AgGateway is pleased to announce that Brent Kemp is joining the staff as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective November 24. Kemp replaces Wendy Smith, who will move into the position of President and Chief Executive Officer on January 1.

“Brent will be a terrific addition to the staff – we couldn’t be more pleased,” said AgGateway Chairman Randy Beard. “Through both his professional career and volunteer work with AgGateway, he has demonstrated many times over his energetic support of – and success in – promoting, enabling and expanding eBusiness in agriculture. He knows both how to foster collaboration and guide a team toward implementation, which are critical skills as we work to increase participation in AgGateway initiatives.”

Kemp, who is currently Manager of Process Development with Southern States Cooperative, is an experienced leader in the chemical, seed, feed, nutrient and animal health segments. In his current role he implements electronic messaging for multiple business lines across a 15-state geography to achieve process automation. He has helped Southern States implement electronic connections with numerous trading partners, including over 100 connections for EDI and XML, resulting in lowered costs and increased accuracy and efficiency.

He has been active in AgGateway for many years, serving on councils for ag retail, crop nutrition, crop protection, feed, and seed; chairing the Architecture Committee and the Ag Industry Identification System (AGIIS) Directory Oversight Committee; as well as multiple roles on other AgGateway committees, projects and AGIIS task forces. Kemp received the AgGateway Ron Storms Leadership Award in 2010.