Agriculture giant Cargill reports Chief Operating Officer, Brian Sikes, will take over as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota-based company at the start of 2023. Sikes, 54 years old and a 31-year company veteran, will become the 10th CEO in Cargill's 157-year history.

Sikes received his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Texas Tech (1990). In 2020, he was recognized as a Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources Distinguished Alumni. The honor is presented to graduates who have made significant contributions to society, and whose accomplishments and careers have brought distinction to the college and to the professions associated with agriculture and natural resources.

In 2018, Texas Tech created a new position in the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources – the Cargill Endowed Professorship in Meat Science Sustainability in the Department of Animal & Food Sciences. The position was made possible by a $750,000 donation from Cargill in May 2017. The first recipient was Dale Woerner, currently a professor in the academic unit and a meat/food industry consultant

 The executive change at Cargill comes as business booms for grain traders. Cargill, a privately held agribusiness company with meat, grain and food ingredients businesses, said earlier this year that its revenue rose 23% to a record $165 billion for 2021.

“Cargill has a solid foundation, business model and culture that positions us for long-term success,” Sikes told The Wall Street Journal.

Before being elevated to COO in 2021, Sikes led Cargill's protein and salt businesses. He began his career with Cargill in 1991, worked across its meat and food service businesses, and joined the company's executive team in 2019. He also previously led Cargill's global talent management.

With 160,000 employees in 70 countries, Cargill is one of the world's biggest food suppliers. It buys crops from farmers, trades sugar and cotton, and processes meat, supplying some of the world's biggest consumer brands and restaurant chains.

CONTACT: Phillip Johnson, chair and director of the Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-0474 or phil.johnson@ttu.edu

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