Although GROWMARK and its FS Member companies are clearly rooted in agriculture, a farming or agribusiness background is not required to thrive as an employee there.
GROWMARK’s Director of Talent Management Tom Swearingen is a prime example of that. Originally a commercial airline pilot, Swearingen left that industry after the events of 9/11/2001 changed it forever, and came back to his hometown to work as a corporate pilot for GROWMARK and Country Financial. He eventually became the chief pilot for those companies, and then grew into the position of Director of Corporate Services before taking on his current job. Along the way, Swearingen took advantage of tuition assistance and completed his MBA while working at GROWMARK.
In this interview, Swearingen talks about the diversity of the GROWMARK team and the unparalleled training and development the company offers to all 6,000 system-wide employees. Tom Swearingen, GROWMARK