Leadership Team

Pierre Ferrari, President and Chief Executive Officer
Pierre Ferrari was born in Africa in 1950 in what was then the Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo and from 1971 to 1997 called Zaire). Ferrari has more than 40 years of business experience, from large consumer package goods organizations such as Coca-Cola USA to work with socially oriented organizations like CARE and the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund. He succeeds interim CEO Charles Stewart and Heifer's former President and CEO Jo Luck. Ferrari holds a Master's degree in Economics from The University of Cambridge and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Steve Denne, Chief Operating Officer
Prior to his position, Steve Denne served the American Red Cross for 26 years, most recently as the Vice President of Strategic Fundraising Initiative. In the planning phase he organized and led teams of internal staff and external consultants to assess fundraising; developed a multi-year strategy and business plan; completed a high-level design of a new enterprise-wide fundraising model; and led change management and communications efforts. In the implementation phase, he managed the initiative's revenue and expense budget and provided oversight and direction to eight major pilots or program expansions touching almost every aspect of fundraising. Additionally, he spent two years of his career serving at The Pentagon as a Defense Analyst who worked with a special projects group to address economic and performance issues related to the post-Cold War drawdown of U.S. military forces and the Persian Gulf War.

Denne received an MBA from Yale University, School of Management, after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and English with high honors from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He has completed Harvard University's "Partners in Organizational Leadership" Executive Education, has been a student of the Center for Creative Leadership and has participated in the StarTrack Development Program for High Potential Red Cross Leaders.

Robert "Bob" Bloom, Chief Financial Officer
Robert "Bob" Bloom joined Heifer International in June 2011. Bloom, a Certified Public Accountant with a degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois came to Heifer from Vestcom International, a provider of shelf-edge communications to the retail industry, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Vestcom, he served as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Financial Relations Leader of Acxiom Corp., a Little Rock–based data processing and data content provider. Bloom also has worked for Wilson Sporting Goods Co., River Grove, Ill., as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wilson International Division; and with the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Co., in Chicago, as Audit Manager.

Cindy Jones-Nyland, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Resource Development
As Executive Vice President of Marketing and Resource Development at Heifer International, Cindy Jones-Nyland directs the organizations’ global branding and revenue growth, including digital marketing, communications, education, and fundraising initiatives. Most recently, she served as Chief Marketing Officer for Lifeblue Media, a web design and search marketing agency based in Dallas. Before that Cindy worked for several years as Senior Director of Marketing & Interactive Media for Susan G. Komen For the Cure®, one of the world's leading breast cancer organizations. There, she increased Komen’s overall brand awareness and led the efforts for their digital engagement strategy. She also has over 10 years’ experience in technology based organizations such as Oracle, MetaSolv Software and SBC.

Cindy has a degree in marketing from Washburn University and was awarded her Master's in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.

She is married to Tim Nyland and has one daughter. They live in Little Rock, Ark.

Leesa Ferguson, Vice President of Human Resources
Leesa Ferguson has served with Heifer International since 2003. As the VP of HR, she leads the department in creating, implementing and supporting workforce programs and processes that positively impact Heifer's effectiveness and result in higher levels of workforce satisfaction and retention. Leesa joined Heifer as Director of Internal Communications and served three years in this role. She then served three years as the Interim VP of HR before officially being promoted to her current position in 2008.

Prior to working at Heifer, Leesa worked for Connell Communications, where she was Associate Publisher for Game Hits, and Take One, and Fidelity Information Services where she served as Senior Marketing Manager. She now has more than 20 years of experience in HR, marketing and communications roles and holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

Leesa is married and has one daughter. She has lived in Arkansas, Chile, Great Britain, Brazil, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Virginia. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Public Administration at the University of Central Arkansas and completed graduate studies in Marketing at Harvard University. She is involved with her local community and is a Heifer Donor.