Aurora Cooperative Board of Director has granted Chris Vincent, previously working as president and CEO of Aurora Cooperative, Aurora, NE, personal leave of absence in accordance with his request.
To ensure continuity of operations, the board has appointed Chris Decker to be the new president and CEO of Aurora Cooperative.
"We want to thank Chris Vincent for his 5 years of dedicated service as our CEO," the board said in a statement. "We are certain the tradition of excellence will be continued by Chris Decker in his new position. Chris’ passion and leadership will provide a strong foundation for our employees and owners in the coming years.”
Decker says he is excited to work alongside the great employees 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," he says.
Decker grew up in Franklin, NE. 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, Decker has held many positions including crop protection and fertilizer product manager, VP of agronomy, VP of agronomy, energy and animal nutritio, and COO. He has been serving the cooperative as COO for the past 5 years.
Decker and his wife, Sabrina, have been married for 17 years and live in Aurora with their two children, Hudson and Sawyer.
About Aurora Cooperative
Established in 1908, Aurora Cooperative is driven by one fundamental belief: by joining together, farmers can accomplish things they cannot accomplish alone. The Aurora Cooperative is governed by a 14-member board of directors, all of whom are active producers.
