Our Leadership
Change hearts, change the world.
Milo Runkle founded Mercy For Animals in 1999 on a simple yet powerful truth: Every living being deserves dignity and compassion.
After a farmed-animal cruelty case—and the judge’s appalling ruling—shook his rural Ohio town, 15-year-old Milo recognized the urgent need for change in a food system that considers extreme cruelty to billions of animals business as usual. Milo served Mercy For Animals for nearly 20 years and continues to pioneer change for farmed animals.
Arash Yomtobian took on the mantle of Milo’s legacy as our President and CEO in 2025.
Our President & CEO, Arash Yomtobian
Arash Yomtobian is a global executive leader, entrepreneur, and longtime advocate for compassion, with more than two decades of experience building and leading high-impact organizations.
Before joining Mercy For Animals, Arash held senior leadership roles at Google, Meta, and TikTok, where he oversaw multibillion-dollar global partnership portfolios, developed new industry categories, and built scalable operating systems that transformed business outcomes.
An ethical vegan for nine years, Arash’s commitment to ending factory farming is deeply personal and rooted in a broader mission to build systems of care for human and non-human animals and the planet. He brings to Mercy For Animals a combination of operational rigor and heart-centered leadership, along with a vision for a compassionate food system.
Arash brings the strategic discipline, steadiness, and commitment to this mission that will allow Mercy For Animals to build on this momentum to deepen and broaden its impact for farmed animals globally.
— Neysa Colizzi, Chair of the Board of Directors
Connect with Arash
Our Founder, Milo Runkle
For more than 20 years, Milo defended animals as founder, president, and board chair of Mercy For Animals. He proved, time and again, to be a pioneer of our movement—always innovating to create a more compassionate food system.
During his time at Mercy For Animals, Milo moved thousands of advocates to join us as staff and volunteers who together helped secure landmark farmed-animal protection laws and historic corporate animal welfare commitments. His legacy of compassion is sure to motivate many thousands more. To learn more about Milo’s work and Mercy For Animals, order Milo’s book, Mercy For Animals: One Man’s Quest to Inspire Compassion and Improve the Lives of Farm Animals, today.
Milo’s story is proof that one person truly can change the world.
—Moby, Grammy Award-Nominated Musician
Mercy For Animals Book
Discover Milo’s extraordinary journey in his book, Mercy For Animals: One Man’s Quest to Inspire Compassion and Improve the Lives of Farm Animals.
Mercy For Animals not only exposes the almost unbelievable cruelty suffered by the billions of animals raised in factory farms but explains what can—and must—be done to change things. Please read it and recommend it to all your friends.
—Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE; Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute; and UN Messenger of Peace
Our People
Meet the passionate individuals who make this happen.
Get info about volunteer opportunities, Mercy For Animals news, and more.
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