Tracy Brunner, newly elected president for NCBA at the Cattle Industry Convention in San Diego, said the number of applicants was well past the century mark, and twice that many names considered. The number of potential candidates now stands at “less than a dozen.”
“We are in the mid- to more final stages, if you will,” said Brunner. “We are nearing interviews for some of the top selected candidates. We are very confident that we have done extensive diligence on all the candidates.”
Brunner, who replaced Philip Ellis as NCBA president for a one-year term, complimented the executive committee for hiring the global search firm Kincannon & Reed with its extensive resources in executive hiring.
“They have an extensive pool of specialized agricultural and industry candidates with potential. So there were candidates they were able to draw on as well as potential candidates within the NCBA network.”
Ellis indicated in interviews last summer that he hoped the search would be done by the first of the year, before the NCBA convention, although no timeline was ever set. Brunner anticipates the search to be complete by the second quarter of this year, but said there is no deadline to have someone in place.
“This is about finding best long-term staff leadership for NCBA,” Brunner said. “We’re focused on our mission and objectives to represent the cattle and beef interests in the U.S.
“It’s not about personalities. It’s about vision. It’s not about expediency. It’s about outcome.”
The position came open in June 2015 when CEO Forrest Roberts resigned to pursue interests in the industry. Kendal Frazier, the chief operating officer for NCBA, has been interim CEO. 
