Leadership team
Executive team and Board of Directors
Each of our leaders has a depth of experience that provides the perspective needed for successful decision-making on behalf of our producer and cooperative owners. Are you a cooperative farmer-owner with fresh ideas and a passion for collaboration and leadership? CHS Board members are elected at the CHS Annual Meeting in December. If you are interested in becoming a candidate for the CHS Board of Directors or serving in other capacities, learn more and direct questions to Megan Bern. To send a question to the CHS Board of Directors, contact us.
Executive team
Board of Directors
Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee Region 7
Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee Region 7
Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia Region 5
Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia Region 5
Jay Debertin - President and chief executive officer
Jay Debertin is president and chief executive officer of CHS, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and an agronomy, energy, global grains and processing company.
In 2017, Debertin was named president and CEO following 33 years of leadership roles across the company. He has been with the cooperative since 1984.
As president and CEO of CHS, Debertin drives the company’s strategies while growing its core businesses to provide end-to-end products and leverage the strength of the cooperative’s supply chain to support the nation’s farmers and cooperatives. Debertin previously held the positions of executive vice president and chief operating officer for CHS energy and processing and food ingredients.
Working for CHS was, in part, a coming home for Debertin. He grew up in the heart of the Red River Valley in Minnesota, in a community surrounded by agriculture and a strong cooperative system.
Debertin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Debertin serves as board chair for Ventura Foods, LLC, a joint venture of which CHS is part owner. He also sits on the boards of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Securian Financial.
David Black - Executive vice president, enterprise transformation, and chief information officer
David Black is executive vice president, enterprise transformation, and chief information officer for CHS, a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States.
Black is responsible for enterprise transformation, marketing, communications, innovation, facilities and CHS global information technology. He leads enterprise transformation efforts, including the company’s change in operating model and transformation management office. Black also leads strategy, implementation, delivery and operation of information technology for all CHS businesses worldwide. Finally, he oversees the company’s owner and employee communications, advertising and public relations, and CHS innovation programs, including the CHS venture capital program, Cooperative Ventures.
Prior to joining CHS in 2014, Black served as vice president of information technology at Monsanto Company, where he was responsible for all aspects of information technology for its global commercial businesses. During his 20 years with Monsanto, he held positions including vice president, corporate strategy, and president, Monsanto Agro-Services, LLC, a role in which he was responsible for new business development. He also held a broad range of global IT and enterprise roles including leadership assignments in Asia and Canada.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal recognized Black as a 2016 Titan of Technology for his transformational leadership at CHS. Black currently serves on the boards of Cooperative Ventures and Ventura Foods and is former board chair of Ag Gateway, a nonprofit consortium of more than 300 businesses serving the agriculture industry, which strives to promote, enable and expand e-business in agriculture. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Tarkio College, Tarkio, Mo.
Rick Dusek - Executive vice president, ag retail, distribution and transportation
Rick Dusek, executive vice president, leads ag retail, distribution and transportation for CHS, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global agronomy, energy, grains, and food company.
Having spent his entire 34-plus year career with CHS, Dusek has held several leadership roles with the company. He was promoted to join the company’s strategic leadership team and to lead retail operations in 2017, and in 2023, his role expanded to encompass ag retail and wholesale distribution and transportation.
As executive vice president, Dusek is leading the transformation of the company’s retail and wholesale distribution assets and operations and developing an enterprise transportation center of excellence to advance critical distribution capabilities for the company’s integrated enterprise supply chain for energy, agronomy, animal nutrition and grain product lines. Dusek and his team are helping create and drive efficiency to deliver excellence and enable profitable growth on behalf of owners and customers.
In his previous role as vice president of CHS agronomy, Dusek was instrumental in transformation of the company’s wholesale crop nutrients business, including investment in domestic nitrogen production and led his team in implementing a market research function to advance supply, trading, and risk management strategies. Dusek has also served as vice president of grain marketing where he led all aspects of North American grain and strategically expanded the platform.
Originally from North Dakota, Dusek joined CHS in 1988 and spent his early days with the cooperative merchandising grain. Dusek is a past board member of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange and The Fertilizer Institute. He earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.
