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In 1921, 320 dairy farmers met in St. Paul, Minnesota, to form the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association. Their idea was simple—join together to effectively market and distribute members’ dairy production across the country.
From there, we quickly set our sights on growth. Just eight years after establishing our butter marketing organization, we expanded into the ag services and feed businesses. Our international journey kicked off 52 years later, as we began relaying the lessons we'd learned to support local agriculture in developing nations around the world. Those efforts have also helped us expand our commercial business beyond the borders of the United States.
Today, our four businesses give us a farm-to-fork view of agriculture. Pair this with our farmer ownership and we're uniquely qualified to fulfill our purpose of feeding human progress around the world, while always delivering on our responsibility to member-owners through our core values. We're united in a common cause, committed to excellence and inspired by our place in the world—but there are no shortcuts. We've never lost sight of the value of a hard day's work.
We help independently owned and operated agricultural retailers compete. We do this by providing these retailers with technical know-how, proprietary tools and research-based solutions to help farmers win in the field—and in the marketplace.
In 1924, the Land O'Lakes name became synonymous with the highest quality dairy products. Today, that hasn't changed. We remain an icon in our nation’s kitchens and restaurants, and a key supplier to food manufacturers around the world.
Passion for animal excellence defines our animal nutrition business—and the people who bring it to life. With more than 24,000 scientific studies under our belts, we are driving innovation, expertise and quality in everything we do. Our customers know they are feeding their animals the very best.
President and CEOOn the team since 1997
Chris Policinski has more than 37 years of experience in the food industry. He joined Land O’Lakes, Inc., in 1997 and was appointed president and CEO in 2005. Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, he held leadership positions with Kraft General Foods, Bristol-Myers Squibb and The Pillsbury Company.
Chris is a lead director of the board of Xcel Energy and Hormel Foods.
He also serves on the board of several industry groups, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association (as Chairman), and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and is involved in local community boards including as a Trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation.
EVP and COO Land O'Lakes Businesses On the team since 2011
Beth Ford is the group executive vice president and chief operating officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc. She is responsible for the Purina Animal Nutrition, U.S. Dairy Foods and WinField United businesses, which reported 2017 net sales totaling $14 billion.
In her 31 years of experience as a global operator, Beth has held senior and line leadership positions in seven companies across six industries, including Energy (Mobil Oil), Consumer Packaged Goods (Pepsi/Pepsi Bottling Group), QSR (Perseco), Publishing (Scholastic and Hachette), Chemicals (International Flavors and Fragrances) and now Food Production and Agribusiness.
EVP and COO Land O'Lakes Services 2017
Brad is responsible for a consolidated view of all Land O’Lakes dairy and ag members. He represents a consolidated member voice to all internal and external stakeholders. With his team, Brad develops and implements a suite of products and services to help members compete in the marketplace.
EVP and COO, WinField UnitedOn the team since 2015
Brett serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Land O’Lakes’ crop inputs and insights business WinField® United focused delivering data-backed, insights driven agronomics, operational excellence and sustainable solutions to help locally owned and operated agricultural retailers meet farmers’ needs.
Prior to his current role, Brett served as senior vice president of marketing and offer development for WinField® United. Brett joined Land O’Lakes, Inc. in 2015 with the merger of the Land O’Lakes and United Suppliers seed and crop protection products businesses known today as WinField® United.
SVP, Ag Customer AccountsOn the team since 1998
Doug and his team work with customers of Land O’Lakes’ ag businesses. Doug applies more than 30 years of experience working within the rural cooperative system to assist locally owned and operated agricultural retailers in bringing value to their businesses and to the farmers they serve. Through the WinField® United branded business’ sales team, the Land O’Lakes Ag. Customer Team and Business Development Services, Land O’Lakes’ ag. customers have access to data-backed, insights-driven agronomics, operational excellence, sustainable solutions and strategic business consultation to help them—and the farmers they serve—succeed.
Doug began his career with Madison County Co-op in Indiana and was named General Manager in 1990. He served as General Manager of Ag One Co-op also in Anderson, Indiana, and also spent time with Countrymark Co-op before joining Land O’Lakes in 1998. At Land O’Lakes, Doug managed the agronomy sales forces in the Eastern Corn Belt, Eastern U.S. and Ontario and directed Business-to-Business Sales for the crop inputs businesses before assuming his current role.
SVP, SUSTAINOn the team since 2015
Matt joined Land O’Lakes, Inc. in 2015 with the merger of the United Suppliers and Land O’Lakes crop inputs businesses. He serves as senior vice president of Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN, a business unit formed in 2016, and provides leadership in aligning environmental sustainability efforts across the enterprise. With 21 years in the agriculture industry, Matt’s experience spans retail, wholesale and manufacturing functions in the crop inputs business. He was responsible for developing the sustainability business while at United Suppliers. Prior to joining United Suppliers, Matt held various sales, marketing and management positions at American Cyanamid, BASF, Rosen’s Inc. and Helena Chemical Company. Matt graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University. His passion for agriculture developed on his family’s farm and has only deepened after spending years in the industry.
