Meet Our Corporate Leadership Team
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bill Krueger is President and Chief Executive Officer for The Andersons, Inc. and has more than 30 years of experience working in the agriculture sector. He had previously served as the company’s chief operating officer and president of the trade and processing business.
Bill joined The Andersons in 2019 as part of the Lansing Trade Group, LLC acquisition where he had served as its president and CEO for nearly 14 years, acquiring a deep knowledge of the commodity industry and a strong business development skillset in grains, energy, risk management, and corporate finance.
Prior to The Andersons and Lansing, Bill began his career as a grain merchant.
Currently, he serves on the board of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he had previously served as chairman. He also serves on the executive committee of the NGFA board of directors.
Bill earned his Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Master of Business Administration in finance from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management.
WILLIAM E. KRUEGER
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Brian Valentine joined The Andersons in 2018 with more than 20 years of senior management experience and expertise encompassing corporate finance, treasury, public capital markets, accounting, tax, and investment management. He previously served as corporate vice president and chief financial officer for the Lubrizol Corporation, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and manufacturer of specialty chemicals. Prior to this role, he held numerous financial leadership positions within the company while it was publicly traded, including corporate treasurer.
Currently, he serves on the board of trustees for the Greater Toledo Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Toledo.
Brian earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting as well as his Master of Business Administration from John Carroll University. He is a certified public accountant licensed in the state of Ohio.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Christine Castellano joined The Andersons in February 2020. She is the former senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer for Ingredion Incorporated, a Fortune 500® food ingredients company. She was promoted to that position in 2012 after serving for 16 years in legal roles of increasing responsibility in Ingredion and its predecessor companies' U.S. and international businesses. Prior to joining Ingredion, she was an income partner in an international law firm.
Currently, Christine serves as the vice chair on the board of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and is a board member for the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Network.
Christine earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.
President, Nutrient and Industrial
Joe McNeely first joined The Andersons in January 2018 as president of its rail group, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the financial, manufacturing, and distribution industries, specializing in the leasing, distribution, and manufacturing businesses. Three years later, he was named president of the Nutrient and Industrial business.
Prior to The Andersons, he served as president and CEO of FreightCar America, Inc. where he led the company's transformation from a coal railcar manufacturer to a manufacturer of a diverse portfolio of railcars. Joe also held vice president roles at Mitsui Rail Capital, LLC and GATX Corporation after beginning his career as a senior manager at Arthur Andersen, LLP.
Currently, he serves on several boards, including The Fertilizer Institute, BioStar Renewables, The Toledo Zoo, RGP Northwest Ohio, and Illinois State University College of Business Advisory Council.
Joe earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Illinois State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Sarah Zibbel joined The Andersons in August 2023 and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in human resources and talent management. She previously served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Libbey since 2018, where she was part of the leadership team that led the multi-year reorganization of the company and the purpose driven culture renovation focused on inclusion, leadership excellence, accountability, and engagement with a goal of securing sustainable, long-term growth.
Prior to this, Sarah was the vice president of global talent, culture, and organizational effectiveness at Owens-Illinois, Inc., and had held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility with Owens Corning and MedCorp, Inc.
She currently serves as a trustee for St. Ursula Academy (since 2020) and St. John’s Jesuit (2021) in Toledo. Sarah previously served as a board trustee for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (2020-2023) and on the board for the Employer Association of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan (2012-2020).
Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in communications management and sociology from the University of Dayton and holds a Master of Business Administration in international business from Bowling Green State University.
Chairman since 2024
Pat Bowe joined The Andersons in November 2015 and has more than 40 years of experience in the agricultural sector. He was elected chairman of the board in May 2024. He had previously served as corporate vice president of Cargill, Inc. and as one of the leaders of the company’s Food Ingredients and Systems platform since 2007. Prior to that role, Pat was the president of Cargill’s corn wet milling business from 1999 – 2007.
Pat began his career working as a cash grain merchant and worked at the Chicago Board of Trade. He also worked in metals trading, sweetener sales, and plant management for Cargill.
Currently, he serves on the board for United Malt Group (since September 2022), the fourth largest commercial maltster globally, which operates as a network of companies spanning North America, the UK and Australia. He is former Chairman (June 2020-June 2022) of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees and continues to hold a seat on the Board. In addition, he is the current Treasurer and Director of the Toledo Museum of Art (since 2020).
Pat earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Stanford Food Research Institute.
Board member since 2008
Gerry has a wealth of business knowledge and expertise specific to the energy industry. He is the former executive chairman of DTE Energy, a Detroit-based diversified energy company, where he also served as president and CEO, leading the company’s strategy to focus on cost and operational excellence in the utility business and develop its non-regulated businesses. Prior to joining DTE Energy in 1993, Gerry worked as a senior consultant at McKinsey & Co. His experience also includes The Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, along with serving as an engineer and project manager with The Collaborative, Inc.
