Thomas Halverson, president and chief executive officer at Denver, Colo.-based CoBank, is the featured speaker for the 26th annual Aldrich C. Bloomquist Lectureship, which is set for March 27.

It will be held at 7 a.m. in Ballroom A and B at the DoubleTree by Hilton in West Fargo.

North Dakota State University’s Quentin N. Burdick Center for Cooperatives sponsors the event with funding from the Aldrich C. Bloomquist Endowment, which American Crystal Sugar Co. established.

“A Discussion About the Future of Cooperatives” is the theme of Halverson’s address.

CoBank is a $129 billion bank and one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy.

As CoBank’s chief executive officer, Halverson is responsible for implementing the bank’s strategic and business direction. He previously served as CoBank’s chief banking officer and was responsible for all lending operations.

Before joining Cobank in 2013, he spent more than 15 years with Goldman Sachs. His last position there was as managing director and chief of staff for Goldman Sachs Bank USA, a $120 billion commercial bank subsidiary of the Goldman Sachs Group. He also held a variety of other executive positions at the firm, including head of credit risk management for Goldman Sachs in Asia and executive director of credit risk management and advisory in London.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Halverson served as principal credit officer for country risk at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

He earned a British Marshall Scholarship and completed a doctorate in war studies at King’s College, University of London, and is a graduate of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Attending the lectureship is free of charge. Breakfast will be provided.

The lectureship is named in honor of Aldrich C. Bloomquist, who served at American Crystal Sugar Co. as president and longtime executive. American Crystal Sugar established this lecture series in recognition of his contributions to the company and the sugar industry through the Quentin N. Burdick Center for Cooperatives at NDSU.

The center’s mission is to conduct, promote and coordinate university education and research on cooperatives to strengthen operations and work toward expanding employment and economic opportunities through cooperatives.

For more information about the lectureship, contact Frayne Olson, the center’s director, at 701-231-7377 or frayne.olson@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - March 20, 2018