There are few things that Charlotte, North Carolina and Perry, Georgia have in common. Even though they both are considered to be in the south and the summer weather with the heat and humidity are comparable, the winter weather for the two is likely just as much of a contrast as the population and landscape. The allure of the two areas differs vastly in so many ways. The busyness of Charlotte can be unappealing to most folks, on a daily basis that is, with its large, potentially impersonal and prosaic corporate mindset. It’s understandable, then, why AgGeorgia’s CEO Rob Crain would consider leaving the big city business structure to serve with an organization that prides itself on relationship lending, leading him to the small-town charm of Houston County.
Rob was born in Cleveland County, North Carolina, a county that borders the North Carolina/South Carolina state line and is nestled almost centrally between Asheville on the west and Charlotte on the east. Although the major industry there wasn’t tourism, it wasn’t agriculture either. Rob didn’t grow up on a farm to acquire an appreciation for agriculture at an early age. So just how did this Chief Executive Officer find his way to and establish a career with Farm Credit?
After graduating from Western Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Master of Business Administration from Gardner-Webb University, Rob found himself in downtown Charlotte working for a financial services company. “For the better part of a decade I worked in downtown Charlotte where my job consisted of clearing large credit transactions for clients in the textile industry. The work was super transactional and I began to feel pulled toward more purpose-driven work - something I was passionate about,” Rob explained. “I just had no clue what that would be at the time or where it would take me.”
That’s when he noticed a job posting for a Senior Credit Analyst at Southwest Georgia Farm Credit in Bainbridge, Georgia and about six months later, he and his new wife, Tiffany, were moving south. That would be the beginning of his new career. “Moving to rural, Southwest Georgia probably wasn’t exactly how I thought the next chapter would begin,” Rob joked. But once he began working with Farm Credit, he began to understand what relationship lending was. “I knew that’s what I wanted to be about,” Rob explained. “Previously, I had focused solely on numbers, now my focus was also on relationships and people, and it was transformative,” Rob said. “Instead of just numbers on a computer screen, I was able to finally see the people behind those numbers. And these people just happened to feed and clothe the world,” Rob explained.
Rob recalled his young family’s move, saying “Life in Bainbridge was certainly different at first, but people were unbelievably friendly, and apart from the gnats, it was an incredible experience. I learned alot,” Rob said with a smile. While in Bainbridge, Rob served as Director of Risk Management and Senior Commercial Credit Analyst. Rob and family would move back to his home state of North Carolina in 2006 when he accepted a position of Relationship Manager with Carolina Farm Credit in the Spindale Office. Since most of his family was still there, as well as the majority of Tiffany’s family, it was a perfect opportunity.
Rob had professional success at Carolina Farm Credit, and his career continued to flourish as he advanced through the ranks. He would hold various positions including Capital Markets Manager, Director of Credit Administration Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer. When the retirement of AgGeorgia’s former CEO was announced, Rob knew that was an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up. “It was a unique opportunity that presented itself at a unique time,” Rob said.
Elected AgGeorgia CEO by the board of directors on behalf of the stockholders, he began his new position in August of 2020. Although Rob is new to AgGeorgia, he is not new to the Farm Credit System nor to the mindset of relationship lending. “AgGeorgia has long been a champion for agriculture in the state and I, along with our amazing staff and board, look forward to advancing our deep rooted legacy of service and support for Georgia’s farmers and rural communities well into the future,” he said.
During his several years with Farm Credit, Rob not only increased his career experience on his resume but his family increased also. He and Tiffany have 2 daughters, Karley who just turned 16, and Kinley who is a very mature 11, both competitive tournament tennis players. The family lives in Houston County and are very active in tennis, with Rob commenting, “Tennis is about all we do on the weekends — junior tournaments for the girls or practice.” He is also active in local tennis and plays on numerous USTA teams while Tiffany keeps them all organized and the girls shuttled around.
Rob admits he’d rather be on a farm visit than behind a desk which is all the more reason it’s easy to see why the big tall building in downtown Charlotte didn’t have much appeal to him. And although Houston County is over twice as populated as his home county, his love and appreciation for agriculture and the industry, coupled with the relationship lending model of Farm Credit, had much appeal and was worth making the move. “I’m so excited to be back in Georgia and feel blessed to be a part of such an incredible organization,” Rob said.