Brooklyn, N.Y., Howard Smith, Jr., President of Virginia Dare Extract Company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael "Mike" Springsteen to the position of Vice President – Research and Development. In this role he will be responsible for Product Development, Regulatory and Quality Assurance.

Mike brings 30 years of experience to this position having started his career in product development at Thomas. J. Lipton. Since then he has held positions in the flavor industry with both product development and commercial responsibilities at Bush Boake Allen, Dragoco, and Symrise, and most recently at Firmenich as Vice-President – Flavor Sales.

Mike is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, and of New York University with an M.B.A. in Management.

Mike resides in New Jersey with his wife and two teenage daughters.