IARN — GROWMARK’s new CEO is excited for the opportunity to help lead the company into the future.
GROWMARK announced Tuesday that Mark Orr will be its newest Chief Executive Officer effective March 1st, 2022. Orr tells IARN that he will succeed the retiring Jim Spradlin, who had served in the position since September 2014.
“It’s really an exciting time for me,” Orr said. “I’ve dedicated my whole career to the GROWMARK and FS System. As a matter of fact, I just celebrated 32 years with the organization. I actually started as an intern 30-plus years ago as I came out of college. I’ve only worked in this group and it has been a great experience. This will be my ninth position with the organization. I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.”
“I’m really excited about carrying on the strategies that Jim Spradlin and our entire team already had in place,” Orr said. “We’ve been working on those for years, but a lot of what we’re doing today we just want to continue on into the future. Some of the immediate goals we have in place – much like others in the industry – supply chain is a big issue. That’s what our members look for us first and foremost. That’s what we were founded on. They are really looking at us to help them fix some of these problems and concerns they have about the logistics as we move forward. That’s one that’s really high on our radar and I know it’s really important to our membership.”
Orr also talks about some of his long-term goals.
“Some of the things we want to talk about is innovation and how we can use innovation to solve some of agriculture’s problems, whether that be in the supply chain or new products that are coming to market,” Orr said. “So we are really looking about seeing a more invented company and really collaborating with others to drive those types of activities in our business.”
Orr will work alongside Spradlin through February to ensure a smooth and successful transition, the company said.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Photo of Mark Orr courtesy of GROWMARK
