Ep. 528 - Brett Bruggeman - How Land O’Lakes Powers Its $16B, 104-Year Cooperative - Brett Bruggeman

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

In this episode, Cameron sits down with Brett Bruggeman, Executive Vice President and COO of Land O’Lakes, a 104-year-old, $16B cooperative spanning dairy foods, animal nutrition, and crop inputs. Brett shares how Land O’Lakes manages scale across 20 business units, supports more than 4,000 cooperative owners, and touches half of America’s farmland.

He and Cameron dig into the cooperative model, growth challenges in shrinking markets, how the company is driving new productivity for farmers, and their bold new initiative that partners with retail owners to invest in late-stage ag-tech. Brett also talks about outside-in thinking, the power of data, how to stay ahead of the customer, and why the future of agriculture requires both AI and human EQ.

If you’re a COO navigating large-team complexity, shifting markets, or innovation inside a legacy organization, this conversation is a masterclass in clarity, discipline, and strategic focus.

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 Brett and Cameron kick off the conversation (with a quick cameo from Brett’s comms lead, John).

01:03 How Brett discovered the podcast and the purpose of “the COO story.”

03:30 Land O’Lakes overview: 104-year history, cooperative structure, and national footprint.

07:14 The company’s roots: dairy farmers searching for a market for cream.

08:26 How Land O’Lakes evolved into dairy, animal nutrition, and crop inputs.

10:24 Purina brand clarification: Land O’Lakes vs. Nestlé internationally.

10:44 Revenue breakdown across business units.

12:00 How Brett avoids getting pulled into every detail while leading a massive enterprise.

14:10 How outside-in thinking reshaped corporate strategy.

15:17 The “vital few” → the three-or-four priorities that guide the entire company.

16:49 The six transformation “big bets.”

18:46 Becoming a data-first company: insights, segmentation, and new markets.

20:29 The strategic questions Land O’Lakes uses to break stagnation.

22:45 Their stance on hybrid work and why face-to-face still matters.

25:05 Growth challenges: farmers under pressure, shrinking markets, and opportunities.

26:05 Introducing AgRogue: the new retail growth fund (70–100M) to invest in late-stage ag-tech.

27:39 Why partnering with retail owners creates stronger market access.

28:17 What a cooperative actually is and how it differs from other business models.

31:39 How 4,000 owners create loyalty, but not complacency.

33:31 Why aligning retail owners with Land O’Lakes creates predictable innovation adoption.

36:51 How AI and predictive models are transforming supply chain, waste, and productivity.

38:37 Three AI goals: target growth, eliminate waste, improve customer experience.

40:55 How Land O’Lakes approaches AI responsibly (and without getting “over their skis”).

42:37 What Brett is working on personally as a leader: presence, change management, results.

47:28 Advice to his younger self: ask better questions, seek mentors, take international roles.

Resources & Mentions

• Purina (livestock feed brand)
• WinField (crop inputs brand)
• Microsoft (AI and data initiatives)
• AgRogue (Land O’Lakes + retail owner growth fund)
• Radicle (ag-tech investment partner)
• Circana (retail data source, referenced as comparison)
• Jason Trusley (former Nike CMO, hired for outside-in strategy)
• Beth Ford (CEO of Land O’Lakes)
• Teddy Bekele (CTO)

About the Guest

Brett Bruggeman is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Land O’Lakes, a 104-year-old, $16B cooperative spanning dairy foods, animal nutrition, and crop inputs. With more than 11 years inside the organization and a career that includes significant leadership roles at BASF, Brett leads the company’s operations, growth initiatives, strategic planning discipline, and enterprise-wide transformation work. He is known for championing data-driven decision making, outside-in strategic thinking, and building collaborative partnerships across the cooperative ecosystem.

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The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.