Meet Kristen Kleppe
Factory of the Future Digital Product Manager
Kristen began her career at Cargill back in 2019 when she joined our esteemed internship program. What began as a summer internship grew into a dynamic career within Digital Technology and Data. Across the span of five years, Kristen has worn many hats – from scrum master to agile development coach to user experience designer and product owner. She credits her former managers for their mentorship and inspiration.
Based out of Wayzata, MN, she recently moved into an exciting new chapter as a Factory of the Future Digital Product Manager for our Protein business creating integrated performance management solutions. Kristen and her team are revolutionizing data accessibility and safety for our sites, one ingenious solution at a time
What do you value most about working at Cargill?What resonates most with me about my experience at Cargill is undoubtedly the incredible people and the collaborative work environment. The people are warm and welcoming. Whether it’s a casual coffee chat, shared lunches, or collaborating in various ways, my team members are always ready to engage. As a young professional in the workplace, having people who are willing to raise their hand and help you find the right connections is invaluable. The stimulating and dynamic environment sparks creativity and innovation. We aren’t just solving hard problems on our own, we’re solving them together, as a community. My leadership genuinely cares about me, my work, and my ability to succeed; and they never put parameters around what they want me to be.
Tell us how your various roles helped you develop skills and shape your career at Cargill.During my tenure at Cargill, I have developed a range of both hard and soft skills. As a user experience designer, I learned to develop a piece of code that has a specific function or how to develop products with a specific outcome. As a scrum master and agile development coach, I developed more sophisticated communications, project management and listening skills, as well as learned how to show empathy and earn the trust of end users while understanding their challenges and product constraints. These skills are crucial as a product manager, where a blend of hard and soft skills is essential for success in my current role.
What excites you about your future with Cargill?I think for me right now, especially starting in a new role, there is longevity in the career that I'm building for myself at Cargill. I am encouraged to see continued collaboration between Digital Technology & Data (DT&D) and the various enterprises within Cargill. One of the reasons I was chosen for my new role in Protein, was because of what I learned in DT&D. I still feel very connected to DT&D, and could see myself back there for future experiences as it is a great place to build a career.
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I’m excited about solving hard problems and working with good people. As long as I get to do that, I’m going to stay at Cargill for as long as I can.
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