Grow your career

Chris Taylor, a senior operations manager for the CHS Myrtle Grove grain terminal, began at CHS as laborer. After 22 years with CHS, Chris has been able to experience many roles within his time at Myrtle Grove and continues to grow at CHS due to the unknown opportunity. He says that “the culture is what keeps me here. It’s about collaboration, mentorship, and pushing each other to reach our full potential. Seeing someone I helped blossom into a confident leader- that's what truly fuels my passion. CHS really allows employees to grow within the company.”

Chris’ advice on growing at CHS is “Keep an open mind, embrace the unknown, and never stop learning. As a kid, I never thought I would work at a grain terminal. You never know what incredible journey awaits you at CHS.

Lindsie Herzog, a manager in supply planning at CHS, began her career with us as an intern. Within her nearly 14-year career with CHS, she has made several career moves. She says that “doing a lot of cross-functional projects, taking advantage of networking opportunities and conducting job shadowing helped me see opportunities in other parts of the company.”

For those looking to grow their career, Herzog advises them to “take charge of your career development. Create a development plan and revisit it often. Raise your hand to work on new challenges and reach out to people to continue to learn more about other areas of CHS.”

Gustavo Kundrát, a manager in business systems at CHS, began his career with us as an analyst. Within four years at CHS, Kundrát has held three positions and been promoted twice. He attributes his success to his ability to be a consistent and reliable partner to the IT leadership team and internal clients during a period of growth for the South America region.

Kundrát’s advice to those looking to build their career at CHS is to, “be up to date with the agribusiness market, and always be ready to adapt to the dynamic and changing environment.”

Lisa Hellen, a director in supply chain and logistics has been with CHS for eight years. Lisa began her career as a customer service representative in crop nutrients and has made several career moves with CHS. Throughout her career, Lisa has sought out opportunities to get exposure across the business and she says, “these initiatives and extra responsibilities provided networking opportunities and increased visibility to other areas within the company.”

For those looking to grow their career, Hellen says, “build connections! Don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone in the organization and always ask questions to learn more. Be open-minded to change and seek out opportunities that would broaden your knowledge base.”

Bryan Lewis, general manager of country operations at CHS, has been with the company for 23 years. Lewis started as a general laborer in pipelines and terminals, and has held more than 10 positions within CHS. He credits the company culture for his long tenure and says, “we all seem to work toward a greater good of feeding and fueling the world by creating those connections to empower agriculture.”

Lewis’ advice to those looking to build their career at CHS is to “be curious and explore all of the organization. Get out to see some of our producer owners and member cooperatives, and reach out to leaders to learn more about their career paths.”