Discover Farmer Mac

Brad Nordholm is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Farmer Mac, the largest secondary market lender for American agriculture, where he leads the company’s efforts to successfully deliver on its core mission of increasing the availability and affordability of credit for the benefit of American agriculture and rural communities.

With a career that spans over four decades, Brad is a seasoned executive with a wealth of experience in the financial services environment, including his involvement in agricultural and energy finance, capital markets, and credit. He has built a reputation for high-integrity leadership, collegiality, consistent results, and purpose of mission. He is well respected for his financial and business acumen and has devoted his career to solving complex problems, creating opportunities, and delivering value on a broad scale in the agriculture, banking, and energy and power sectors.

Brad joined Farmer Mac in October 2018 from Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC, a leading private investment firm specializing in energy infrastructure, where he served as the company’s first CEO from 2006 to 2016 and, more recently, as Vice-Chairman. Prior to his time at Starwood Energy, Brad founded and served as CEO of an energy and power-focused investment firm, Tyr Energy, after serving as General Manager at Aquila, Inc., a leading merchant energy company. He spent the first half of his career in banking focused on agriculture and cooperative organizations, including serving as CEO at U.S. Central and as Managing Director at National Cooperative Bank (NCB), as well as working in various management positions at Federal Land Bank of St Paul and Interregional Service Corporation of Minneapolis, both of which were acquired by successor organizations of the Farm Credit System.

Brad was born and raised in Cloquet, Minnesota and completed his undergraduate degree in Economics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Today, he and his wife, Alison, own and operate a 134-acre family farm in Southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

As Executive Vice President – Chief Business Officer, Zack leads the vision, development, and go-to-market strategy of the Farmer Mac brand. He also oversees the company’s Agribusiness activities, including the business development and marketing efforts for its foundational lines of business that provide agricultural lenders across the country with financial solutions and effective risk mitigation tools that allow farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses access to flexible and affordable credit. In this role, he oversees the company’s expansive loan portfolio, partner and business development strategies, product innovation and standardization, and marketing and corporate communications.

Zack has devoted much of his career to facilitating dependable credit and financial solutions for American agriculture and rural communities. A respected executive with a reputation for building high-performing teams who share his same passion for and dedication to rural America, Zack has accumulated deep expertise developing and innovating financial solutions across the agribusiness value chain while developing strong relationships with other providers of capital. Before joining Farmer Mac, Zack spent nearly a decade in various management positions at CoBank, most recently as a Managing Director and Sector Vice President of its Corporate Agribusiness Banking Group, and previously as Executive Director of its Capital Markets division. He has also served as a vice president in finance and corporate strategy at Goldman Sachs.

Zack earned a bachelor of science degree in economics with a concentration in corporate finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with specializations in corporate finance, accounting and business law from the Stern School of Business at New York University

Steve has been a part of Farmer Mac’s legal team since October 2000 and currently serves as Executive Vice President – General Counsel and Secretary. As one of Farmer Mac’s leaders, Steve exemplifies Farmer Mac’s brand values in his management of Farmer Mac’s legal affairs. He takes an active role in business initiatives and provides counsel to Farmer Mac’s board of directors, executives, departmental groups, and cross-functional teams. Steve’s work is integral in strengthening Farmer Mac both financially and operationally as well as promoting an ethical culture and effective corporate governance and risk management.

Steve received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School. Prior to his employment with Farmer Mac, he practiced law at the firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he focused on matters involving securitization, corporate finance transactions, commercial real estate, GSE regulation, and litigation.

Aparna leads the Farmer Mac finance team in developing innovative financial solutions and executing plans to enable the company to grow and thrive in a safe and sound manner as it carries out its important mission. She guides the company’s finance functions, including treasury, asset/liability management, financial planning & analysis, pricing, debt and equity investor relations, financial reporting and accounting, and ensures the timely and accurate communication of goals and successes to various stakeholders.

