For Chris Pearson, VP & President, Animal Nutrition, Land O’Lakes, Inc., leadership isn’t only about what you drive forward. It’s about what you carry with you.

Now in his second year leading Land O’Lakes Animal Nutrition, he’s balancing the weight of a legacy brand with the urgency of modern transformation. From refining how teams collaborate to rethinking how the company connects with animal owners, Chris is guiding a future-focused strategy rooted in authenticity, innovation, and a deep respect for the communities they serve. “Growth isn’t a number,” he says. “It’s a reflection of how well we’re listening, adapting, and delivering on what matters most. We’re working to advance the future of the cooperative in total.”

Chris is at ease with not having all of the answers and appears to be equally as comfortable with his strengths as his limitations. (“That’s why we have experts.”) He’s self-aware and fills a room with quiet confidence; one is not left wondering where he stands on any given subject. This authenticity carries through his leadership style, which, paired with the intentional development of talent, is an indicator of resilience and future-readiness for an organization.

With a legacy over 125 years in the making, the Purina Mills brand feeds countless animals each day. Purina—along with the other commercial and lifestyle feed brands under the Animal Nutrition umbrella—has the hard-earned trust of animal owners, something Chris doesn’t take lightly and is dedicated to strengthening even further. 

“When you’re engrained in the communities you’re working to impact, the stakes are a little higher. It means a little bit more when your brother, neighbor, or childhood best friend’s livelihood depends in large part on the actions and decisions you and your colleagues are making,” says Chris.

Chris grew up on his family’s livestock farm, which he’s still involved with today. He has a personal connection to the ins and outs of running a successful farming operation, an asset in his current leadership position.

“That’s why I’m in the co-op system. It’s farmer-owned. Farmers have a voice in the businesses that serve them and are represented at all levels,” Chris says. “The advancements, new technology, every decision—these things aren’t happening ‘to’ them. Farmers are involved and benefit when things are successful.”

Given his upbringing, Chris always knew a career in agriculture was a likely option. He spent over two decades working his way up from entry level on the agriculture cooperative side, experience he says built a solid foundation for decision making. This background also proved invaluable as he joined Land O’Lakes, initially through Winfield United as VP of Crop Nutrition and Cooperative Alliances, as he could authentically understand the perspective of the cooperative owners he was working to serve.

Having extensive experience working with producers, Charlie Hampton, director, Marketing Activation, says of Chris, “He’s a conduit to understanding the business. He’s seen as authentic, knowledgeable and relatable internally and out in the field.”

Chris has led teams and members through periods of great change, leaning on his farm work as a continual re-grounding and opportunity to put things in perspective.

“Farm work has given me opinions—right or wrong—on how we should approach producers as well as a sense for what they need and an understanding of the risks and opportunities they face,” says Chris. “As we think about continued improvement and evolution, farmers and animal owners will always be top of mind.

The Animal Nutrition team is a passionate group committed to making the lives of animals better, something Chris says he was inspired by upon joining the team.

“This group has ideals. We continually find ourselves working out strategies to innovate the best possible feed solution that delivers on what consumers want while maintaining a healthy business,” he says.

Chris and his team are laser-focused on those consumer desires and how the organization's leading research and marketing groups can deliver.

“Chris himself is part of the communities we serve. That really helps ground our decision making,” says Stacey Kearin, VP Marketing – Animal Nutrition. “We’re investing in getting to know the animal owners who care for animals day in and day out to truly understand their wants and needs and create positive impact in those communities.”

Just as with its legacy Animal Nutrition brands, Land O’Lakes has established its own hard-fought reputation as an employer of choice. With a recently launched Flex Work program that allows workers on the factory floor and in corporate offices to determine their start times, shift lengths, and days on/off schedules, as well as a healthy collection of employee-voted and third-party endorsed workplace awards, the 103-year-old cooperative is responding to the needs of today’s workforce.

“From day one, a top priority was to model how our teams could work more effectively together,” says Chris. “You might call that culture—but I want to take the buzzword out of it. We’re working to capture hearts and minds, develop strong skills and savvy, and bring our teams along to create excitement and ownership around working hard. We’ve got some pretty big goals to achieve and need folks who are committed to the vision.”

Chief among those goals: growth. Chris and his team of experts are working to grow in the categories that present long-term opportunity.

“We're clear on what we’re aiming to do. Build a business that we can be proud of and will support our people—our Land O’Lakes team, our cooperative members and owners—well into the future.”