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Ambassador Branstad to retire from World Food Prize Foundation

Photo: Ambassador Terry Branstad (left) with Brownfield’s Brent Barnett at the 2024 World Food Prize Borlaug International Dialogue

The World Food Prize has announced Ambassador Terry Branstad will retire as president of the foundation in January.

Branstad, a former governor of Iowa and former U.S. Ambassador to China, has led the foundation since February 2023. Speaking to Brownfield at the recent Borlaug International Dialogue in Des Moines, he said working with the World Food Prize to advance global food security has been rewarding.

“I was an enthusiastic supporter of having the World Food Prize in Iowa from the beginning,” he said. “The state contributed a million dollars the first year back in 1990 when I was governor.”

Branstad says his tenure has been marked by a commitment to deepening the Foundation’s impact across generations, industries, and borders.

“This is all about building on that legacy, and continuing to improve nutrition and reduce starvation and hunger in the world,” he said.

Branstad will be succeeded by Mashal Husain, who’s been serving as the foundation’s chief operating officer. Husain first joined the foundation in 2008.

AUDIO: Ambassador Branstad reflects on career with World Food Prize