{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-22/elanco-jamie-preston-chief-people-officer","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-22/elanco-jamie-preston-chief-people-officer.md","title":"Elanco names Jamie Preston chief people officer","headline":"Elanco appoints Jamie Preston as chief people officer as Dave Kinard retires","description":"Elanco appoints Jamie Preston as executive vice president and chief people officer effective November 3, 2026, succeeding Dave Kinard.","section":"Leadership","published_at":"2026-10-22T11:07:53+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-22T11:07:53+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Jamie Preston becomes Elanco's executive vice president and chief people officer effective November 3, 2026.","Preston joins from Eli Lilly with 23 years of enterprise experience, including nearly two decades in human resources leadership.","Dave Kinard, who led Elanco's HR function since its separation from Lilly, will retire at the end of 2026."],"companies":[{"name":"Elanco","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000l6c/elanco","website":"https://www.elanco.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Stock Titan","title":"Elanco appoints Jamie Preston chief people officer","url":"https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ELAN/elanco-animal-health-appoints-jamie-preston-as-chief-people-rgij71bw30oq.html"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Leadership","Elanco"],"body_markdown":"Elanco Animal Health appointed Jamie Preston as executive vice president and chief people officer, effective November 3, 2026, succeeding Dave Kinard, who intends to retire at the end of the year. [Stock Titan](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ELAN/elanco-animal-health-appoints-jamie-preston-as-chief-people-rgij71bw30oq.html) reported the appointment on October 22, 2026.\n\n## Preston's Role and Lilly Background\n\nPreston joins [Elanco](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000l6c/elanco) from Eli Lilly and Company, bringing 23 years of enterprise experience, including nearly two decades of human resources leadership. She most recently served as vice president of HR, global compensation and workforce innovation, where she led the compensation and recognition team for Lilly's global 50,000+ employee organization and spearheaded enterprise-wide AI and workforce modernization strategies.\n\nAt Lilly, Preston held executive HR leadership roles spanning global markets, including associate vice president of HR across five countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong. She also served as HR director for Lilly Japan, supporting the research and development organization, led global people strategy for the Oncology Business Unit and supported key corporate and manufacturing functions.\n\n\"Jamie is a visionary, dynamic leader with the speed and agility that defines Elanco,\" said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco. \"She has deep global experience across every facet of human resources, from organizational design and talent development to workforce innovation and digital transformation.\"\n\nKinard will work closely with Preston in the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership transition. Since Elanco's transition from Lilly's animal health division to a publicly traded, independent company, Kinard oversaw all aspects of the company's headquarters move from Greenfield to Indianapolis, including the establishment of the One Health Innovation District, a life sciences innovation hub anchored by Elanco and Purdue University.\n\n## Elanco's Indianapolis Innovation Hub\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Elanco is a founding and co-anchoring partner of the One Health Innovation District in Indianapolis, Indiana, alongside Purdue University. The company launched Elanco Ventures, a $25 million corporate venture capital fund targeting Pre-Seed to Series A animal health startups, operated from the One Health Innovation District with Purdue University.\n\n## Earlier Elanco Developments\n\nElanco promoted Zenrelia, a once-daily oral JAK inhibitor for dogs with skin allergies, citing over 2 million dogs treated worldwide, Yahoo reported in October 2026. The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2026 that Simmons recalled a pivotal lesson from age 7 when a hailstorm devastated his family's upstate New York grape farm. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Elanco with a buy rating and a $32 price target, MarketBeat reported in October 2026.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}