Maola Local Dairies Promotes Patrick Asbury to Executive VP, Operations

Maola Local Dairies has promoted Patrick Asbury to Executive Vice President, Operations, alongside a broader strengthening of its executive team to support a period of significant brand growth and product innovation. In this role, Asbury will lead operations across Maola’s processing and distribution network, with responsibility for operational performance, safety, and continuous improvement.

Asbury brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across the dairy, food, and automotive industries. Since joining Maola in 2019, he has led plant operations and multi-site initiatives spanning LEAN transformations, organizational integration, and large-scale capital projects. His focus on operational excellence and disciplined capital deployment keeps Maola’s plants running efficiently in support of the cooperative’s farmer-owners and customers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Otterbein University.

Asbury succeeds Todd Aarons, who retired from the operations executive role after more than a decade of service to the cooperative and over thirty years in dairy, having led the operations organization through a period of significant growth and modernization. Among his contributions was hiring Asbury as Plant Director of Maola’s Newport News facility, making the promotion a handoff between mentor and a leader he brought into the cooperative.

“Todd hired me at Maola, and I’ve learned a great deal from him in the years since,” said Asbury. “Following him in this role is genuinely humbling. Our plants and distribution network are where the commitment we make to customers and to our farmer-owners becomes real every day, and I’m proud to help lead that work as the cooperative continues to grow.”

“Patrick’s deep operational knowledge and proven leadership make him exactly the right person to lead this part of our business forward,” said Jon Cowell, Chief Executive Officer of Maola Local Dairies. “He has earned this role through years of strong work in our plants, and I’m confident in where he’ll take our operations.”

Mike John, who has given more than two decades to the cooperative and his entire career to the broader dairy and agribusiness community, will retire later this year. To align Maola’s leadership with its next phase of growth, Lindsay Reames has been named Executive Vice President, Growth & Brand, with the Sales organization reorganized under her leadership—a portfolio that includes Farmer in the Fridge, the cooperative’s largest market-wide brand campaign in decades, which launched June 1. Jason Smith has been named Executive Vice President, Milk Marketing & Membership, with Sustainability & Member Services moving into his organization to further align the cooperative’s member-focused functions.

These moves follow a year of sustained innovation for Maola, including the launch of Maola More™ ultra-filtered milk, Maola Strawberry Whole Milk, the Farmer in the Fridge brand platform, and more.

“Each of these leaders brings the experience and vision to carry Maola into its next chapter,” said Cowell. “These moves reflect a deliberate investment in our team as we build on the strongest period of brand and product momentum the cooperative has seen in decades. With this team in place, we’re positioned to keep delivering value for the farm families who own Maola and the customers we serve.”

Maola Local Dairies™ is a farmer-owned cooperative sustainably producing a full suite of nutritious dairy products. Maola processes milk, cream, butter and dry milk powders through our network of dairy processing plants. With a keen eye on quality, freshness and love for the environment, Maola delivers dairy products that are both nutritious and sustainable to our local communities.