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Terry Branstad steps down at World Food Prize; group begins search for new chief executive

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Terry Branstad steps down at World Food Prize; group begins search for new chief executive

Not quite two years after taking the helm of the World Food Prize Foundation, former U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad will retire as president of the prestigious, Des Moines-based group that honors the work of scientists, political leaders and other hunger fighters with an annual cash prize.

The World Food Prize Foundation said Tuesday that Branstad, a former Iowa governor and the first Trump administration’s chief diplomat in China, will step down Jan. 31. Chief Operating Officer Mashal Husain will take his place, and the nonprofit will begin searching for a chief executive, a newly created position that doesn’t yet have an established title.

The World Food Prize brings hundreds of people — a mix of world political leaders, scientists, corporate executives, policymakers, activists and smallholder farmers — to Iowa’s capital each fall to discuss ways to battle global hunger.

The event culminates in the award of the World Food Prize, founded by Iowa native Norman Borlaug in 1986. Borlaug, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, is remembered as the “father of the Green Revolution,” who saved a billion people from hunger via research that led to the creation of drought-resistant, high-yielding wheat varieties.

More: Iowa former Gov. Terry Branstad starts new pro-business advocacy group

The foundation doubled the World Food Prize’s size last year to $500,000, surprising 2023 winner Heidi Kühn, the founder of Roots of Peace, a nonprofit that works with groups to remove mines from war-torn land so residents may resume farming it.

This year’s prize, awarded Oct. 31, went to Cary Fowler, the U.S. special envoy for global food security, and Geoffrey Hawtin, founding director at the Global Crop Diversity Trust. They are the duo behind establishment of the so-called Arctic Circle “Doomsday vault” holding 1.25 million seed samples ― seeds that can be used to rebuild much of the world’s food supply if catastrophe hits.

Branstad served four terms as Iowa’s governor from 1983 to 1999, a tenure that encompassed the U.S. farm crisis, one of the worst economic downturns to hit the state. He returned to the governor’s office from 2010 to 2017, resigning when then-President Donald Trump tapped him as ambassador to China, a position he served in until 2020.

He also served as president of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He joined the World Food Prize Foundation in February 2023, and said in a statement that he’s “proud of how we’ve expanded our reach and deepened our commitment to building sustainable, resilient food systems worldwide.”

“For many years, I admired the foundation’s commitment to advancing global food security, and I have been inspired by the exceptional leaders and visionaries it recognizes,” said Branstad, who celebrated his 78th birthday Sunday.

“Ambassador Branstad’s leadership has left an indelible mark — strengthening the foundation’s global presence, financial stewardship and preparing it for an exciting future,” Paul Schickler, chairman of the World Food Prize Foundation, said in a statement.

A 16-year veteran at the World Food Prize, Husain has played “a key part in shaping the foundation’s growth and strategic direction,” the group said in a news release.

“Mashal’s deep expertise and passion make her the ideal choice for president of the foundation,” said Schickler, formerly president of DuPont Pioneer, the seed giant in Johnston that’s now owned by Corteva Agriscience. “With a career rooted in global perspectives, Husain embodies the foundation’s commitment to worldwide collaboration in food security.”

The foundation said the new chief executive it’s seeking will focus on organizational leadership and global diplomacy, while Husain will be responsible for broad oversight of the foundation. That includes overseeing its Youth Institute, which brings students, teachers and experts together to explore and address local, national and global food security issues, and the Borlaug Dialogue, the weeklong series of discussions and events in October that culminates with the World Food Prize being awarded at the Iowa Capitol.

The group said Husain will report to Schickler while the group searches for the new chief executive.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.

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