From an intern to the new CEO, Nelson plans to build on the cooperative’s momentum in her new role.
Shawna Nelson has dedicated her career to Organic Valley over the past two decades. Starting as an intern, she worked a range of roles at the farmer cooperative before being named CEO last month.
Organic Valley’s stated mission is to build a system of production that “mirrors the natural laws of living organisms,” and that resonated with Nelson. She plans to keep building on that philosophy.
But another motivation for Nelson to take on the top job is the hope that more little girls will follow in her footsteps. In an interview with TCB, Nelson talks about her path to leadership at Organic Valley, navigating economic uncertainty, and what it means to be the first woman to lead the organization.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
You started as an intern at Organic Valley in 2005. What’s kept you at the company all those years?
The cool thing for me is I grew up about six miles down the road from Organic Valley’s headquarters [in La Farge, Wisconsin]. When I was looking for an internship between my last semester studying business administration at UW-Stevens Point, it was clear to me that Organic Valley was where I wanted to go.
But as for why I stayed? There are a lot of factors, but the primary one is the mission. The people we get to serve with this cooperative drive me. We see a lot of family farms that have gone out of business, and as a cooperative, with our farmers as our owners, we’re able to provide a marketplace for them. We’re able to see stability for the next generation to look at taking over the farm. Being able to fight for the family farm and to serve our family farms is the primary driver.
It’s also the location. I look out the window, and I see my in-laws’ farm. This is home. Over the years, the co-op has invested so much into me from a development standpoint. When I was thinking from an intern seat of where I want to go, I wanted to be with a company that challenges me every day and has trust, confidence, and development. I’ve had that throughout my career.
You’re the first woman to serve as CEO of Organic Valley. What does it mean for you to take this role?
My parents told me when I was a little girl that I could do anything I put my mind to, and at that time, I didn’t really know what that phrase meant. I never really thought that things weren’t possible. When you translate that thought process to business, I think it’s important that we all aspire to whatever we want to achieve. For me, along the way, I didn’t know that was going to be the CEO role. Every job, you think about the next goal. About five years ago, [my manger and I] decided that CEO was going to go on my development plan, and it was something I was going to develop towards. What I feel really thankful for is that our board and our farmer owners recognize both my passion and my ability to lead this cooperative When I think, as a woman, they’ve demonstrated that it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man: They’re putting the most capable person in place to lead the cooperative that has both passion and knowledge.
How have your past roles at Organic Valley prepared you for your new position?
Throughout my career, one of the things that was important to me is to develop a working knowledge of all areas of our business. I worked in HR, sales and marketing, and with our farmers. When I was in HR, I worked on the floor of our production facility for a day to understand what that role entailed. As director of field operations, I chatted with farmers to understand what they’re facing and what their decision-making process looked like. I think you need those diverse experiences to really lead with heart, and that’s what I’ve built with my experiences.
We know consumers remain concerned about the price of eggs and inflation from everyday groceries. How do you plan to address that as CEO?
From my perspective as CEO, it’s important to keep prices at a point where consumers are able to purchase the products that they know and love. It’s that balance of making sure we are able to pay a farmer a price to keep a family farm vibrant. As a cooperative, we’re really bringing that farm and that product to the consumer with not a lot of in between. I think what we’ve seen over the last handful of years is inflation that has both impacted our farmers because those pressures really start when you think of the beginning of the supply chain all the way through to the store shelf. Our focus has been on how we make sure we’re connecting as an industry to tackle those topics. We have actively engaged with members of Congress and the USDA. We’re looking at cost improvement opportunities throughout our supply chain, our business, and on farms.
We know many farmers are concerned about tariffs. How are you bracing your cooperative for them?
We’re aligned with much of agriculture in that tariffs are a market disruption. They create greater costs, and they have inflationary impacts on food. We’re communicating with members of Congress and the USDA to make sure we’re tackling that issue.
What are you looking forward to the most in this position, and what motivated you to take on this role?
When I think about what I’m looking forward to the most, it’s about making sure this cooperative exists for the next hundred years plus. It’s making sure this is a generational thing that provides opportunities to family farms, and it’s about being a building block in that process. It’s making sure we continue to build on that so that the farmers I sit across from at the table every day have confidence that the next generation has a market for their products and has a stable and sustainable pay price is key to me.
