The President’s Excellence in Service Award was created to acknowledge individuals who have helped build the pillars of the organization without the status of being on the Board of Governors or serving as FEMA President. It is intended to recognize individuals who may be unable to participate at the board level due to their company’s structure or those who may not even be looking for recognition. These people have dedicated much time to keep our organization moving forward.

 


2024 Honoree

 

Martin Ongteco

Martin Ongteco

Vice President of Flavor Creation, North America
ADM

Martin Ongteco is ADM's Vice President of Creation, Design, and Development, working with a team of flavorists, food product developers, and food scientists. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Martin started his career at Bush Boake Allen, where he began as a technician in Dairy Applications. Once IFF acquired BBA, Martin had a unique role as a research flavorist at their Flavor R&D facility and had flavor technical leadership roles while working at IFF China for over three years. He worked with the North American Creation, Applications, and Regulatory teams at Robertet Group before taking his current role at ADM, where he has been for the last four years. Martin’s involvement with FEMA began in 2013 on the Education and Training Committee, where he served as co-chair from 2015 to 2017. He is the current chair of the FEMA Advocacy and Awareness Committee, where he has spearheaded efforts to enhance the FEMA website and increase member awareness of FEMA web resources. He has championed collaboration with the Membership Services Committee leadership to engage and inform members about FEMA’s work.

Martin will be honored at the Annual Leadership Conference (ALC) on April 30 in Isle of Palms, Charleston, SC.

 

Past Award Winners

  • 2023: Randy Knecht, MANE

  • 2022: Denver Christopher, Citrus and Allied Essences Ltd

  • 2021: Victoria Alvarez Saavedra, Virginia Dare

  • 2020: Cynthia Astrack, Astral Extracts, Inc.

  • 2019: Dolf DeRovira, Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

  • 2018: Kathleen Crossman, FONA International Inc.

  • 2017: Lorna Hopkinson, ADM / WILD Flavors

  • 2016: Mary Raukko, Firmenich, Inc