SVP, Feed B2BOn the team since 2004
Lisa leads Land O’Lakes, Inc.’s feed business-to-business portfolio, which includes the milk replacer, micro ingredient distribution & premix, ingredient merchandising and Lab Diet businesses. She came to Land O’Lakes in 2004 and worked in finance leadership roles for our dairy foods and agricultural services businesses before assuming her current role in 2013. Before Land O’Lakes, Lisa held a variety of finance and strategy roles at International Multifoods and Pillsbury. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Hamline University and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. She sat on the board of directors at Ecumen for 10 years. Lisa is passionate about developing women for leadership roles and is the executive sponsor of Land O’Lakes’ Women’s Leadership Network.
Chief Supply Chain Officer2008
Yone Dewberry is the SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc. In this role, Yone has responsibility for all elements of supply chain operations, including strategy, talent management, manufacturing, engineering, supply and demand planning, transportation, warehousing, quality, analytics, and procurement. Prior to this role, he served as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Procurement. He has brought tremendous value in changing Land O’Lakes distribution models, accelerating service collaboration, redefining transportation strategy and positioning in the art of innovation.
SVP, International DevelopmentOn the team since 2008
John leads the Land O’Lakes International Development organization, a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1981 by Land O’Lakes, Inc. He assumed the role in January, 2017 after leading U.S. Dairy Foods and dairy foods teams since 2008.
Before joining Land O’Lakes, John led corporate marketing at American Medical Systems and spent 15 years in various marketing leadership roles at General Mills. John serves on the boards of ServeMinnesota and Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. He earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Minnesota.
SVP and CHROOn the team since 2004
Loren serves as senior vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO) for Land O’Lakes, Inc. He joined Land O’Lakes in 2004, bringing more than 30 years of human resources and large-scale change management experience in multiple companies and industries. Before joining Land O’Lakes, he served as vice president of human resources at both Honeywell International and the University of St. Thomas.
He is on the Institute for Corporate Productivity CHRO Board, the Gartner CHRO Board and is co-chair of the Board of Governors of the Midwest CHRO Leadership Summit. He is also vice president of the board of Camp Fire of Minnesota and was previously on the Board of the Twin Cities American Heart Association. Loren has a bachelor’s in psychology from Hamline University and completed all but dissertation for a doctorate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Minnesota.
EVP and COO, Purina Animal NutritionOn the team since 1980
Dave has 39 years of experience in the feed industry representing the Purina brand and the components of Land O’Lakes’ animal nutrition business. He began his career at Ralston Purina in 1979 and held several sales, general management, officer, executive officer operating positions as the business evolved to Purina Mills, Inc. then Purina Animal Nutrition. Since 2001, Purina Animal Nutrition has been the consolidated feed and nutrition business at Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Prior to his current role, Dave has led the teams focused on livestock, with the dairy, beef, swine and poultry nutrition businesses, as well as lifestyle component (horse, the companion animal and back yard species) and the exotic animal/zoo business. Since 2010, Dave has led the overall business.
SVP, General Counsel and CAOOn the team since 1983
Peter serves as general counsel and chief administrative officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc., with experience in trademark law, mergers and acquisitions, cooperative law, antitrust law and corporate governance. Peter provides oversight for all legal affairs, community relations, government affairs, member relations, meetings and events, travel, security, real estate and facilities. Peter serves on the boards of the Land O’Lakes Foundation, the Carlson School of Management, Newtrient, LLC,. Peter holds a bachelor’s in political science and a J.D. from Hamline University.
EVP and COO, InternationalOn the team since 2007
Jerry serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of International Business for Land O’Lakes, Inc., in addition to having responsibility for Global Enterprise Customer development. Jerry is Chairman of the Board of Villa Crop Protection, a Land O’Lakes Inc. joint venture in South Africa and serves on the Board of Directors for Bidco Africa in addition to responsibility for ongoing business development in East Africa, China and Mexico.
SVP, Corporate Strategy and Business Development1998
As SVP, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Thea plays a key role in developing company strategy, planning and identifying acisitions tat will be key to Land O’Lakes’ growth.
Thea joined Land O’Lakes in 1998 as director, corporate strategy and business development. She served as the general manager of Dairy Foods Poland. Upon returning to the United States, Thea held progressive positions throughout the enterprise, including director of LAND O LAKES® butter and spreads and vice president retail cheese and marketing services. She also held the positions of vice president of strategic margin expansion and vice president, corporate strategy. Prior to joining Land O’Lakes, Thea spent time consulting in Poland and working in marketing at General Mills.
