Tim Ramsey, Wilco’s Next CEO

Wilco announces Tim Ramsey as the new CEO and President to lead the agricultural cooperative towards continued success.

The transition takes place after Doug Hoffman retires from 23 years with the coop.  Ramsey joins Wilco later this year with a transition period in December to fully manage the company by January 1st.

As a farmer and rancher owned cooperative, Wilco is an agriculturally-based and diverse business to manage.  Ramsey’s recent experience as CEO of the Oregon Cherry Growers Inc. cooperative adds to his fit for the organization.  His experience with food marketing businesses will be an asset to an organization that recently merged with Hazelnut Growers of Oregon (HGO) and added hazelnut processing and marketing.

In addition to HGO, Ramsey will be charged with leadership over the other business units; including the growing Farm Store business and a core bulk Petroleum and Lubricants delivery business that helped establish the company over 50 years ago.  Wilco is also an owner of the Valley Agronomics joint venture that provides products and services to farms across Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Regarding the acceptance of Wilco’s CEO position, Tim says, “I am honored and humbled to join Wilco as the next President and Chief Executive Officer.  I am committed to preserving Wilco’s strong culture and core values, strengthening the passion that customers have for Wilco, and consistently provide value to our membership.  As we create the Wilco of the future, I will continue to focus on the company’s core strategies and pursue opportunities to accelerate growth.”

Prior to leading Oregon Cherry Growers, Ramsey served as President and CEO of La Terra Fina, Inc., and held the position of Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at Pacific Foods of Oregon.

Tim is originally from California where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University and attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  He’s also familiar with the Pacific Northwest where Wilco operates.  While his career has moved him around, he’s been drawn back to Oregon since his career brought him there over 30 years ago.

Lisa Smith, Wilco’s VP of Human Resources said, “This is an exciting time for the Wilco team.  We look forward to Tim’s leadership and continuation of our focus on customers and core values.  We will miss Doug as he enters retirement and are so appreciative of all he’s done the past 23 years; he’s prepared us well and taught the value of change.  We welcome Tim and look forward to his contribution towards a bright future.”