Ken Newsome returns as AMF Bakery Systems CEO

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Ken Newsome returns as AMF Bakery Systems CEO

17 Jul 2025

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

RICHMOND, VA — The leadership team at AMF Bakery Systems is shifting to support its future growth.

Ken Newsome, current executive chair for Markel Group, is set to return to his previous role as AMF chair and CEO this September, taking the reins from current president and CEO Jason Ward, who is set to depart the company at year’s end.

“Jason has been a great friend and exceptional leader of AMF,” Newsome said. “When he stepped into the role over a decade ago, AMF had the characteristics of a smaller, family-owned business. We had passion for and commitment to our customers but lacked the business processes and global approach to execute consistently. Jason was instrumental in leading the transformation of AMF. He led the successful integration of Tromp and Den Boer into AMF. More importantly, he was the driving force behind elevating AMF into a more modern, scalable and globally focused organization. His leadership has left an enduring legacy, and we are deeply grateful for the foundation he built.”

Ward will stay as CEO until September and support the leadership team through the transition through Dec. 1.

“Over the past two years, I have been dealing with a variety of personal challenges that have led me to carefully reevaluate my path forward,” Ward said. “After deep reflection and incredible support from Ken and the leadership at Markel Group, I have concluded that stepping away is necessary to allow AMF the focused leadership it deserves and to give me the space to address these matters effectively. It has been the professional honor of my life to lead AMF. I remain fully committed to supporting the AMF team through the transition and beyond as this extraordinary business continues to thrive.”

In addition to this pivot, David Bull has been promoted to the newly created president and COO role. His responsibilities will include overseeing global engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations.

“These organizational changes reflect months of thoughtful planning and are grounded in our mission to be the partner of choice for bakers worldwide.” — Ken Newsome | incoming chair and CEO | AMF Bakery Systems

Regional leadership moves

Beyond the c-suite, the company also announced various promotions designed to steer AMF Bakery’s strategic growth and fortify its operational execution on a global scale.

“These organizational changes reflect months of thoughtful planning and are grounded in our mission to be the partner of choice for bakers worldwide,” Newsome said. “Our customers value AMF’s regional approach, which empowers our local teams to take ownership of customer relationships and act with speed and precision.”

The changes include:

Brandon Brilliant to president of AMF Americas
Vincent Langelaar to president of AMF Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific
Ricky Duan as senior VP of AMF China
Danny Morin as senior VP of AMF Canada
Peter Van Zessen as VP of global engineering

“Strengthening our regional focus through clear leadership enables faster decision-making and deeper customer engagement,” Newsome added. “At the same time, establishing strong operational leadership at a global level allows us to drive consistency, innovation, and productivity across all our product lines and business units, furthering our commitment to deliver best-in-class unit equipment and integrated systems solutions.”