Former Commercial Director, Land O’Lakes
St. Louis, Missouri
Steve Welker has over 30 years of experience across a wide spectrum of companies, from Fortune 100 to start ups. After 20 years in technical and sales roles at large chemical companies including DuPont, Monsanto, and Solutia, he shifted his focus to small companies in the medical services and materials sciences. After earning an MBA, he eventually returned to his family’s roots, the agriculture industry, where he has worked the past 10 years. After several years at Monsanto, he is currently managing a global seed business for a division of Land O’Lakes. He also owns and manages a small farm in western Missouri. As a business professional with an engineering background, he is interested in developing and commercializing technologies and practices to sustainably produce food globally.
He earned his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri in 1984 and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2000. Steve, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, enjoyed time in Ohio, Delaware, and Texas, before returning to St. Louis where he raised his family. Steve, and his wife Victoria Gonzalez, have two wonderful daughters who are currently living in California. Their oldest daughter, is working toward a PhD in Bioengineering at Stanford; their younger daughter, following in her dad’s footsteps, works in the agricultural industry. Steve enjoys his free time biking, following college football (Mizzou and now Stanford!), traveling to visit his daughters, and the outdoors.
Fellow: Victoria Gonzalez