don’t get there fast enough? Of course not. Are we going to be disappointed if we don’t try to get there? Of course we are. When you have 4,200 people with a common goal, it’s a lot easier to get things done. Colin Powell said it best – we’ll talk, we’ll debate, we’ll do all of these things, but when we walk out that door, we’re on the same team with the same objective. 

Question: Well, interestingly, we were going to ask you about one piece of advice you would have for Ridley employees? Is it Colin Powell’s piece of advice or would you add to that?

Dr. Lyons: The first piece of advice I would give is be open to change. Alltech is all about change, advancement and moving forward. The second point I would make is be curious. Curiosity is at the core of Alltech. The third piece is be ambitious. Be ambitious for yourself and your family. We are all now part of a great team that is committed to creating opportunity.

Question: Ridley is Alltech’s eighth acquisition since 2011. Alltech also has multiple divisions - Alltech Nutrition, Alltech Beverage, Alltech Crop Science and Alltech Life Sciences. What’s next for the Alltech family of companies?

Dr. Lyons: There are certainly going to be very exciting things happening in the area of algae. I was at the algae facility recently, and the team there has a sense of excitement about the reality of us being able to capitalize on some new opportunities in the near future.

One thing is for sure, the opportunities will come fast and furious. At Alltech, we’ve always embraced opportunity, and we will continue to be an exciting and dynamic company. We will continue to embody the spirit of our recent REBELation international conference. I’ve had people come to me saying, Wow, what a meeting. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Well quite frankly, “they ain’t seen nothing yet!”

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