John Griffith - Executive vice president, agriculture and CHS Hedging
John Griffith is executive vice president, ag business and CHS Hedging, for CHS, a U.S. farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. In his role, he leads CHS trading and risk management for global grain, oilseeds, crop nutrients and crop protection. He also oversees CHS Hedging, LLC, a commodities brokerage subsidiary of CHS Inc.
Griffith grew up on a corn, soybean and livestock farm in southwestern Minnesota and during his high school years, worked part-time at a local grain elevator. He is a results-oriented, respected leader who champions expanding market access, operational excellence and develops strong, customer-focused teams to monitor market trends for opportunities that drive revenue growth and add stakeholder value across all global origination offices and operations.
Griffith's prior roles at CHS include senior vice president, global grain and marketing; vice president, grain marketing North America; vice president and merchandising manager; senior durum manager; procurement merchandiser; and assistant barley merchandiser.
His leadership positions outside CHS include vice president, supply chain, and vice president, global sourcing at American Italian Pasta Company, Kansas City, Mo., and vice president and chief procurement officer for Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
Griffith earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn., and a master of business administration from Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Mo. He serves as board chair for CHS Hedging, a commodities brokerage subsidiary of CHS, represents CHS on the CF Nitrogen Board of Managers and serves on the board of Producer Ag, LLC, a grain marketing joint venture between CHS and MKC, and on the board of CHS/MKC, LLC. He previously chaired the North American Export Grain Association board and served on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange board of directors.
Gary Halvorson - Executive vice president, enterprise customer development
Gary Halvorson is executive vice president, enterprise customer development for CHS, the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. Halvorson is responsible for CHS efforts across all product lines to deliver a focused and coordinated customer experience for owners and customers.
Halvorson has more than 20 years of experience in various agriculture roles, working for Cargill and serving as a sales agronomist at a local cooperative before joining CHS in 1999. He held various leadership roles with CHS in Milton, N.D., and Dakota Ag Services in Minot, N.D., before becoming general manager for CHS Ag Services, Warren, Minn. Halvorson served as vice president of farm supply for the CHS ag retail business from 2014 through 2017. Prior to his customer development leadership role, Halvorson led the company’s wholesale agronomy platform, including acquisition and integration of crop protection.
Halvorson represents CHS on The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) Board of Directors, the CF Nitrogen Board of Managers and the board of Cooperative Ventures, a capital fund founded in late 2021 between CHS and Growmark. He has also served on the National FFA Sponsors Board and the Agricultural Retailers Association Board of Directors.
Halvorson earned a bachelor of arts degree in business from Concordia University and has completed many other career development and management courses, including Leading for Growth, Dale Carnegie training and the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program.
Darin Hunhoff - Executive vice president, energy
Darin Hunhoff is executive vice president of energy for CHS, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and food company.
In 2017, Hunhoff was named executive vice president following 25 years of leadership roles in energy and company strategy.
In his role, Darin is responsible for enhancing and growing the company’s diverse energy operations, which include refineries, pipelines and terminals; refined fuels; propane; and lubricants. He leads the company’s emerging energy strategy, working to position CHS for success in an evolving energy landscape. In addition, he oversees sustainability at CHS, which is focused on a long-term view on people, communities, economic viability and environmental success, as well as the CHS strategic sourcing function.
Hunhoff’s many contributions to CHS include serving as chief strategy officer, leading a comprehensive portfolio review that provided critical input toward the company’s strategic direction. In energy, he led the refined fuels business to a record 3 billion gallons of Cenex® branded sales and led the propane division through significant transformation.
Growing up in agriculture in South Dakota, his family operated a successful agri-business and instilled in him a motivation to help farmers succeed.
Hunhoff has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business management from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn.
Hunhoff serves on the board for Ventura Foods, LLC, a CHS joint venture, and previously served on the board of directors of Ardent Mills, LLC, a CHS joint venture and the nation’s largest wheat miller, and as chair of the marketing advisory committee at the Propane Education Research Council. Hunhoff serves on the board of Together for Good, a nonprofit focused on stabilizing families in crisis.
Mary Kaul-Hottinger - Executive vice president, chief human resources officer
Mary Kaul-Hottinger is executive vice president, chief human resources officer, for CHS, a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States.
