New leader in MARK combines leadership, practical experience and business acumen

With the employment of agronomist Thomas Birger Jensen as the new leader in MARK in Flakkebjerg, AGRO gets three things: business acumen, leadership and hands-on field experience. With his experience from previous jobs in the feed and seed industry and advisory services, Thomas Jensen is accustomed to being a leader in addition to enjoying striking a good deal and working the soil.  

With effect from January 23, 2017, the 47-year-old Thomas Jensen will take over from Karen E. Henriksen, who has taken an early retirement. Thomas Jensen comes from a job as area leader and product consultant at DLG in Ringsted, where he was for three years. This job provided him with a broad contact to farmers and agroindustry companies – and the opportunity to appease his mercantile interests. 

Wants to be both worker and leader

Before his employment at DLG Thomas Jensen worked in the research department of the advisory service GEFION for five years. Here he had the chance to satisfy his craving for getting his hands dirty and gained experience with research trials.   

- I am looking forward to getting away from the desk and out in the field a bit more, says Thomas Jensen. He plans to spend his working hours both indoors and outdoors.   

- I will be a combination of leader and worker and will meddle more in the practical tasks than my predecessor. I will do this out of both need and desire, he says. 

One of Thomas Jensen’s first tasks will be to carry out Staff Development Dialogues (SDD) in the course of February 2017. He is quite laid back about not knowing the staff so well beforehand. 

- This will not be the first time that I carry out SDD with people that I hardly know. I will expand the dialogue so that the individual employee can explain to me what he or she does. Later on, I will follow each employee in the field so that I can get a better feel for the practical issues that each person faces, Thomas Jensen explains. 

Striking a good deal

The merchant pops up in him when he talks about the practical task of dealing with goods such as seeds, fertiliser and grain. He would like to hone our present dealings using his previous experience from the agroindustry because he feels that we can make financial gains. 

- You need to know what things cost – I have strength in this area. It is important to be price conscious and to know when to time buying and selling to be financially optimal, he explains. 

Thomas Jensen will be part of the collective leadership of the MARK section together with Jens Bonderup Kjeldsen in Foulum and Henning Carlo Thomsen in Askov. They plan to have management meetings every second month during which they can exchange experiences and use each other as sparring partners.   

- I hope that people will be curious about my skills and what I can offer and that they will ask questions about what I do. I will have more time on my hands than Karen had because I will only be responsible for MARK in Flakkebjerg, says the new MARK leader in Flakkebjerg.