Land O'Lakes Company

"Talent is my top priority. I believe our value as leaders is best measured by the success of the people we have been able to help bring along in their own careers and achievements."

Beth Ford was named President and Chief Executive Officer at Land O’Lakes, Inc. by the board of directors in July 2018. Ford proudly leads the nearly 100-year-old farmer- and local retailer-owned cooperative that also ranks No. 216 on the Fortune 500 list. Although best known for its No. 1 selling butter brand, Land O’Lakes, Inc. business units span the farm-to-fork continuum from seed to feed to food, in addition to focusing on ag tech and consultation services to help farmers grow more with less.

Ford stepped into the role after a series of successful executive postings within the company since she joined in 2011. Most recently, as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Land O’Lakes Businesses, Ford was responsible for the Purina Animal Nutrition, U.S. Dairy Foods and WinField United businesses, which reported 2017 net sales totaling $14 billion. Prior to that, Ford was head of Land O’Lakes’ Dairy Foods and Purina Animal Nutrition businesses, and during her tenure she led record performance, leveraging innovation through R&D to strengthen the Purina brand and leading record growth in the Dairy business. She was key in identifying the opportunity to acquire Vermont Creamery in early 2017.

"Many of the challenges in farming are not new. However, what is different now is farmers are making decisions based on data versus intuition. They’re relying on technology to help them make decisions – and that technology helps farmers produce more food, with fewer resources and less environmental impact."

Teddy serves as the Chief Technology Officer, leading Land O’Lakes’ Ag Tech and IT organizations and is responsible for developing and implementing technology solutions for retail and farmer customers to help them produce more sustainable outputs by leveraging agronomic insights from Answer Plot® locations, labs, the Winfield United Innovation Center and the collective knowledge of our organization. Teddy’s application of technology and data to the practice of farming has shaped product offerings such as WinField United's R7® Tool, Answer Tech and ATLAS portal.

Prior to his current role, Teddy served as Vice President, Ag Technology, WinField United, serving as the business CIO and providing full IT management and leadership responsibilities. Teddy holds an MBA from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University.

"We have three big rocks we try to stay focused on. It starts with the customer. Understand their needs and everything will work out. Second, we focus on recruiting and retaining the highest level of talent. Last is our quest for continuous improvement by embracing innovation."

Brett serves as the president of Land O'Lakes' crop inputs and insights business, WinField^® United, and executive vice president of Land O'Lakes, Inc. He's 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.

“If you eat, you’re a part of agriculture. There isn’t a farmer to my knowledge that wakes up without that in mind. With Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN, we’re simplifying the complex challenge of feeding the world by using our products, practices and technology to help farmers do more with less.”

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. 

“We have great opportunities for women in agribusiness, and women don’t always think to look at this industry. My advice to young women is to stay an active participant in your career. Work hard, continue learning and take some risks.”

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. 

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.

"At our core, we are owned by farmer producers who are no-nonsense, get-it-done people. As a result, our culture has a strong 'can-do' attitude. Our competitors and the environment in which we're doing business require that we have a sharper focus on execution and set a high bar for marketplace achievement."

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.

"There are clearly differences between industries, but the talent you have is what gives you the most exclusive competitive advantage. It’s what allows you to meet marketplace needs, grow the company and be competitive."

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.

"In business today, there is a lot of pressure to meet short-term deliverables. We're fortunate at Land O'Lakes to have the ownership structure and management philosophy that enables us to look ahead and make the connection of farm-to-plate."

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.

"Great ideas can come from anywhere. Seek creative people to bring the outside in. And, if you see an opportunity, don't be afraid to go outside of your area. Acting boldly gives us more opportunities as individuals—and helps us be more successful as a company."

Jerry serves as chief operating officer for Land O’Lakes, Inc., in addition to having responsibility for International Businesses. 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, Mexico and Canada.

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.

As senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer, Bill oversees corporate finance, accounting, treasury, mergers and acquisitions 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.

"Supply chains are largely human organizations. I think that if you love people there is no better function than supply chain. Supply chain members are wired to be collaborative and work very hard to make the impossible happen."

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.

Christopher Roberts serves as president of Dairy Foods and executive vice president 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.

"The heights of creativity are reached through the inspiration of living a full life—getting out there and experiencing what our customers, members and partners are experiencing each and every day."

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.

"Now more than ever, ethics and integrity play a role in the success of business. Customers value not only 'what' they are buying, but 'how' what they buy was created and by whom."

Sheilah is a graduate of Alma College in Alma, Michigan, and received her law degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Sheilah practiced labor and employment law at the Bond, Schoeneck and King firm in Syracuse, New York, and at Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis.

Prior to joining Land O’Lakes in 2012 as Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment, she held positions of increasing leadership at Target Stores and SUPERVALU, Inc.

Sheilah served as Deputy General Counsel and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Law Department before being named General Counsel in June 2018.

"The environment around us is changing aggressively. We have both an opportunity and an imperative to capitalize on the opportunities it creates."

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.