Ken Shwedel, Rabobank-Mexico

Head of Food and Agribusiness Research Mexico, Argentina and Chile for Rabobank International, holds a Ph. D. from Michigan State University.

Mr. Shwedel is a member of the Board of Directors of Grupo Viz, Mexico’s largest cattle and beef company.

He is a member of the Board of the Mexican National Agricultural Council, where he was Vice President. He is also on the Sinaloa State Development Council. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico and was chairman of the Chamber’s Agri-business Development Committee. He was on the Board of Directors of the Mexican Rural Development Foundation and on the Board of the Foundation’s financial institution. Mr. Shwedel has participated in a number of working groups involved in developing agricultural policy at the request of the Mexican government and was responsible for establishing value chain policy

Before joining Rabobank International he was Regional Director of the American Soybean Association for Mexico, Central American and Caribbean Basin, managing the Association’s largest office outside the United States. Previously he was Vice President and Senior Economist with Banco Nacional de Mexico. He was also editor of the Bank’s English-language economic publication. Mr. Shwedel taught agricultural marketing, most recently at the ITESM (Monterrey Tech.). Additionally he has consulted with companies in Mexico or wishing to enter the Mexican and Central American markets.

Before moving to Mexico, Mr. Shwedel worked in Bolivia with USAID, Previous to that, he was a consultant to the Costa Rican government’s agricultural marketing program. He also worked with the Venezuelan extension agency.

Mr. Shwedel has written extensively on economics and market development, and in the area of agricultural administration. He is co-author of Modernizacion del Sector Agropecuario Mexicano (Modernizing Mexico’s Agriculture Sector), a blueprint for structural change of Mexico’s agriculture.