Keith Whitaker has served in the agricultural equipment industry for 35 years, holding a variety of C-level and front-line roles. Keith received his engineering degree from Iowa State University, and embarked on an engineering career at John Deere, focused on tractor design and testing. He obtained his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, complementing his management roles in product management, sales, marketing, and engineering at Case Corporation, where he was introduced to his first M&A experience and was a leader in post-integration of a former ESOP company.
Keith later took an opportunity to reinvent and grow a third-generation, family-owned agricultural equipment OEM as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing, which included expanding and strengthening the dealer distribution and introducing retail financing to support leading a new product strategy. These operational improvements prepared the company to transition to a strategic buyer, Kuhn, in 2011, where Keith became President of the new organization, again leading post-integration activities.
Keith transitioned to the retail space, working as an interim Chief Financial Officer and a General Manager for two growing John Deere dealership groups, experiencing both store acquisitions and store management. He returned to the OEM side of the business by joining AGCO, where his most recent role was Chief Executive Officer of the AGCO-Amity JV, leading its operational performance and strategic transition to an acquisition by Vaderstad in 2021.
Recently, Keith obtained his Florida real estate license, and is using his past M&A experience from an insider’s perspective, actively helping businesses create value through improvement in operational performance and preparation for ownership transition, including representing them throughout the transaction process.
Keith and his wife have lived in six of the Midwest states, making it familiar territory. Keith consistently travels to visit his two daughters in Kansas and Georgia, and back to the farm in Minnesota and Iowa.
