The award honors outstanding leaders in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related areas who exemplify excellence in agribusiness by their significant contributions to the industry.
As president and CEO, Simons continues Novus on a path to achieving the vision of “helping to feed the world affordable, wholesome food.” Novus started out as a small B2B company with two products for the poultry industry, but Thad saw the potential to transform the organization’s global reach and impact.
He established the organizational framework to develop solutions specific to new markets based on Novus’s established core technologies. His strategy was successful, and today the Novus product portfolio contains over 100 products that provide a holistic approach to health and nutrition for poultry, cattle, pigs, equine, companion animals, farm-raised fish, seafood and people.
Novus has employees working in over 100 countries, serving more than 3,000 customers worldwide.
Under Simons’ leadership, Novus has created a unique business model which marries excellence with innovation, sustainability and sharing best practices. The company maintains a culture of collaboration both internally and through interaction with a global network of agricultural students, academia and customers to identify solutions to move the agriculture industry forward.
Simons shares his vision for feeding the world through an ongoing campaign of industry event participation and sponsorships worldwide. His message is reaching an ever-larger audience of agribusiness leaders.
Simons is currently president-elect for the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), and is committed to advancing the IFAMA mission – to improve the strategic focus, transparency, sustainability, and responsiveness of the global food and agribusiness system.
Simons serves on the board of directors for Novus International, Inc., the Nine Network of Public Media, Grand Center, Inc., United Way of Greater St. Louis, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis Zoo, Corporate Council on Africa, St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, and ESM Technologies. He is a member of the Missouri and Georgia Bars.
His additional awards and recognitions include: International Businessperson of the Year, World Trade Center of St. Louis, 2001; International Visionary Award, Boeing Institute of International Business, 2007; Heroes of the Planet Award, St. Louis Business Journal, 2009; Entrepreneur of the Year, Central Midwest-Bioscience, Ernst & Young, 2010; Entrepreneur of the Year, National Distribution and Manufacturing, Ernst & Young, 2010. 
—From National Agri-Marketing Association news release
