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Aurora Cooperative Board of Directors appoints new CEO

Aurora Cooperative 3 years ago

Pictured above: Chris, middle, with his wife, Sabrina, and daughter, Sawyer, and son, Hudson.

The Aurora Cooperative Board of Directors held a special meeting on Tuesday, April 6th, 2021. A statement on behalf of the board of directors follows:

“The board of directors has granted Chris Vincent, previously working as President & CEO of Aurora Cooperative, a personal leave of absence in accordance with his request. To ensure continuity of operations, we have appointed Chris Decker to be the new President & CEO of Aurora Cooperative.

We want to thank Chris Vincent for his 5 years of dedicated service as our CEO. We are certain the tradition of excellence will be continued by Chris Decker in his new position. Chris Decker’s passion and leadership will provide a strong foundation for our employees and owners in the coming years.”

The entire Aurora Cooperative organization is grateful for Chris Vincent’s commitment to the farmers-owners and employees during his tenure as CEO. Aurora Cooperative is also pleased to congratulate one of its own, Chris Decker, as the new President & CEO. As a long-standing member of the organization’s management team, Mr. Decker has the experience and knowledge to quickly transition into his new role.

“I’m honored and extremely humbled to accept this role of President & CEO,” Chris Decker said. “I’m excited to work alongside the great employees we have inside the cooperative. We will continue to lean into the challenges together, be your trusted partner, and create opportunities that benefit our owners and their cooperative.”

Chris Decker grew up in Franklin, Nebraska. His father worked at Upland Coop for 33 years and served as General Manager for 10 years which instilled in Chris a love of cooperative systems. His mother’s side of the family ran the grocery store in Franklin, which gave him first-hand retail experience. He took his small-town agricultural roots into his college years where he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Agriculture Science Degree. After graduating, he started his career at Dorchester Cooperative. In 2003, he was hired by Aurora Cooperative as an Area Business Manager working on the Highway 8 corridor on the Nebraska/Kansas border. During his 18 years at Aurora Cooperative, Chris has held many positions including Crop Protection & Fertilizer Product Manager, VP of Agronomy, VP of Agronomy, Energy, & Animal Nutrition, and COO. He has been serving the cooperative as COO for the past 5 years.

Chris and his wife, Sabrina, have been married for 17 years and live in Aurora, Nebraska with their two children, Hudson (12) and Sawyer (9). Chris and his family enjoy doing anything outdoors including hunting and jeeping down the river. He also enjoys attending his children’s many activities and being involved in community events.