Ken Baker Retires After 42 Years as President and CEO of NewAge Industries

NewAge Industries, Inc. (NAI), the parent company of AdvantaPure, NewAge Performance Products, and Verigenics, announced that Ken Baker has completed his transition from President and CEO, a role he held since 1984. Baker succeeded his father and company founder, Ray Baker, who established the business in 1954. He will remain on the Board of Directors, ensuring continued governance involvement. Mary Marcus, who assumed the permanent President and CEO role in December 2024, now leads the organization.

Baker was honored on May 8, 2026, during a celebration at Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland, PA, attended by over 300 guests, including family, peers, and current and former employees. The event featured the annual ESOP share price announcement. Under Baker's leadership, NAI laid the foundation for its long-standing commitment to sustainability and employee ownership. The company achieved an EcoVadis Platinum sustainability rating, powered its corporate headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Bucks County through solar energy, and expanded into high-purity markets with the AdvantaPure product line, supporting critical applications like vaccine development and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Baker also oversaw global expansion, including the opening of a manufacturing facility in Coevorden, Netherlands, in 2024, following a sales office in Hong Kong in 2023, adding to existing operations in Germany and Brazil. A strong advocate of employee ownership, Baker transitioned NAI to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) structure starting in 2006; today, employees own 100 percent of the organization. He co-founded and chairs the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership.

Beyond business, Baker supported philanthropic initiatives including WHYY in Philadelphia and ACT II Playhouse in Ambler, PA, and founded the Center of Excellence for Employee Ownership at Montgomery County Community College. NewAge Industries, an ISO-9001 certified, 100% employee-owned corporation with a Platinum EcoVadis Sustainability Rating and Certified B Corporation status, continues to design and manufacture fluid transfer systems for high-purity pharmaceutical, biopharma, and industrial markets from facilities in Southampton, PA; Warrington, PA; and Coevorden, Netherlands.