Washington, D.C., January 12, 2021 —The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, is pleased to announce that Barry Ritz, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President, Professional R&D and Regulatory Affairs, Atrium Innovations, has been elevated to chair of the association’s Board of Directors. Dr. Ritz was elected Chair-Elect in 2019 and will hold the chairman position through 2022, succeeding David Campbell, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs NA and Global Regulatory Affairs, Bayer Consumer Healthcare. Mr. Campbell will continue to serve on the Board as immediate past chair.
Dr. Ritz has been involved in the dietary supplement industry for over 20 years and has served on CRN’s Executive Committee since 2017. For over 12 years he has been working for Atrium Innovations, a globally recognized leader in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative, science-based dietary supplements for health care professionals and their patients. In 2018, Nestle Health Science acquired Atrium Innovations. Dr. Ritz is currently responsible for all R&D functions, including product development and clinical trials, as well as all FDA and FTC-related regulatory functions related to products, product labels and marketing claims. His academic background is in nutritional immunology, studying the influence of age and nutritional status on the innate immune response to viruses, specifically influenza virus infection. Dr. Ritz has presented his research at national and international meetings and has numerous publications in scientific journals and texts.
“I’m excited about the coming two years and the opportunities they present for CRN and the dietary supplement industry,” Ritz said. “Our board has just adopted a new strategic plan that will strengthen CRN’s role in developing initiatives that expand awareness of the benefits of these products and consumer access to them. I’m honored to be leading the organization at a time when there is so much interest in better nutrition and health.”
Dr. Ritz’s new role follows elections for CRN’s Board of Directors last fall. CRN’s 2021 Board of Directors is listed below with Executive Committee appointees noted with an asterisk. The Executive Committee provides strategic direction to the Board on important topics affecting CRN’s member companies and the dietary supplement industry. Board Officers are identified in parentheses on the list. Steve Mister, CRN President & CEO, will continue to serve as a Board Officer. Harvey Kamil, Piping Rock Health Products, past CRN chair (2015-2016), will remain Chair Emeritus, serving as a non-voting member of CRN’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
CRN Board of Directors 2021
Manufacturers
- Aaron Bartz, Ortho Molecular Products*
- Kyle Blackburn, Xymogen
- Paul Bolar, Pharmavite LLC*
- David Campbell, Bayer HealthCare (Immediate Past Chair)*
- Greg Chabidon, RB Health US, LLC*
- Mike Finamore, Gemini Pharmaceuticals
- Bill Frankos, Herbalife, Ltd.
- Rob Fried, ChromaDex, Inc.
- Laura Harkness, Church and Dwight Co. Inc. (Treasurer)*
- David Hilton, Natrol, LLC
- Mark Hornick, Jamieson Wellness Inc.
- Kirk Jowers, doTERRA International*
- Mandy Kraynik, Nature’s Way Brands*
- Duffy MacKay, CV Sciences
- Tara Martin, Nutrawise Health & Beauty Corporation dba youtheory (Chair Elect)*
- Tom Mondragon, Olly PBC
- Diana Morgan, Care/Of
- Ken Myers, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.
- Lisa Pankiewicz, The Clorox Company/Nutranext*
- Scott Ravech, Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes (Secretary)*
- Chris Reid, Plexus Worldwide, LLC
- Barry Ritz, Nestle Health Science (Chair)*
- Oliver Sanders, GSK Consumer Healthcare*
- Craig Sheehan, Activ Nutritional, LLC
- Lynne Szczepaniak, Zarbee’s Naturals/J&J
- Michelle Stout, Amway/Nutrilite
- Ben Teicher, Healthy Directions, LLC
- Tony True, Charlotte’s Web
- Adel Villalobos, Lief Labs
- Mark Walsh, MeriCal, LLC
Ingredient suppliers
- Frederic Boned, DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.*
- Bruce Brown, Natreon Inc.*
- Sandy Chien, IMCD US, LLC
- Sherry Duff, Innophos, Inc.
- Justin Green, Cargill Health & Nutrition
- Jim Hamilton, Omniactive Health Technologies
- John Helfrick, BASF Corporation
- James Komorowski, Nutrition 21
- Karen Todd, Kyowa Hakko U.S.A, Inc.
In addition, Dr. Ritz appointed the following committee chairs:
- Audit Committee — Bruce Brown, Natreon Inc.
- Consumer Survey Subcommittee — Tom Druke, Balchem
- Communications and Media Outreach Committee — Ruth Winker, Jamieson Wellness Inc.
- Government Relations Committee — Bethany Davis, MegaFood
- Government Relations State Subcommittee — Ingrid Lebert, Pharmavite
- International Trade and Market Development Committee — Deshanie Rai, Omniactive (Co-Chair) and Garnet Thompson, Jamieson Wellness Inc. (Co-Chair)
- Legal Committee — Tara Falsani, Nature’s Way
- Membership Committee — Mark Hornick, Jamieson Wellness Inc.
- Personnel & Compensation Committee — Paul Bolar, Pharmavite LLC
- Probiotics Working Group — Jeremy Bartos, Merical
- Regulatory Affairs Committee — Diana Morgan, Care/Of (Co-Chair), and Joanne Lasrado, Kemin (Co-Chair)
- Retailer Relations Forum — Tom Mondragon, Olly
- Senior Scientific Advisory Council — Susan Mitmesser, Pharmavite (Chair) and Alex Eapen, Cargill (Vice Chair)
- Sports Nutrition Working Group — Jim Komorowski, JDS Therapeutics, LLC (Chair) and Adam Branfman, Atrium Innovations (Vice Chair)
For a complete list of CRN member companies, visit CRN’s website. For information on membership with CRN, please contact Carl Hyland, vice president, membership development, CRN, at 202-204-7674 or chyland@crnusa.org.
Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements and LinkedIn.