The Meat Institute hired industry veteran Nicole Johnson-Hoffman as chief operating officer (COO) and promoted Bryan Burns to general counsel.
Both personnel moves were announced on January 2.
About Nicole Johnson-Hoffman
Johnson-Hoffman begins transitioning into the role in January 2025 as Mark Dopp, the Meat Institute’s outgoing COO and general counsel, prepares to retire in March of 2025.
She began her career as an attorney at Cargill where she eventually became Vice President, Law, Cargill Meat Solutions, and later, Vice President and General Manager of Cargill Beef at Fort Morgan, Colorado. Subsequently, she was the Vice President, Managing Director of Cargill’s Value-Added Protein/Cargill McDonald’s Business Unit where she managed Cargill’s McDonald’s business segments in the U.S. and Canada.
After 19 years at Cargill, in 2016 Nicole joined OSI Group as Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer where she managed the company’s global McDonald’s business unit, encompassing 64 markets, and led OSI’s global sustainability strategy, creating infrastructure for successful execution.
Johnson-Hoffman served two terms as the President of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and was the founding Chairperson for the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, both key partners in the Protein PACT.
From 2022 to 2023, Johnson-Hoffman served as CEO and Executive Board Member of the Israeli cultivated meat startup Future Meat Technologies (d/b/a Believer Meats), leading the creation of a new consumer-facing brand, building a professional leadership team, and implementing foundational systems in Finance, HR, Legal, IT, and Corporate Governance.
“Nicole Johnson-Hoffman brings a wide breadth of experience in the regulatory, legal, and sustainability fields of the animal protein industry,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “Her various roles have prepared her well to oversee operations at the Meat Institute at a critical time for the industry and during a time of great change and innovation.”
About Bryan Burns
Bryan Burns has worked for the Meat Institute for two years as Vice President and Associate General Counsel. He serves as the staff liaison for the Worker Safety Committee, the Environmental Committee, and the Labor & Employment Committee. He has managed key regulatory issues including the ongoing EPA Effluent Limitations Guidelines, a number of new OSHA and Department of Labor regulations and has worked to provide education on child trafficking and identity fraud, and to develop best practices for members to follow in determining workforce eligibility.
As the Biden Administration proposed new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act, Burns has taken a leading role in determining legal and regulatory strategy for the Meat Institute.
Burns has testified twice before Congress regarding the economic and regulatory state of the meat and poultry industry, including before the House Agriculture Committee, and regarding labor and immigration issues before a bipartisan working group of members of the House Agriculture Committee.
Prior to joining the Meat Institute staff, Burns was General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Vice President of Risk Management and Environmental, Health and Safety at Bachoco OK Foods. In addition to being responsible for all legal and corporate governance matters, Burns led the company’s COVID strategy, worker safety, environmental, and sustainability efforts.
Prior to Bachoco OK Foods, Burns was employed at Tyson Foods where he was Senior Counsel for 15 years. Besides complex litigation in areas such as antitrust, environmental, and consumer class actions, and handling government agency investigations in a variety of subject matters, Burns worked on Packers and Stockyards Act issues.
“Members of the Meat Institute benefit from Bryan’s ongoing in-house leadership on legal and regulatory strategies for the industry combined with his considerable experience tackling the day-to-day issues as counsel for meat and poultry companies,” said Potts.
