Land O’Lakes, a farmer-owned cooperative with more than 100 years of history, is not only known for its butter and dairy products but is also a leading player in agriculture and sustainability. Operating across four major business units—WinField United (crop inputs), Purina Animal Nutrition, the dairy segment, and Truterra (sustainability)—the company plays a significant role in the entire agricultural value chain, from supporting farmers to improving sustainability practices. At the helm of its technology and digital transformation is Teddy Bekele, Chief Technology Officer. In his 11 years with the company, six of them as CTO, Bekele has led a shift in how the organization uses data, fosters collaboration and structures its IT organization.
Bekele has shifted Land O’Lakes’ IT department from a traditional project-based model to an agile, product-based one. Additionally, the he has developed a data strategy that has served the company and its ecosystem partners more effectively. Finally, this has been complemented by the implementation of an new talent model.
Transforming Land O’ Lakes’ IT Organization
Land O’Lakes’ IT structure has undergone a significant transformation over recent years, moving from a traditional, project-based model to an agile, product-based one. “In January 2021, we shifted to product teams that are aligned with our business units, allowing us to operate in two-week sprints and be more responsive to the business,” said Bekele. This shift allowed for a closer alignment between IT and business needs, which Bekele noted was crucial for delivering value. The old model, where technology was seen as a service provider that worked on requests from the business and then moved on to the next project, was no longer appropriate in Bekele’s view.
This transformation was not limited to the IT structure alone but extended to the application of technology across the organization. Bekele mentioned that he had to change the support model to assign responsibility for operations, maintenance and enhancements to newly formed product teams. This restructuring allowed the teams to be flexible and adapt as business priorities shifted. By organizing IT into cross-functional product teams, Land O’Lakes was able to maintain domain knowledge, minimize disruptions from staff changes, and better support business objectives.
Focus on Data and Analytics
Another critical focus for Land O’Lakes has been the expansion of its data and analytics capabilities. “We’ve moved from having analytics in silos to embedding analytics into all areas of the business,” Bekele explained. This transition has allowed Land O’Lakes to harness data from multiple sources—crop performance, weather data, transactional data, and operational data from farmers, for example—and apply it to create predictive models that enhance decision-making.
For example, in the WinField United segment, the company has combined large data sets from across the country to better understand crop performance and help farmers optimize yields. “When you combine all of that, you get a picture about the behavior of the farmer, [including] what works best in their region or what is the optimal interaction with their retailers,” Bekele noted. This data-driven approach not only helps farmers but also enhances the company’s ability to serve its retail partners and improve customer relationships.
The company’s focus on analytics extends into the dairy sector as well. Bekele highlighted how Land O’Lakes is using data to better target its cheese and butter sales to restaurants and other food service clients. “We started to take into account from a data standpoint who you sold to over the years, even just one restaurant that is blossoming,” he underscored. This has helped the company increase its hit rate for sales, and more importantly, boost profit margins. By leveraging data to identify the right clients for their products, Land O’Lakes has been able to see double-digit growth in this busienss since 2021.
Building an Agile Talent Model
As part of the broader transformation, Bekele emphasized the importance of talent strategy and building internal capabilities. “We have about 255 full-time employees in IT, with another 500 to 650 contractors,” he explained. Land O’Lakes has taken a deliberate approach to using contractors for much of the development work, while full-time employees lead the teams. This has allowed the company to remain agile while ensuring knowledge continuity within the organization.
Building an agile IT model from within was a key focus for Bekele and his team. “We didn’t want people who had fixed ideas of what agile should look like; we wanted to create our own agile model,” Bekele said. This approach fostered a culture of innovation and allowed IT to better serve the needs of the business by remaining flexible and responsive. The company has also implemented a structure that allows talent to rotate between roles, offering broader opportunities and ensuring that individuals can contribute to various aspects of the business.
Fostering a Collaborative Culture
Throughout the transformation, fostering a collaborative culture has been paramount. Bekele described how the IT team moved from a centralized structure to a more distributed model, with IT professionals embedded within business units. “You can wear the jersey of the business unit, but the undershirt is always IT,” he remarked, emphasizing the importance of maintaining IT’s cohesion across the organization. Despite the decentralization, Land O’Lakes has worked to ensure that IT remains connected and aligned with the broader company mission.
The “Make IT Possible” rebranding initiative further exemplified this shift, focusing on IT’s role in driving business value and efficiency. This new identity has been underscored by a set of guiding norms—Connect, Collaborate, and Commit—that drive the team’s approach. “Every other week we hold all-hands meetings to highlight examples of teammates living up to these values,” Bekele shared. This approach has been instrumental in driving alignment and building a sense of shared purpose across the IT organization.
A Focus on the Long-Term Mission
Bekele emphasized that the ultimate success of Land O’Lakes’ IT transformation is not only about short-term wins but about building a sustainable future. “We have been around for over 100 years, and we are planning to be here for another 100,” he said. This long-term view has shaped the company’s approach to both technology and talent, ensuring that the organization continues to innovate and adapt in a rapidly changing world. Bekele emphasized that he has advantages as a leader of a cooperative versus peers of his at publicly traded companies where he can think longer term rather than worrying about the vicissitudes of quarter-to-quarter performance. This approach propelled the organization forward through multiple transformations of consequence.
Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written three bestselling books, including his latest Getting to Nimble. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
