Michael D. Wilbur has joined Wilbur-Ellis’s board of directors. Wilbur currently serves as president and CEO of Cavallo Ventures, Inc., the venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis, a leading international marketer and distributor of agricultural products, animal nutrition, and specialty chemicals and ingredients. In this role, Wilbur has led multiple strategic investments, including the acquisition of Ag Consulting Group and a majority purchase of AgCode, as well as investments in Sound Ag, Trace Genomics, Beta Hatch and Taranis—technologies that are changing the future of farming.
“Mike has extensive experience and deep knowledge of our business,” says John P. Thacher, executive chairman of the Wilbur-Ellis board. “With over 20 years with the company, Mike has worked in each business division, as well as in corporate and investment roles. Most recently, he provided outstanding leadership in closing strategic investments that have driven growth and innovation for the company. The depth and breadth of Mike’s experience makes him an excellent addition to our board of directors.”
Wilbur began his career at American Cyanamid after earning a degree in economics from Boston College. Several years later he joined Wilbur-Ellis as a forage sales representative in the Feed division, now known as Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition, where he took on increasingly responsible sales roles. He gained international experience as the Thailand country general manager for Connell, Wilbur-Ellis’s specialty chemicals business in Asia-Pacific. He also served as national seed director for the Agribusiness division, and subsequently as its vice president of data services and field technology, where he was responsible for the successful development of the company’s AgVerdict agronomy tool. These roles led to his current position on the investment side of the business.
“Being part of a family-owned business, throughout my life I have seen the tremendous growth and development of the company,” Wilbur says. “Next year we’ll begin celebrating our 100th anniversary, and as proud as I am of our past accomplishments, I’m even more excited about the future.
“Today, Wilbur-Ellis is in a strong position,” Wilbur adds. “We have customers who trust us and look to us to support their business. We have employees whose talent, creativity and hard work make everything we do possible. And in my new role on the board, I look forward to working collaboratively with the other board members to provide the passion and guidance that will position Wilbur-Ellis for the next 100 years. That means maintaining our innovative, entrepreneurial spirit, while taking the right steps to become a more efficient, disciplined organization. These strengths will drive us toward a future of growth and opportunity.”
