UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored two graduates with 2023 Outstanding Alumni Awards.
John Martin, of Oak Park, Illinois, and John Finegan, of Sacramento, California, were this year’s recipients. They received their awards during a banquet April 4 at the Graduate State College.
The Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes alumni for their achievements and provides opportunities for recipients to interact with the college’s faculty, students and other alumni. The recipients also were inducted into the Armsby Honor Society, which recognizes those who have demonstrated a commitment to the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Martin received his bachelor’s degree in food science from Penn State. He received his master’s degree in food science from Cornell University, with additional coursework from Rutgers University, the University of Georgia and Georgia State University.
He has more than 20 years of experience in specialty ingredients, food and beverage, and alcohol-related industries across a wide range of global companies. He has significant expertise in strategy, innovation and high-margin startup activities as an operator.
Martin has had successful consumer product launches in North America, Asia and Europe and has developed technology platforms to deliver research programs, including more than 10 utility patents. He is active in public and investor relations with key trade, industry and consumer press, including interviews with the BBC and Forbes magazine.
In March 2021, he joined the Olam Food Ingredients team as its global vice president of innovation, leading research and development on edible nuts. Previously, he held leadership positions at various food and beverage companies, including vice president of innovation and technical development at PureCircle, a global biotechnology sweetener ingredient company for the food, pharmaceutical and flavor industries.
Martin successfully developed and launched various consumer products worldwide at the Coca-Cola Co., Ferrara Candy Co. and Brown-Forman Corp. He also developed applications using fiber and active food ingredients while working for Beneo Co.
Finegan’s love for agriculture began early. He worked at Highland Orchards through high school and participated in a work-study program at Monrovia Nursery during his junior year at Penn State. In his senior year, a Peace Corps recruiter motivated him to sign up; within a month of receiving his bachelor’s degree in horticulture, he was in the Philippines serving in a two-year agricultural educator program.
He spent 15 years in various leadership positions with Chevron’s agriculture division before starting Beck Ag in 1997. The company, which is based in Wayne, Nebraska, engages farmers and other agricultural professionals to help them improve their operations.
Beck Ag pioneered an engagement model using experience-sharing and advocacy to accelerate behavior change and technology adoption, earning a stellar reputation for integrity, professionalism and credibility. The company has been on Inc. magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing-company list five times, employs the best professionals in agriculture, and pioneered a virtual corporate model allowing most employees to work from home offices.
In 1997, Finegan established a Penn State Ag Leadership Endowment in his father’s name. He has served on the college’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program advisory board since 2016 and has judged the Ag Springboard student business-pitch competition for several years. He also is a member of the Arboretum at Penn State’s Founders Circle.