Volunteer Leadership

2026 Board of Directors, Steering Committees Announced

At the Annual Meeting and Conference last week, AgGateway officially announced the newly elected and continuing members of the 2026 Board of Directors, as well as the Steering Committees for each of the three regions. Directors serve an elected two-year term, while Steering Committee members are appointed volunteers.

“I always say that involved membership is what drives progress and achievement for the organization, and we appreciate the extraordinary contributions of individuals who volunteer to serve on our Board and Steering Committees,” says Brent Kemp, President and CEO.

Jacob Crow of GROWMARK, Inc. was elected Chair of the Board of Directors, succeeding Karen Oerter of Land O’Lakes, Inc. Oerter will continue to serve the group as Immediate Past Chair.

The entire 2026 Board of Directors is as follows:

  • Jacob Crow | GROWMARK, Chair
  • Karen Oerter | Land O’Lakes, Immediate Past Chair
  • Marcelo Abreu | Venturus
  • Flávio Barros | TELUS
  • Lori Bishop | J.R. Simplot
  • Scott Charbo | Novus Ag
  • Jeff Griffeth | Keystone Cooperative
  • Phil Kubesh | Vita Plus
  • Patricia Perez | Lexagri
  • Klaus-Herbert Rolf | 365 Farmnet
  • Brent Kemp | AgGateway President and CEO

I’m really looking forward to working with Jacob as we kick off the new year and work to execute the new five-year strategic plan,” says Kemp. “Karen was an outstanding board chair this year and will be of tremendous service and counsel as the immediate past president.”

The 2026 Steering Committees are as follows:

Europe Region

  • Klaus-Herbert Rolf | CLAAS
  • Patricia Perez | Lexagri
  • Johannes Sonnen | DKE-Data GmbH
  • Gilles Begue | SMAG
  • Marie Beuret | Agro EDI Europe
  • Nicolas Hummel | VDMA EV
  • Conny Graumans | Regional Director

Latin America Region

  • Flávio Barros | TELUS
  • Stanley Oliveira | EMBRAPA
  • Fábio Pereira | Alagro Tecnologia
  • José Loyola | Regional Director

North America Region

  • Stephanie Frazier | Corteva
  • Joe Gifford | Syngenta
  • Jason Kapanke | CHS, Inc.
  • Mike Kuhn | Nutrien
  • Julie Mathey | GROWMARK
  • Scott Nieman | Land O’Lakes
  • Trisha Rentschler | Kahler Automation
  • Tracey Soper | Keystone Cooperative
  • Mary Tangen | Greenstone Systems
  • Jeremy Wilson | Regional Director