Aparna’s career, spanning over two decades, has been marked by significant successes in mission-oriented finance roles.  In her most recent role, serving as the Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, she led efforts to make the finance function more proactive and strategic, with a focus on incorporating new technologies and data analytics, including the FedNow real-time payment and settlement service. In 2017, she was one of 22 executives globally to be selected for the Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship for enlightened leadership in finance and society-at-large. Prior to joining the Boston Fed, she spent ten years in commercial banking at Cambridge Savings Bank and M&T Bank in roles spanning product management, asset-liability management, and profitability.

Aparna holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She also holds a master’s in finance from the Rochester Institute of Technology and integrated masters degrees (economics, management, and engineering) from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science. She is also a graduate of the America’s Community Bankers National School of Banking.

Brian is Farmer Mac’s Senior Vice President – Enterprise Risk Officer and is responsible for the maintenance and continuous evolution of an enterprise-wide risk management framework that supports the strategic goals of the organization. He works closely with senior leaders across the organization and with the Board Risk Committee to build upon Farmer Mac’s existing strong and conservative culture of risk management, and helps set the vision and strategy for enterprise-wide risk management. Brian joined Farmer Mac in 2000, and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Rural Infrastructure, where he was responsible for the division’s business development and customer success strategy. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, where he led the development of the company’s strategic planning initiative and guided its financial projections and data analytics.

Brian’s interest in Farmer Mac began while he was attending Pennsylvania State University for his Master’s in Agricultural and Applied Economics. He won the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award for his thesis titled “An Analysis of Farmer Mac Prepayment Penalty Designs.” Brian is a CFA Charterholder, is FRM Certified, and has completed Carnegie Mellon University’s Chief Risk Officer certificate program.

As Senior Vice President – Chief Credit Officer, Marc leads the vision, development and implementation strategy of Farmer Mac’s credit policy and guidelines to ensure they are reflective of the company’s business strategy, overall risk appetite, and mission-focused philosophy of increasing the availability and affordability of credit for the benefit of American agriculture and rural communities.

Marc has more than 25 years of experience in commercial lending, principal investing, and management consulting across a number of industries, including food and agribusiness. His commercial lending experience includes managing and underwriting relationships across a spectrum of structures, investor bases, and sizes, including bilateral, syndicated, pro-rata, Term Loan B, asset-based, leveraged, sponsored, workout, middle-market, and corporate.

Marc joined Farmer Mac in March 2021 after most recently working for Fifth Third Bank, where he was a Managing Director and spent more than a decade in its Food & Agribusiness and Leveraged Finance groups. He held roles across the commercial bank, including relationship management, business development, sponsor coverage, underwriting, and portfolio management. He led the Leveraged Finance Portfolio Management group starting at the onset of and through the depths of the recession caused by COVID-19.

Marc earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Indiana University and an MBA in management & strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Sean is Farmer Mac’s Senior Vice President – Chief Information Officer and is responsible for the company’s overall information technology function and leading its digital transformation and infrastructure modernization efforts. Sean brings over 30 years of experience in technology across several industries, with a deep understanding of technology’s role in business strategy. He is a strategic thinker with a proven track record of delivering secure, scalable, and innovative solutions that drive business growth, improve efficiency and processes, and enhance the customer experience.

Sean’s extensive and varied background includes many years in the finance, travel, and insurance industries. Before joining Farmer Mac in 2023, Sean was the Chief Technology Officer of Credit Corp (d/b/a Check Into Cash). He previously served as Senior Vice President, Software Development and Architecture at Elevate Financial, as well as eBusiness CIO with Travelers Insurance, and Senior Vice President, Business Executive responsible for eCommerce and Global Large Commercial Card Technology at Bank of America. Sean has also held technology and operations leadership roles at Sabre Holdings Corp., Travelocity, and Continental Airlines. Across these roles, Sean led a wide range of cutting-edge projects, including developing customer portals and mobile applications, as well as fund transfer processes, resulting in multiple patent applications for innovative business and technology solutions.

