MARk LYONS
President & CEO
Alltech
Dr. Mark Lyons is the CEO of Alltech, based at the company’s headquarters in Kentucky. He represents the second generation of the global business his father, Dr. Pearse Lyons, founded in 1980.
Based on Alltech's belief that agriculture has the greatest potential to shape our world's future, Dr. Lyons launched the company's vision of Working Together for a Planet of Plenty™ in 2019. He has called for collaboration to improve nutrition, human and animal well-being, and the preservation of natural resources. He has published papers and patents in areas ranging from enzyme production to global economics and is interested in the assurance of food safety and quality throughout the entire food chain.
Dr. Lyons has vast global experience, having simultaneously managed a biorefinery in Kentucky, established a plant in Serbia and created Alltech’s flagship yeast production facility in S̴̴o Pedro, Brazil. Dr. Lyons has spearheaded many critical projects, including simultaneously managing a biorefinery project in Kentucky, the establishment of a plant in Serbia and the creation of Alltech’s flagship yeast production facility in São Pedro, Brazil. His nearly four years in Mexico was focused on rebuilding the company’s solid state fermentation plant in Serdan, one of the largest of its kind in the world.
For 6 years from 2012, he was in China (the world’s largest feed market), as the cornerstone of Alltech’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region. From his home in Beijing, he traveled throughout the country, building bridges between China and the wider industry through research, education and strategic initiatives. relocated to China, the world’s largest feed market, as part of Alltech’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Living in Beijing and traveling throughout the country, he led the Alltech China office for six years and focused on building bridges between China and the wider industry through research, education and strategic initiatives. Earlier he served as director of North America from 2009 to 2011, and presided over the opening of new offices and a growing involvement in all agricultural sectors.
He has served as a board member of the American Feed Industry Association, and he is currently serving on the board of directors for Transylvania University. Dr. Lyons is active in many industry groups, such as the International Poultry Council, the National Turkey Federation, the National Chicken Council and the National Pork Producers Council. He is also vice president of the Soil and Fertilizer Alliance of China and is a committee member of the China Toxicology Association.
Dr. Lyons received his bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental science in 1999 from the University of Chicago. He received his master’s degree in brewing and distilling in 2001, followed by a Ph.D. in the area of solid-state fermentation, at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, and he has a working knowledge of Mandarin.
