Having grown up on his family’s corn and soybean farm in Central Indiana, Doug Griffin has the classic American agricultural industry background, including extensive experience with organizations like the 4H Club and FFA. Doug’s profile brings a bit of a twist, however—while he knows plenty about growing crops and tending livestock, he applies his agricultural engineering education in the off-road and industrial machinery sector.

“I’ve always been a gearhead, fascinated by machinery and equipment,” says Doug, who still has a toy tractor he was gifted at age five displayed in his home office. “Once I was strong enough to push in the clutch, at age 11, I began driving tractors. I started working at Caterpillar at age 19, when I was in college, and spent 30 years in industry with Caterpillar and AGCO before becoming a consultant in 2015.”

Since then, Doug has been a partner at agribusiness consultancy The Context Network, which Kearney acquired in 2024. He led Context’s Machinery and Equipment sector, assisting companies worldwide ranging from small start-ups to global OEMs, and continues to work in a similar capacity with Kearney. He has deep experience in topic areas like commercial P&L management, global strategy, branding, marketing, sales, dealer channel development, strategic plan development and execution, and product management.

“I’ve traveled the world over the course of my career and seen the full spectrum of agricultural practices, including traditional US corn, wheat, cotton, and soybean farming, pineapple farming in the Philippines, poultry farming in China, giant 200,000-acre sugar cane farms in Brazil, domestic specialty crops operations such as apples, almonds, and strawberries, rice paddies in Asia, and more,” Doug recalls. “So I look at agriculture from many different perspectives to help clients resolve their biggest challenges. Also, my time in the corporate world helps me understand how clients think and what they want from consultants and how best to deliver our work.”

Doug has long believed in the principle of essential rightness that Tom Kearney lived by. In one instance, he and his team were asked to perform due diligence for a company considering an acquisition. His team determined that the target company was overvaluing itself and recommended the client push back. They did, and negotiations on the multibillion-dollar deal came to a halt. Months later, the target company reopened discussions and settled on a price in line with his team’s valuation. “By acting with integrity in the interest of our client, we saved them significant money and won tons of credibility,” he notes. “It was an extremely rewarding experience.”

Doug and his wife live on a horse farm they established in Georgia, and now that they’re empty nesters, with their three adult children having moved away, they like traveling around the world, digging into history, tasting good wine, and maybe even enjoying some time with toes in the sand on a good beach. They also love going to Georgia Bulldogs football games.

Membership

Ag Sector Board Member, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Board of Directors, Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity (past chair)
Advisory Committee (past member) Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture
National Sponsors Board (past member) National FFA

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