Sean earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and he has completed the Leadership for Extraordinary Performance program at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is a passionate and committed volunteer and philanthropist who has served on several non-profit organization boards, including as the regional chair at Read to a Child Connecticut. In addition to his board work, Sean donates his time as a private pilot, providing free transportation to patients who need medical treatment through Angel Flights.

As Senior Vice President – Operations, Rob oversees key operational functions for Farmer Mac, including loan operations, loan administration, USDA guarantees, and servicing oversight. He was appointed to the role in March 2021, after having served as Vice President – Enterprise Risk Officer since joining Farmer Mac in December 2018. In his current role, he focuses on creating process efficiencies and execution strategies supporting the growth of Farmer Mac’s product set and portfolio. Rob also oversees Farmer Mac’s servicing strategy, working with internal and external partners to ensure a consistent customer experience while business is conducted in a safe and sound manner.

Rob has a wealth of knowledge in financial services from over 30 years of experience in a variety of executive positions. Prior to joining Farmer Mac, he served as Executive Vice President – Chief Risk / Operations Officer for 8 years at Beneficial Bank, where he chaired one management committee and was a member of three additional committees. He oversaw multiple areas at the bank, including enterprise risk, credit, and loan operations. Rob spent two years prior to this as a Director at Accume Partners, where he oversaw audit and risk management engagements at a variety of community banks and credit unions. He also spent 16 years at MBNA America and Bank of America in a variety of management roles in Credit, Workout, Loan Review, Internal Control, Audit, Information Security and Compliance. Rob graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Kerry Willie is the Senior Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer for Farmer Mac. She brings over 20 years of human resources and operations experience to this executive position. In this role, Kerry is charged with evolving the strategic human capital function. She focuses on company culture and fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and diverse work environment. She also leads the development of programs, process, and solutions that attract, retain, and engage the company’s most valuable resource—its people

Prior to joining Farmer Mac, Kerry served as a global human resources leader for both Blackboard and Northrop Grumman, where she provided talent management strategies for up to 3,000 employees. Kerry also served as Executive Vice President, Administration for SBLI USA, where she led human resources, customer operations, and facilities during a time of transformational growth. Kerry’s early human resources career includes work at the Boston Public Health Commission and Hertz Car Rental.

Kerry holds a Master of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, and a Bachelor of Science from Ithaca College, New York. Her community service activities focus on education, the arts, and women’s health.

As Farmer Mac’s Vice President, Government Affairs, Todd leads the company’s public policy agenda and regulatory engagement on a range of policies to advance the company’s public mission.

In his work for Farmer Mac, Todd draws upon an extensive body of knowledge from 20 years of experience in agricultural policy and politics. He previously served as the executive assistant and senior policy advisor to the Farm Credit Admiration (FCA) Chairman Dallas Tonsager.

Prior to joining FCA, Mr. Batta was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that role, he served as the principal political adviser to the secretary and subcabinet on legislative, budget, and regulatory issues. He also served as Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary Tom Vilsack while at USDA. In that role, he was responsible for rural economic development issues, leading the White House Rural Council’s policy agenda and crafting the department’s $160 billion annual budget.

Before joining USDA, Todd worked on Capitol Hill for over a decade, serving as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. He served as legislative advisor on the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee for Chairman Tom Harkin, where he helped develop the rural development, credit, and forestry titles of the 2008 fam bill. Todd is a graduate of Winona State University in Winona, Minn., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history.

Catherine joined Farmer Mac in 2017 and currently serves as Farmer Mac’s Chief of Staff. Catherine works very closely with Farmer Mac’s President and Chief Executive Officer and Roundtable members to facilitate and monitor the execution of Farmer Mac strategic priorities and leadership effectiveness.

Catherine started her career working in the Innovation department at U.S. Cellular and then transitioned to working in the Securitization group at Fannie Mae. Catherine’s passion and career have largely centered around strategy execution, identifying and capitalizing on organizational synergies, as well as multifaceted stakeholder messaging. Catherine graduated summa cum laude from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology management.