MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Conservis, the industry leader in Enterprise Agriculture Management (EAM), today announced that it has appointed Sherman Black as chief executive officer. Patrick Christie, founder and current CEO will continue to serve as a senior Conservis operating executive and as a member of the board of directors.
“Conservis is an amazing opportunity,” said Erik Torgerson, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “The company has an established market presence, a first mover position in farming enterprise software, a strong customer base, an innovative product platform and is clearly positioned to expand its industry leading market position. In working with Patrick, it became clear that he wanted a more active customer and market-facing role. Patrick and the board felt the timing was right to add more operational bandwidth and experience to our leadership team. Sherman’s experience will strengthen the company and better position Conservis to capitalize on our enormous market opportunity.”
Torgerson praised Christie’s contributions, stating, “as one of the founders of Conservis, Patrick brings a unique understanding to the business and the evolving needs of our customers. Sherman’s addition to the team will allow Pat to assume the role of EVP of Business Development, and to focus his attention on growing our customer base, penetrating new markets, refining our global strategy and positioning the company to attract new capital.”
“Farming is one of the last digital frontiers.” said Black. “When you take a snapshot of where agriculture is today, it resembles manufacturing 35 years ago. While the industry has invested heavily in on-farm technologies, as a whole it is still in the early stages of adopting modern software tools to manage the business of agriculture. I am looking forward to partnering with Patrick and the talented management team at Conservis to pursuing the most meaningful opportunity in my career. “
“I’ve been honored to lead the company to this point,” noted Christie. “I am proud of our accomplishments to date and more committed than ever to fulfilling the vision my fellow founders and I conceived 7 years ago, when we founded Conservis, and which we have evolved since then. Our entire team is excited to work with Sherman as we execute our mission.”
Sherman Black is a seasoned leader with extensive senior executive experience at both public and private companies including Qumu, Rimage and Seagate Technology. Sherman brings a deep, hands-on understanding of creating and launching new products, designing and building sales and marketing models and driving operational improvements.
About Conservis
Based in Minneapolis, Conservis is dedicated to changing the business of farming. The Company’s cloud-based platform offers farm owners and managers a software service to create operational plans, drive field activities and make better decisions. Reports are easily shared with partners, landowners, funders and insurance companies. Conservis Corp. was founded in 2009 and serves farms across the U.S., Canada and Australia. To learn more, please visit www.conservis.ag.