Thea has a B.A. in economics from Colorado College and an MBA in Marketing from Washington University in St. Louis – Olin Business School.
SVP and CIOOn the team since 2010
Mike joined Land O’Lakes, Inc. in 2010 and became senior vice president and chief information officer in June 2013. During his tenure, Mike has led extensive efforts to embrace big data, mobile, and cloud computing across the enterprise and invest in developing unique and market-leading solutions in the areas of precision agriculture, ag technology and industry leading analytics.
Mike has deep relationships across a number of companies in the technology industry and participates in Customer Advisory Boards with Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce. He also is an advisor in various capacities to Blumberg Capital, Landmark Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SVG Partners, and accelerators such as Thrive.
SVP, CFO2005
As senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer, Bill oversees corporate finance, accounting, treasury and audit. Bill joined Land O’Lakes, Inc. in 2005 as vice president, finance and accounting for Purina and has held progressive roles across the businesses including chief accounting officer and treasurer prior to moving into his current role. He previously held senior roles at ADC Telecommunications and NRG Energy and spent seven years early in his career at KPMG.
Bill is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor of science degree from St. Cloud State University – Herberger Business School.
SVP, OperationsOn the team since 2013
Su Rankin is senior vice president of operations for Land O’Lakes, Inc. and a member of its senior leadership team. She is responsible for the functional oversight of 80 plus facilities that manufacture products delivered under the LAND O LAKES® Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition and WinField United brands.
Su’s 29-year career spans multiple industries, including specialty chemicals and equipment, consumer packaged goods and food products. Prior to joining Land O’Lakes in 2013, Su held leadership roles at Ecolab, SC Johnson and Son, Reckitt Benckiser, and Hormel Foods.
EVP and COO, Dairy Foods2017
Christopher Roberts serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Dairy Foods at Land O’Lakes, Inc. He provides oversight for the company’s reunified Dairy business, including the global powder organization. He holds responsibility for all strategic and commercial activities in the Retail, Foodservice, Ingredient and Industrial sectors and for the continued engagement and development of the team members on the Dairy Foods business.
He previously held positions at Cargill where he was president of Cargill Value Added Proteins and president of the Cargill Kitchens. Prior to Cargill, he built his career in leadership roles at both PepsiCo and The Coca Cola Company.
SVP and CMOOn the team since 2015
Tim oversees B2C and B2B branding and marketing strategy and is responsible for building marketing competencies across all businesses and geographies for Land O’Lakes, Inc. He also has oversight for FLM+, a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc. During his 31-year career, Tim has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor and skilled marketer. He joined Land O’Lakes in 2015.
Prior to Land O’Lakes, Tim was the International CEO and President at mcgarrybowen. In that role, Tim lead the rapidly expanding global offering, while also continuing to steer the Chicago office. His career in advertising has allowed him to help build many well-known brands, from General Mills to Frito Lay, from Sears to Mondelez, from Disney to Wrigley, and from Kraft to Clorox. He’s accumulated a considerable collection of Effies and other awards along the way and has even run a monumental list of Kraft businesses at four different agencies.
Tim earned his bachelor’s and his MBA from Michigan State University. He lives in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood during the week and spends his weekends hibernating at his cabin in the Michigan woods.
EVP and COO, Ag TechnologyOn the team since 1990
For nearly 40 years, Mike has worked in all aspects of the seed industry, with nearly 30 of them in evolving roles at Land O’Lakes, Inc. Today, Mike leads our Ag Technology platform focused exclusively on leveraging research and product development to advance the next generation of Ag Tech consulting offerings.
Prior to his current role, Mike was the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Land O’Lakes’ crop inputs and insights business WinField® United. Mike joined the Land O'Lakes Seed team in 1990 and assumed leadership of the overall business in 2012.
SVP of Fuel for Growth Program Management Office On the team since 1999
As senior vice president for mergers, acquisitions and ventures, Barry provides oversight of merger and acquisition transaction management including due diligence and integration, and of key joint venture and wholly-owned subsidiary investments. As a part of his responsibilities, he represents Land O’Lakes on the boards of directors for FLM +; Eggland's Best, LLC; Geosys Technology Holding, Inc.; Winfield US, LLC; Villa SA; Greenpoint, LLC; Agri-AFC, LLC; and, Valley Ag, LLC. In prior leadership roles at Land O’Lakes, Barry served as chief marketing officer, senior vice president of corporate marketing and communications, senior vice president of corporate strategy and held various leadership roles in the dairy foods business.
Representing both Dairy and Ag, our elected leaders are spread out across the country.