Monsanto has a new public affairs director. She’s Geri Berdak and she’ll be heading up the Oilseeds and Chemistry business.

Berdak brings over 16 years experience in marketing and strategic communications and has used this skill to benefit companies in differing sectors of the agriculture industry including producer organizations, food companies, ingredient companies and retailers. Most recently, Ms. Berdak was the Global Director of Corporate Communications for The Solae Company where she made significant contributions building and leading the company’s global strategic communications and industry affairs programs. Prior to Solae, Berdak was the director of the United Soybean Board’s edible oil and soyfoods program where she handled projects in the areas of health research, regulatory monitoring, public affairs and issues management, and was a member of USB’s biotech task force and better bean initiative. Ms. Berdak holds both a bachelor’s degree of science in food and nutrition from Missouri State University and an M.B.A. from the New York Institute of Technology.