Mike has spent 30 years in agriculture,19 of which were with Cargill. While at Cargill domestically Mike had two elevator system merchant roles in Illinois and Texas and 2 regional trading management roles, 1 of which served the Southwest US feed markets and other as the head of all Eastern US Feedgrain Trading. Mike also spent 5 years in Ukraine beginning Cargill's trading operations of all ag and industrial commodities and the build-out of grain storage, processing, and export infrastructure. He also worked as a project team leader in the internal consulting group executing mergers and acquisitions and strategy. Mike ended his time at Cargill with a 5-year stint in Cargill Ventures. Since then, he has been a part of 3 ag tech startups and 4 years in ag tech venture capital. He does not actively farm but maintains that connection through the ownership of two farms in Rice County, Minnesota.

B.A. St Olaf College in Economics, Russian Language, and Russian and Soviet Studies; MBA University of Minnesota Carlson School.