Expanding IFDC’s Board Leadership
IFDC is pleased to announce the appointment of Winstone Odhiambo and Kyle Bridgeforth to its Board of Directors. Together, they bring extensive expertise across global agribusiness leadership, agricultural innovation, and policy and governance.
Winstone Odhiambo brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience spanning agribusiness, fast-moving consumer goods, banking, and multinational operations across East, Central, and Southern Africa. He currently serves as Regional Managing Director for Yara’s Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia Cluster, where he holds full profit-and-loss responsibility and leads multi-country strategy aligned with Yara’s mission to sustainably transform food systems.
Odhiambo spearheads commercial growth, operational excellence, and strategic partnerships while strengthening market presence through innovative product portfolios, digital farmer engagement platforms, and impactful public-private collaborations.
Odhiambo’s work, like IFDC’s, bridges the private and public sectors through close cooperation with governments, development partners, and industry stakeholders to influence agricultural policy, expand access to quality inputs, and advance climate-smart and regenerative farming solutions.
Odhiambo’s understanding of both commercial dynamics and development priorities, cultivated in his previous role as Chief Financial Officer for Yara East Africa (Kenya and Uganda), complements IFDC’s efforts in linking agribusiness, policy, and farmers for sustainable growth.
Odhiambo is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K), holds an MBA in finance from the University of Leicester, and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute in the United Kingdom.
Kyle Bridgeforth brings a producer-driven perspective rooted in a fifth-generation agricultural enterprise. As an Operating Partner at Bridgeforth Farms, he helps manage a diversified 10,000-acre row-crop operation in Tanner, Alabama, where he leads the strategic adoption of agronomic technologies focused on crop traceability, operational efficiency, and soil health practices that support long-term sustainability.
Bridgeforth’s perspective as a producer and his commitment to advancing soil health and agronomic technology adoption closely correspond with IFDC’s ongoing efforts to equip farmers with data-driven tools and practices that improve fertilizer efficiency and soil resilience.
Bridgeforth also has vast experience in agricultural governance and policy. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and as Agricultural Lead with Veil Genomics. Additionally, he holds advisory roles with OCP North America, Bayer, and John Deere.
With a background in both policy and production, Bridgeforth complements IFDC’s work in informing evidence-based agricultural policies that foster resilient and inclusive markets for farmers worldwide.
Previously, Bridgeforth served in the Executive Office of the President for the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), supporting agricultural trade policy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies: business and economics from Morehouse College.
Strengthening Board Governance
The appointments of Odhiambo and Bridgeforth highlight IFDC’s commitment to bringing additional diverse expertise in agricultural finance, policy, and innovation to its leadership. Furthermore, this addition serves as a strategic enhancement to the Board’s governance, diversifying its composition through a deliberate blend of specialized skills, varied geographic insights, and fresh generational perspectives.
Their combined experience will guide the organization’s strategic direction as it works to expand access to sustainable fertilizer solutions, strengthen food systems, and improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers across the globe.
The IFDC Board and staff warmly welcome Odhiambo and Bridgeforth and look forward to their contributions in advancing the organization’s mission and impact.
