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CIO Visionary for GIS & Agribusiness Roger Parks

The Agribusiness and Food Industry has grown to be a multi-billion dollar business that strives to feed the world. It is an industry that involves farmers, ranchers, food producers, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales. The industry is increasingly facing supply and dema nd challenges as a result of the globalization of the food chain, rising costs of inputs, consolidation, population growth, water issues, environmental and health activism, and reduction of farmable land.

Roger Parks is CIO of the J.R. Simplot Company, a privately held global agribusiness company and one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States. Simplot is an agribusiness conglomerate that supplies french fries to fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King, as well as guacamole to Taco Bell, worldwide. In addition, it is a top-ten beef supplier in the U.S. and works in the seed, feed, and fertilizer industries.

We spoke with Parks about the role of GIS (Geographic Information System) in Agribusiness. After an hour with him, we recognized him as a visionary CIO with the courage to innovate in what has become a conservative enterprise information technology environment. He was recently named one of the top 100 Innovative CIOs by CIO magazine.

By Natasha Léger | January 12, 2010 January 12, 2010

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