Overview
Dave MacLennan is the former CEO and Chairman of Cargill. MacLennan brings over 30 years’ global experience in industrial and agricultural products and leading through enterprise-wide transformation. MacLennan serves on the boards of Ecolab and Caterpillar, and also serves on the board of trustees of Amherst and on the board of the Minnesota Business Partnership. His range of experience spans from healthcare to heavy industry.
Career History
During his 10 years at the helm of Cargill, he sharpened the company’s focus on customer success, operational efficiency and ensuring its business portfolio effectively targeted opportunities in which the company could be a market leader. MacLennan drove operational change, impressing the importance of speed and agility with an emphasis on accountability and looking outside Cargill for answers. He emphasized creating a safe and inclusive work environment to foster talent development and growth, and in turn, growth and success for the business.
Prior to this role, he served as President and CEO, and was earlier elected to the Cargill Board of Directors. He had also served as CFO and COO.
Previously, MacLennan led the U.S. business to help manage the expanding animal protein portfolio. Before this, he led the company’s petroleum trading business and served as a platform leader for Risk Management and Financial Services in Geneva.
MacLennan left Cargill for a two-year period and joined U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray as Head of Fixed Income Capital Markets, where he was responsible for overseeing a business in need of a turnaround.
In his first term with Cargill, he served in several management positions in the U.S., U.K., and Switzerland, including roles within the financial and risk management, energy and animal protein businesses.
MacLennan began his career as a runner and clerk at the Chicago Board of Trade, a hub of the nation’s agricultural commodity business, and, through subsequent moves, worked his way up to SVP at LIT Holdings PLC in Chicago.
Personal
MacLennan received a BA in English from Amherst College, followed by an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has served on several corporate and nonprofit boards, focusing on the needs of underprivileged youth and access to education. He and his wife, Kathleen, have three adult children, and currently reside in Massachusetts.