WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal
Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac, NYSE: AGM and AGM.A)
today announced that its Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer (COO), Tom
Stenson, will retire on August 7,
2015, after 19 years of service.
A well-respected leader, Mr. Stenson joined Farmer Mac in 1996
as Director – Agricultural Finance and became Vice President –
Agricultural Finance a year later. In 2007, Mr. Stenson was
promoted to his current role of Executive Vice President and COO,
where he has been responsible for leading the company's Farm &
Ranch and Rural Utilities business development initiatives, as well
as overseeing the credit administration, underwriting, and IT
functions.
During Mr. Stenson's tenure as COO, Farmer Mac has added over
$35 billion in cumulative business
benefiting more than 50,000 farmers and ranchers across the
country. He led the charge in the development of some of Farmer
Mac's most innovative solutions, including its underwriting tool,
AgPower, and the expansion of the company's custom loan products
and solutions.
Commenting on Mr. Stenson's retirement, Tim Buzby, Farmer Mac's President and Chief
Executive Officer said, "Tom dedicated his life to serving rural
America, starting as a young boy on his family farm in Iowa and, ultimately, through his career in ag
finance. He has been a powerful force for Farmer Mac's growth
during his tenure of nearly two decades and his guidance,
leadership, and expertise have been instrumental to our success. On
behalf of our Board of Directors, Farmer Mac's employees, and me
personally, I want to thank Tom for his extraordinary service to
the company. I wish him and his wife the best during his
well-earned retirement."
Farmer Mac has no plans to name a successor. Instead, the
company has been transitioning Mr. Stenson's responsibilities to
Curt Covington, Senior Vice
President – Agricultural Finance, who joined Farmer Mac
earlier this year, and to Dale
Lynch, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Buzby added, "We have been preparing for Tom's eventual
retirement for over a year, and Farmer Mac will benefit from this
well-planned transition. Curt will take over Tom's Farm & Ranch
and Rural Utilities business development, credit administration,
and underwriting responsibilities and we are fortunate to have
someone of Curt's experience and caliber to assume these duties.
Transitioning the IT group to Dale's purview was a logical decision
for us as we continue to develop new and innovative solutions for
our customers, which in turn demands dynamic application of IT
resources."
Commenting on his retirement, Mr. Stenson said, "I knew there
was never going to be a perfect time to walk away from this company
and its important mission, but now is the right time. I am
incredibly proud of the positive impact this company has had on
rural America over the last two decades but, more importantly, I am
equally excited about what I know it will be able to achieve going
forward. The foundation has been laid for the talented Farmer Mac
team to continue to collaborate with rural lenders to bring
innovative solutions to farmers and ranchers across America."
About Farmer Mac
Farmer Mac is the stockholder-owned
company created to deliver capital and increase lender competition
for the benefit of American agriculture and rural communities.
Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer
Mac's website at www.farmermac.com.
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SOURCE Farmer Mac