Roger Kienholz Announces His Retirement
Roger Kienholz, Crystal Valley CEO
After 25 years of dedicated leadership and service, Roger Kienholz, Crystal Valley CEO, has announced he will be retiring at the end of this calendar year. His final day with Crystal Valley will be Friday, January 3, 2025.
As Chief Executive Officer, Roger has provided the strategic direction and vision to uphold the brand of Crystal Valley. Under his leadership, the company has grown from $25 million in sales revenue to over $600 million through organic growth and several mergers and acquisitions.
Roger obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from North Dakota State University (NDSU). During his time at NDSU, he was also part of the Army ROTC program where he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. He served four years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in a Combat Airborne Engineer Unit.
In 1984, Roger left the service and became an owner/operator of a boat business in Fort Pierre, SD.
In 1990, his agriculture career began in the Land O’ Lakes Management Apprentice Program, where he spent a year at Crystal Cooperative, headquartered in Lake Crystal, MN. His first cooperative management position was at Farmers Co-op Ag Service in Greenbush, MN. Kienholz spent three years as the General Manager, before moving to Ada, MN to manage Ada Co-op Oil Association for the next six years.
In 1999, the opportunity to manage Crystal Cooperative, where his agriculture career began, brought him back to Southern MN. Roger has spent the past 25 years as Crystal Valley’s GM/CEO.
As CEO, Roger continued to improve the overall operation and effectiveness of the company. He is respected in the industry for his sound investing decisions and consistent profitable performance. Under his leadership, the company continued to adapt and perform year over year. We thank him for all he has done to make Crystal Valley what it is today.
Information regarding a retirement celebration will be coming in the next few weeks. We hope you will be able to join us to celebrate Roger’s commitment to the success of Crystal Valley and its patrons.
The Board of Directors will appoint an interim manager while conducting a search for a new CEO. They are committed to completing this process as thoroughly and quickly as possible to continue providing the leadership our employees are accustomed to and the service our patrons rely on.