Mycogen
Seeds recently announced the promotion of Ben Kaehler to the
position of National Sales Manager. Kaehler, a 17-year veteran
of Dow AgroSciences (an affiliate of Mycogen Seeds), will manage
a professional sales team that spans over 20 states.
"We’re pleased to announce Ben’s new leadership role," says
Tom Wiltrout, General Manager, North American Seeds for Dow
AgroSciences. "He has demonstrated a natural talent for team
leadership and business management. We are confident that he
will make decisions that benefit the company and its employees,
while keeping in touch with customer needs.
"In essence, this is a critical position for any company, and
we are pleased that Ben accepted it. His ability to effectively
manage our sales team and work closely with our dealers will
allow Mycogen Seeds to continue serving customers and meeting
their ever-changing agronomic needs," adds Wiltrout.
In addition to managing the Mycogen Seeds sales team, Kaehler
will work closely with other Dow AgroSciences groups, including
the traits business, to strengthen the position of Mycogen
Seeds. "I’m excited to work with an excellent team of sales
representatives and dealers, and I am eager to work together to
build on the position of Mycogen Seeds by educating growers
about our strong seed portfolio. We have many reasons to be
proud," Kaehler says. "By working as a team – generating ideas,
implementing those ideas and growing our business, we will all
succeed, while helping our growers improve their profit
opportunities."
A native of St. Charles, Minn., Kaehler grew up on a family
farm and raised registered beef cattle and managed cash crops
with three brothers and his father, who was also a seed dealer.
Kaehler earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from North
Dakota State University. "It was a natural fit and combined many
of my interests, including business and agriculture," he says.
To this day, two of his brothers are actively involved in
farming.
In 1986, Kaehler joined the Dow Agricultural Products company
(now Dow AgroSciences) and served as a sales representative in
Central Minnesota for eight years. In 1994 he moved to
Indianapolis, Ind., where he began a communications position,
followed by a product management position for row crops.
Between 1998 and 2000, Kaehler lived in Memphis and worked as
a District Sales Manager for Dow AgroSciences and managed a
territory of seven states. In 2000 he returned to Indianapolis
as a Senior Marketing Specialist and managed a number of
products.
