Protecting public health
By Barbara Sutherland Chovanec
When Kristen Holt, ’94, shops for a new vitamin or energy bar, she first checks the label for the NSF mark. The same goes for a new faucet or water filter for her home.
As a top executive of NSF International, Holt knows more than anyone that the NSF mark means health safety.
“We’re all about protecting and improving public health,” Holt says about the $160 million global nonprofit company with its world headquarters in Ann Arbor.
NSF International certifies products and writes safety standards for food, water, and consumer goods. Its motto: Live safer.
In 1997 Holt was working for PriceWaterHouseCoopers as an accountant on the NSF account. NSF leaders liked what they saw and snapped her up for controller of their company.
A series of promotions made her chief financial officer at age 29, and in 2005 Holt was included on the “40 under 40” list compiled by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Now Holt is senior vice president of NSF International, and she’s president of three divisions: NSF International Food Safety, a worldwide certifier of food producers and food processors; Quality Assurance International, the leading provider of organic certification; and NSF International Strategic Registrations, a leading provider of management systems registrations worldwide.
Holt devotes her time to planning for the future, setting strategies, and solving problems.
“My job is different every single day because of the variety of businesses that I’m involved in,” she says. “And we’re always looking for new acquisitions, so I’m looking for new opportunities to buy businesses.
“I never expected as an accountant to end up running a business. CFO was my ultimate dream job,” Holt says. “But running a business is so much different, and it’s so much more exciting, really. Every decision you make impacts something – it changes what’s going on – and you’re doing everything for the future.”
NSF International works closely with regulatory bodies such as the FDA, the USDA, and the EPA to develop and review water and food standards.
In 150,000 square feet of laboratories, NSF scientists test products that come in contact with water and food. This includes faucets, indoor plumbing, water filters, pots and pans, water dispensers, and restaurant and factory food preparation equipment. Products that meet NSF’s strict requirements receive the NSF mark of approval.
The company also tests and certifies health supplements, such as vitamins and herbs, sports bars, and bottled water and energy drinks. The process ensures that the ingredients on the nutrition label – and only those ingredients – are in the product.
The NSF mark can be found in more than 80 countries on more than 100 million products, and the company is always looking to expand the range of products it certifies.
“There are new issues emerging in public health every day,” Holt says. “There’s no shortage of need for our services. NSF provides the technical expertise to help companies improve their food safety, which ultimately will improve the quality and safety of the food that all of us eat every day.”
NSF has begun a grocery store certification program called Shop Fresh, which helps ensure that the perishables you buy from your local grocery store – for instance, deli meats, salads, and cut fruits and vegetables – are prepared and packaged safely.
Last August Holt helped lead the acquisition of CMi, a company that ensures food safety in the United Kingdom and Europe. NSF International also acquired Davis Fresh, which means the company now handles farm-level produce certification in the U.S. And NSF’s global food safety initiative puts inspectors into food-processing companies in countries such as India, Brazil, and Australia to make sure the processes are clean and safe.
“As the food supply chain gets more and more global, companies have a need for somebody to be out there, evaluating the food supply that’s coming in to them, whether it’s in China or Thailand or wherever around the world their food suppliers are located,” Holt says.
“We handle things that you don’t think about, but you’re glad someone’s doing.” •