Currently, he is chairman of the Edison Electric Institute board, Detroit Regional Partnership, Detroit Economic Club, Downtown Detroit Partnership, West Michigan Policy Forum, and Business Leaders for Michigan as well as founder and leader of the Detroit Regional CEO Group. Gerry is also involved in his local community, including serving as a trustee with The Nature Conservancy and the McGregor Fund.
Gerry earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan.
Board member since 2022
Steven has an extensive 30-year career in the ag industry. He served as Head of North America Grain and Group Executive Vice President at Louis Dreyfus where he retired in 2017. He has held various leadership positions, including as president and CEO of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Grain Merchandising LLC, where he oversaw all grain trading and operations in North America. He also served as a vice president with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and as manager, natural gas trading at American Electric Power (AEP) where helped AEP establish a trading presence in the energy markets.
Formerly, he was Chairman, Kansas City Board of Trade, First Vice Chairman on the North American Export Grain Association's Board of Directors and held a position on the Commodity Markets Council Board of Directors. In addition, he is currently a guest lecturer at Auburn University, speaking on commodity trading.
Steven earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University.
Board member since 2021
Gary’s more than 20 years of senior management-level experience spans geographically diverse U.S. markets. For nearly ten years, he served as president of Nationwide National Partners. Prior to that role, Gary held various leadership positions, including president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company and Farmland Mutual Insurance Company, regional vice president for Allied Insurance's Central States region, regional vice president for Nationwide Insurance in New York, and associate vice president for Affinity operations.
Currently, Gary is a member of several community and institutional boards, including the National Urban League, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the African American Leadership Academy, and the Executive Leadership Council.
Gary earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from Eastern Michigan University. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business Executive Leadership Program.
Board member since 2019
Pam has an extensive accounting and financial background with more than 30 years of experience serving at the Ernst & Young firm located in Toledo, OH. She began her career as a staff auditor and was later promoted to partner and served as a trusted advisor to several Fortune® 1,000 companies. In 2008, Pam was named the managing partner for the Toledo office, a position she held until her retirement in 2018.
Currently, Pam holds leadership positions on several community and institutional boards, including Ohio Northern University, Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts, and Greater Toledo Community Foundation.
Pam earned her bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University and completed the Ernst & Young Executive Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a certified public accountant.
Board member since 2007
Cathy’s 30 years of experience and legal expertise serve as an important perspective when consulting on market and business strategy. She is the former senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of The Sherwin-Williams Company, serving from 2013 – 2017. She oversaw the delivery of domestic and global legal services and advised management on legal and regulatory matters, such as corporate governance, litigation, environmental, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. Prior to Sherwin-Williams, from 2002 – 2013, Cathy was the senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with American Greetings Corporation.
She serves on several boards, including the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, Davey Tree Expert Company, and Interface, Inc.
Cathy earned her bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University. She also attended the university's Weatherhead School of Management, studying financial and managerial accounting as well as entrepreneurial behavior.
Board member since 2005
Bob brings more than 40 years of banking experience and business knowledge to The Andersons board. Now retired, he was previously the senior advisor with FNB Corp. Bob held the roles of president and CEO of PVF Capital and Park View Federal Savings Bank, from 2009 – 2013, and senior managing director of FSI Group, LLC from 2006 – 2009. He began his career at Fifth Third Bank in Northeastern Ohio in 1975. He was appointed to executive vice president of Fifth Third in 1989 and served as president and CEO from 1997 – 2005.
Currently, he serves on the boards of directors for Medical Mutual of Ohio and the Diversity Center as well as a trustee with the University of Cincinnati Foundation.
Bob earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Business Administration in marketing from Xavier University. He is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Board member since 2008
Ross has more than 30 years of business management, finance, and leadership experience, and he is the founder, as well as former president and CEO, of ExteNet Systems. Prior to ExteNet Systems, he was president of the Enclosure Systems Division of Flextronics International Ltd. which was responsible for the manufacture and integration of electronic packaging systems for the telecommunications and high-technology industries. Ross came to Flextronics through the company’s acquisition of Chatham Technologies Inc. where he was CEO.
Currently, he serves on the board of directors for Zebra Technologies Corp.
Ross earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Davidson College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Board member since 2009
John's extensive career in the financial market, specifically as it relates to the food industry, is a strength for the board. He serves as the chairman and CEO of Plaza Belmont Management Group LLC. From 2005 – 2010, he served on the board of The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and he previously held a seat on The Kansas City Board of Trade. From 1991 – 1998, he served as president of Manildra Milling Corp. and Manildra Energy Corp., and he served as executive vice president of Dixie Portland Flour Mills Inc. from 1984 – 1990.
Currently, John serves as chairman of the board of Renwood Mills, and serves on the boards of Mennel Milling Company, Homegrown Family Foods, PBMG Inc., and Renwood Appreciation and Income Fund. He also continues to serve on the non-profit board of BNEF (Bakers National Education Foundation), a trust that sponsors and funds teaching chairs at Kansas State University.
John earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University.
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