The DeLong Co., Inc. Transitions Leadership to 5th Generation

The DeLong Co., Inc. is pleased to announce Christopher DeLong has been named President of the six-generation family business. Christopher DeLong succeeds David DeLong, who has served as President since 1995.

The transition of leadership from the 4th to 5th generation of the DeLong family is the culmination of an extensive succession planning process over the last three and a half years. The DeLong Co., Inc. is committed to serving customers, employees, and partners into the future- and to remain a family-owned and operated business. The transition to the next generation reflects a great deal of consideration for how DeLong customers’ needs will be best served in the coming decades.

David DeLong has served as President since taking the helm from his father, Delmar DeLong. David first worked at the family business during high school and while attending UW-Rock County and UW-Madison Farm & Industry Short Course in the 1970s. Joining the company fulltime, David worked in the grain and fertilizer divisions, before serving as head of the fertilizer division since 1982. In 1995, with his father’s retirement, he was named President and continued serving as head of agronomy and seed.

David DeLong worked closely with his cousins William (Bo) DeLong, Vice President of Grain, and Charles DeLong, Vice President of Wholesale, to foster remarkable business growth over the last 28 years. Under the trio’s leadership, the 110-year-old company has grown from a local ag retailer and grain elevator with wholesale and transportation divisions, to a worldwide agricultural and logistics corporation, with 38 locations, six divisions and subsidiaries around the U.S. The company employs over 400 people and is the largest U.S. exporter of agricultural products via shipping containers.

Christopher DeLong has been with the company since 2011, serving as a director since 2017. He previously served as Logistics Coordinator and Export Originator and has been head of Merchandising and Risk Management since 2015. He holds a Doctorate in Finance from Sacred Heart University and holds board positions for a variety of private firms as well the Federal Reserve Beige Book Advisory Board and the WI Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection Organic Advisory Board. He previously served on the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association Board.

Following this transition, Christopher DeLong will serve as President/Treasurer. David DeLong will serve as Vice President of Agronomy. Bo DeLong will serve as Vice President of Grain. Chick DeLong will serve as Vice President of Wholesale. Additional board members include Pat DeLong, Vice President of Operations/Secretary; Austin DeLong, Director; Brandon Bickham, Director; Whitney (Peissig) Thome, Director; Jordan DeLong, Director. In total, four family members of the 4th generation and nine members of the 5th generation remain active in The DeLong Co., Inc. today. Current owners of the business include 4th, 5th and 6th generation DeLong family members.

The DeLong Co., Inc. is a sixth generation, family-owned business that is headquartered in Clinton, WI. The company operates 38 locations around the U.S. and comprises six divisions of agricultural and logistical sales and services: grain, exports, agronomy, seed, transportation and wholesale feed.