Jeff Shaner leads the soybean discussion at a customer event for Wehmeyer Seed in Mascoutah, IL.

Technically, Jeff Shaner is the regional product manager and soybean and Alfalfa lead for the AgVenture brand. But he also moonlights as a sales training leader, a marketing guru, and even as a company blogger.

“Jeff’s infectious, upbeat attitude and willingness to take on additional projects to help drive sales has definitely been appreciated,” said Scott Hart, AgVenture Marketing & Portfolio Director, who nominated Shaner for Corteva’s Leader of Excellence Award.

Shaner’s region spans roughly from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic coast. However, despite being responsible for a large geographic area, Shaner never forgets to make time for a personal touch, Hart said.

“Even with this large area, Jeff spends as much time as he can servicing his Eastern Independent Seed Companies and their sales staff,” Hart said.

Jeff Shaner leads soybean product discussion during a sales training event at McKillip Seeds in Wabash, Indiana.

Hart noted several of Shaner’s efforts, such as collaborating with the marketing team to develop virtual training materials during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheading a webinar series on AgVenture’s Maximum Profit System™.

Shaner even volunteered to help with blogs and articles for Corteva Agriscience’s web platforms.

“This was especially powerful over the past year when we had limited direct interaction,” Hart said. “Anything we could do as a seed company to stay in contact with our customers was invaluable over the course of 2020.”

The Leader of Excellence award is open to one employee per Corteva seed brand. Nominees are individuals who demonstrate the ability to drive business results, show agronomic excellence, create customer face time and contribute to sales force development.