William T Woods Email & Phone Number

Palatine, Illinois, United States

"CamoAg (www.camo.ag) offers a geospatial platform to companies that serve agriculture to provide data and intelligence and streamline business processes.CamoAg’s solutions are used by agricultural lenders, large and small investors in farmland, seed companies, tax service providers, appraisers, brokers, and other companies that benefit from a geospatial system for storing farmland related data with advanced options for business process management"

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Missouri, United States

In 2018, I took on the role as an executive for all holding companies. My responsibilities included identification and implementation of technology developments to maximize farmland production; improvement of grower financial stability; and expansion of investment partnerships for one of the largest privately held landowners in the area. In this capacity, I transformed siloed holding company operations into a collaborative organization by building trust, establishing vision, and articulating expectations. This exercise took partnering with business unit leaders and cross-functional teams to holistically assess organizational processes and inefficiencies and, ultimately, undergoing a systems integration to harmonize these processes. Additionally, we would employ new technological solutions as a means of increasing operational efficiency. Leadership is a crucial aspect of this experience. With a desire to see employees succeed, I coached high-potential workers. Areas of mentorship include business operations, production, ginning operations, land management, tenant relationships, and logistics. This not only gave me an active role in succession planning but also created a pipeline of future leaders ripe for the picking when needed. Accomplishments in this position include: » Nominated as project lead for the complex investment and construction of a cottonseed mill. The project yielded 3% savings in construction costs by unifying cross-functional teams, setting expectations, resolving challenges, and facilitating overall execution. » Integrated an automated RFID tracking system with a land management system and electronic warehouse receipt (EWR) cotton software, thereby eliminating inefficiencies, reducing labor, validating data and producing higher quality cotton. » Brokered the exchange of a robust land management system with a third-party agriculture technology firm to expand roadmap, interface, functionality, and custom features.

In 2013, I was appointed Vice President of the organization. This was precipitated by the owner’s passing. The practical result was an expanded role to oversee all farmland assets across 3 states, a six-figure bale capacity cotton gin, and multi-location rice storage facilities. To help in this endeavor, I put in place an 8-member management team to oversee tenant relations and daily farm operations, effectively filling the shoes of the position I had just left and creating new positions at a similar level to aid in the management of regulatory compliance, operations, and crop production. My accomplishments in this position include: » Converted antiquated land management system, in the form of manual mapping, to a customized geospatial information system (GIS) to track and capture assets across the Delta region. » Improved cotton ginning production to 3x previous production levels by adapting the process to more fully realize production from an underutilized cotton gin. Additionally, this operational streamlining project, which consisted of consolidating 3 ginning operations into a single location in Arkansas, would net the company significant savings. » Increased returns 10% to 15% per acre by reallocated crop base across the entire row crop footprint. To bring this to fruition, I utilized my knowledge of the regulatory environment to execute a lease structure that was in compliance with the regulations. » Orchestrated rice elevators to dry, grade, and allocate crop delivery of millions of bushels of rice across 3 locations for delivery in multiple locations. This includes coordination of logistics and shipments to the west coast and Mexico.

In 2005, I was promoted to General Manager of the organization. This entailed the oversight of more than 75,000 acres of farmland, complete with dozens of tenants and unique crop contracts. Primarily in this position, I worked to grow the organization’s acreage. In doing so, I steered the legal process of land transactions, coordinated the closing and title processes on said land transactions, and integrated new purchases into the land portfolio. Also in this position, I managed the company’s regulatory considerations. Specifically, I oversaw enrollment in and compliance with government agencies that regulate agriculture: United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service. In this capacity, I also managed several employees, contractors, vendors, etc. I have the unique ability to bring people together, which I utilized as issues arose. In bringing the various interested parties to the table and asking for a solution, I’m able to help bring the group to consensus, breaking down communication issues and bringing in accountability and responsibility to achieve a desired result. Finally, I oversaw the land development and care as well as all crop production. My accomplishments in this position include: » Partnered with John Deere Co. to introduce new RFID technology into the ginning system to logistically track cotton and capture field data throughout the ginning process. » Recognized by Southern Cotton Ginners Association for achieving the gold standard in clean safety records by implementing a gin safety program.

As Controller of the large Missouri farming company, I assisted the owner with high-volume business operations. Tasks undertaken to execute this include financial oversight of crop contracts, cash management, collections, and budgeting. This position provided a deep foundational knowledge of an institution in which I would spend the next more than 15 years of my career.

Corning, Arkansas

As Managing Partner of Woods Farms, I aided the family farming business in crop production at its Corning, AR. location. Tasks associated with this position include operations management and profit and loss tracking. I also was tasked with the planning and execution of the farm’s strategic goals. Day-to-day tasks also include management of crop production, overhead and cost reduction as well as regulatory compliance. During this period in time, I also worked with Ag Leader Technology, testing and eventually becoming a dealer for their precision agriculture technology. What started out as an opportunity to utilize the cutting-edge technology and provide feedback to the manufacturer, then grew into educating my fellow farmers about how to measure seed count, yield production, and moisture, on their own farms. This position allowed me to grow my managerial prowess, deepen my knowledge of agronomics, and gain new experiences within the agricultural industry.

Master Of Arts - Ma, Divinity/Ministry, Dean'S List

Activities and Societies: During this time, I was employed on my family farm while maintaining a full-time class schedule.

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Religion/Religious Studies, Dean'S List

Activities and Societies: I was a member of Alpha Tau Epsilon, a men’s social club at the university. I also donated my time to the Big.