Ball Announces Organizational Changes

Chris Beytes

Ball Horticultural Company announced that Al Davidson, Alan Rouse and Jim Kennedy will be making significant career moves.

Al will be retiring this fall after a 39-year career with Ball, culminating in his role as president of Ball Horticultural Company (BHC)—the first non-family president of BHC, the parent umbrella over Ball Seed, PanAmerican Seed, Ball FloraPlant, Darwin Perennials, Star Roses & Plants and other ventures around the globe. 

Al, a fifth-generation horticulturist from Canada, has held numerous positions within the corporation, including Canadian business manager, national accounts manager and director of supplier relations for Ball Seed, and president of Ball Seed and Ball FloraPlant.

In retirement, Al and his wife, Denise, plan to spend time in Florida and at their cottage in Canada. He’ll also continue to serve Ball as a member of its board of directors.

Taking Al’s place as president of BHC will be Alan Rouse, currently president of Ball Seed. Alan, a native of South Africa and a chartered accountant, came to Ball in 2018 as CFO after stints with the global accounting firm KPMG, Gillette and Mars (which brought him first to Russia then to Chicago for a global finance role). Alan moved from Ball’s Finance Department to the presidency of Ball Seed in 2020.

And, finally, filling Alan’s seat as president of Ball Seed will be Jim Kennedy, a 22-year veteran of the corporation. Jim is a third-generation nurseryman; his grandfather founded Andrew R. Kennedy Inc. in New York in 1910, just five years after George J. Ball launched his business. After five years at Welby Gardens in Colorado, Jim came to Ball FloraPlant as a sales and technical manager before shifting over to Ball Seed, where he was the well-respected sales manager for 10 years. In 2024, Jim was promoted into a new position—senior commercial director—overseeing all customer-facing departments within Ball Seed.

All of these changes take effect October 1.

Said Anna Ball in the announcement to employees, “These changes reflect our continued focus on strong leadership, strategic growth and our commitment to our people and customers.” GT