The Meat Institute announced that it has hired industry veteran Nicole Johnson-Hoffman to be chief operating officer. In addition, the organization announced the promotion of Bryan Burns to general counsel.

“Nicole Johnson-Hoffman brings a wide breadth of experience in the regulatory, legal and sustainability fields of the animal protein industry,” said Meat Institute president and chief executive officer Julie Anna Potts. “Her various roles have prepared her well to oversee operations at the Meat Institute at a critical time for the industry and during a time of great change and innovation.”

Potts added, “Members of the Meat Institute benefit from Bryan’s ongoing in-house leadership on legal and regulatory strategies for the industry, combined with his considerable experience tackling the day-to-day issues as counsel for meat and poultry companies.”

Nicole Johnson-Hoffman

Johnson-Hoffman begins transitioning into the role in January 2025 as Mark Dopp, the Meat Institute’s outgoing COO and general counsel, prepares to retire in March 2025.

She began her career as an attorney at Cargill, where she eventually became vice president, law Cargill Meat Solutions and later vice president and general manager of Cargill Beef at Fort Morgan, Colo. Subsequently, she was the vice president, managing director of Cargill’s Value-Added Protein/Cargill McDonald’s Business Unit, where she managed Cargill’s McDonald’s business segments in the U.S. and Canada.

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After 19 years at Cargill, Johnson-Hoffman joined OSI Group in 2016 as senior vice president, chief sustainability officer to manage the company’s global McDonald’s business unit, encompassing 64 markets, and to lead OSI’s global sustainability strategy, creating infrastructure for successful execution.

Johnson-Hoffman served two terms as president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and was the founding chairperson of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

From 2022-2023, Johnson-Hoffman served as chief executive officer and executive board member of the Israeli cultivated meat startup Future Meat Technologies (d/b/a Believer Meats), leading the creation of a new consumer-facing brand, building a professional leadership team and implementing foundational systems in finance, human resources, legal, IT and corporate governance.

Bryan Burns

Burns has worked for the Meat Institute for two years as vice president and associate general counsel. He serves as the staff liaison for the Worker Safety Committee, the Environmental Committee and the Labor & Employment Committee. He has managed key regulatory issues including the ongoing Environmental Protection Agency’s Effluent Limitations Guidelines, a number of new Occupational Safety & Health Administration and U.S. Department of Labor regulations and has worked to provide education on child trafficking and identity fraud and to develop best practices for members to follow in determining workforce eligibility.

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As the Biden Administration proposed new rules under the Packers & Stockyards Act, Burns has taken a leading role in determining legal and regulatory strategy for the Meat Institute.

Burns has testified twice before Congress regarding the economic and regulatory state of the meat and poultry industry, including before the House Agriculture Committee and regarding labor and immigration issues before a bipartisan working group of members of the House Agriculture Committee.

Prior to joining the Meat Institute staff, Burns was general counsel, corporate secretary and vice president of risk management and environmental, health and safety at Bachoco OK Foods. In addition to being responsible for all legal and corporate governance matters, Burns led the company’s covid strategy, worker safety, environmental and sustainability efforts.

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Prior to Bachoco OK Foods, Burns was senior counsel at Tyson Foods for15 years, managing complex litigation in areas such as antitrust, environmental and consumer class actions, handling government agency investigations in a variety of subject matters and working on Packers & Stockyards Act issues.

The Meat Institute represents the full community of people and companies who make the majority of meat American families rely on every day. The Meat Institute’s hands-on regulatory and technical expertise, proactive advocacy, unique convening power, collaboration within and beyond animal agriculture and sector-leading continuous improvement initiatives drive relationships and resources that ensure meat continues to be a vital, trusted pillar of healthy diets and thriving communities for generations to come.