Kaul-Hottinger is responsible for setting direction and strategy to help CHS achieve key priorities with a focus on helping the organization attract, develop and retain high-performing and diverse talent to drive business growth and the company’s strategies. She also has responsibility for the company’s community giving and employee volunteerism.
Kaul-Hottinger has nearly four decades of experience in human resources. Before joining CHS in 2018 she served 11 years at Ecolab as vice president, human resources for Ecolab’s global businesses where she and her team supported multiple business units with more than 30,000 employees in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Ecolab in 2007, Mary served in human resource leadership roles supporting operating divisions at General Mills and Pillsbury. She also held human resources roles at Securian Financial, formerly Minnesota Life.
Kaul-Hottinger serves as the board co-chair of Together We Grow, a consortium of major agribusiness and food interests building the workforce of tomorrow. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Greater Twin Cities United Way. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.
Olivia Nelligan - Executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer
Olivia Nelligan is executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer of CHS Inc., a leading global agribusiness and the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the U.S. She is responsible for all finance and strategic planning activities across CHS.
Nelligan has more than 20 years of experience as a global finance and commercial business leader with expertise leading transformation and delivering sustainable, profitable growth.
Before joining CHS, she held executive positions in multiple organizations. Her past experience includes serving as chief executive officer of Nasco, LLC, a private equity-owned company. She spent more than a decade with Kerry Group plc, having served as global chief financial and strategic planning officer of its Taste and Nutrition division.
Nelligan serves on the board of directors for Ardent Mills, a strategic joint venture of CHS and a leading flour milling and food ingredient producer. She also serves on the board of Dana Incorporated, a leader in the design and manufacture of propulsion and energy-management solutions that power vehicles and machines in mobility markets across the globe.
Nelligan holds a bachelor's degree in civil law and a higher diploma in business and financial information systems from University College Cork, Ireland, and a master of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an associate member of the Institute of Taxation in Ireland.
Brandon Smith - Executive vice president and general counsel
Brandon Smith is executive vice president and general counsel for CHS, the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods business. He provides counsel to CHS leaders and the CHS Board of Directors on issues related to company strategy and its execution, corporate governance, government affairs, and compliance with laws and regulations, including the CHS global compliance program. He also works with the CHS corporate finance team to ensure the company maintains the processes and infrastructure that support robust Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and compliance, disclosure and investor communications. In addition to overseeing the legal, compliance and government affairs departments, Smith also oversees the company’s corporate security, internal audit, corporate environmental health and safety, and enterprise risk management functions.
Smith joined CHS in 2021 after serving as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Tenneco Inc., a multinational industrial company based in Lake Forest, Ill. Prior to joining Tenneco in 2008, Smith was an attorney with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, Ill., providing counsel on corporate issues, mergers and acquisitions.
Smith earned a juris doctor degree from Cornell Law School, Ithaca, N.Y., and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio.
Cortney Wagner - Director
Cortney Wagner was elected to the CHS Board of Directors in 2020. She is vice chair of the board’s Corporate Risk Committee and a member of the Government Relations Committee.
Wagner serves on the board for the Montana Council of Cooperatives. She holds a real estate license and previously worked in commercial investment and risk management.
She earned an associate of arts degree from Williston State College and attended the University of North Dakota, majoring in business finance and psychology. She has completed the National Association of Corporate Directors comprehensive Director Professionalism course.
Wagner’s family has experience in farming and cooperative management dating back to 1939. She is a first-generation cattle and hay producer in Montana.
Trent Sherven - Director
Trent Sherven was elected to the CHS Board of Directors in 2024. He is a member of the board’s Audit Committee and CHS Foundation Board of Trustees. Previously, he served on the CHS Resolutions Committee for three years, including one year as chair.
Sherven serves as secretary on the CHS SunPrairie producer board and is a former board member of the Ward County Farmers Union. He is a member of the North Dakota Farmers Union and North Dakota Cooperative Directors’ Association.
Sherven is a former teacher, athletic director and principal and has served on local school boards and on township and county boards and committees.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in math education from Minot State University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Arizona State University.
Sherven and his family operate two farms in North Dakota, producing canola, durum, peas, soybeans, spring wheat and winter wheat.