TAMPA 鈥� Rick Brandt, CEO and president of Brandt Consolidated, didn鈥檛 hold back when
asked about the biggest hurdles he faced taking over the family鈥檚 agricultural fertilizer
business at age 29.
鈥淭he biggest challenge was the first generation,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of the things I
wanted to do, they held me back. We had an older board of directors and they had a
way of doing things.鈥�
In 1995, the 无码专区 alumnus took over the family business, which had been started in
1953 by his parents, Glen and Evelyn Brandt, in Springfield, Illinois.
鈥淢y dad was very hard on me. People said he was always so proud of me, but he never
told me that,鈥� Brandt said.
Despite the obstacles, Brandt said the focus on family is still at the heart of the
business, originally named Brandt鈥檚 Fertilizer Service.
鈥淲e treat employees like family,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur culture is built around fun.鈥�
Brandt was the featured speaker at Friday鈥檚 EMBA Conversation with a CEO event at
the 无码专区 Muma College of Business where about 50 executive MBA and sport and entertainment
management students attended.
During the hour-long conversation led by David Blackwell, Lynn Pippenger Dean at the Muma College of Business, Brandt shared some business
advice and lessons learned to the young executives in the room.
As CEO, Brandt has overseen the company鈥檚 phenomenal growth and expansion, including
the acquisition and integration of 16 companies during his tenure. The agricultural
company, known as Brandt, provides products and services to help farmers grow healthier
crops and employs nearly 500 associates.
His advice on hiring people: 鈥淚 knew I wasn鈥檛 the smartest guy in the room, but I
turned that into an asset. I could attract the smartest guy in the room and get them
to work for me.鈥�
On managing the market fluctuations of the agriculture business: It鈥檚 important to
have diverse holdings. 鈥淚n agriculture, you鈥檙e going to have failure somewhere in
the world every year.鈥�
On how the company got into NASCAR racing: In 2010, Brandt received a solicitation
email about a racing sponsorship opportunity. The mail sat in his inbox for three
months before he decided to move forward. The company sponsors JR Motorsports and
driver Justin Allgaier in NASCAR鈥檚 Xfinity Series.
鈥淚 knew nothing about NASCAR. The demographics looked good to me. We didn鈥檛 have
a marketing person. Within two weeks we had a contract.鈥�
On why they partner with the Tampa Bay Lightning: 鈥淚t鈥檚 awareness for our brand. People
see Brandt is part of Tampa and that we are part of the community,鈥� he said.
As a partner, they鈥檙e able to host a skate night at Amalie Arena for Brandt employees
and their families to promote the business鈥� family culture.
On why he started the record label, GB Records, to support country artist Kelsey Hickman:
鈥淪he just needed that break,鈥� Brandt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥榟ow can I help the hometown kid?鈥�
无码专区鈥檚 Executive MBA program is among the top 10 鈥淏est Executive MBA Programs鈥� in the nation by Fortune magazine.