NewAge Industries, Inc. (NAI), parent company of AdvantaPure, NewAge Performance Products, and Verigenics, announced that Ken Baker has officially 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 company in 1954. He will remain actively involved as a member of the Board of Directors. Mary Marcus assumed the permanent role of President and CEO in December 2024, as previously announced.
Baker was honored on May 8, 2026, during a celebration attended by over 300 guests—including family, peers, and current and former team members—at Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland, PA. The event coincided with the company's annual ESOP share price announcement.
Under Baker's leadership, NAI implemented significant environmental initiatives, including powering both its corporate headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Bucks County through solar energy generated by thousands of onsite solar panels. These efforts helped the company achieve an EcoVadis Platinum sustainability rating. Baker also oversaw NAI's expansion into the high-purity market with the formation of the AdvantaPure product line, which supports tubing and hose solutions for critical processing applications such as vaccine development and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, while continuing to serve industrial markets through the NewAge Performance Products line.
In 2024, the company expanded its global footprint by opening a manufacturing facility in Coevorden, Netherlands, following a sales office in Hong Kong in 2023, adding to existing operations in Germany and Brazil. A strong advocate of employee ownership, Baker began transitioning NAI to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2006. Today, employees own 100 percent of the organization. Baker co-founded and chairs the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership.
Beyond business, Baker remains active in philanthropic and community initiatives, supporting organizations including WHYY in Philadelphia and ACT II Playhouse in Ambler, PA. He also founded the Center of Excellence for Employee Ownership at the Montgomery County Community College Foundation.
NewAge Industries, founded in 1954, designs, manufactures, and distributes fluid transfer systems solutions for high-purity pharmaceutical, biopharma, and industrial markets. The company is an ISO-9001 certified, 100% employee-owned corporation with an EcoVadis Platinum sustainability rating and is a Certified B Corporation.
