Executive Leadership Team

Farm Credit Services is lead by a 7-person senior management team who provides leadership to over 825 employees dedicated to serving the needs of farmers and rural America.

Donnie Winters - President and Chief Executive Officer

Donnie Winters serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, a $13 billion agricultural finance cooperative serving over 81,000 members throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.  Winters began his career with Farm Credit in 1970 and has served in numerous capacities embracing credit, marketing, planning and human resources. He has served as CEO since 1989.  He also currently serves on the Farm Credit System's Presidents' Planning Committee and the Finance Subcommittee. 

Raised on a dairy and tobacco farm near LaGrange, Kentucky, he holds a degree in ag economics from the University of Kentucky and a masters of business administration from the University of Louisville. He and his wife, Judy, reside in LaGrange, Kentucky and have two grown children and five grandchildren.

Tom Schlenker - Executive Vice President

Schlenker has served as a leader for Farm Credit Services for over 30 years and has served in a leadership role for the past 25 years. His responsibilities include providing leadership to strategic planning and organizing and directing of the business development, sales and marketing functions. Schlenker holds masters and bachelors degrees from the Ohio State University in the areas of agricultural economics and marketing. He is actively involved in several agricultural organizations including the Ohio Ag Council and the Mid-America Council of Cooperatives.  Schlenker is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the OSU Department of Agriculture Economics.

Paul Bruce - Senior Vice President - Financial Operations and Chief Financial Officer

Bruce is responsible for managing the accounting and financial operations. He has been with the Farm Credit System since 1987 where he began his career as accounting manager at the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis.  In 1994, he was hired as vice president - loan accounting for Farm Credit Services in Louisville. Prior to joining the Farm Credit System, he worked for Bell Systems/AT&T.  Bruce received his bachelor's degree from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and his Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Jim Kenney - Senior Vice President - Corporate Services

Kenney started his Farm Credit career in 1981 as an attorney with the Federal Land Bank of Louisville. He has served as a senior leader of Farm Credit Services since it was formed in 1986. Initially he served as General Counsel and beginning in 1989 he assumed various leadership responsibilities outside the legal area. Today he provides leadership to the following functions: human resources, training, and systems and technology. Kenney received a B.S. degree from the University of Evansville and a degree from the University of Louisville School of Law.

Phil Kimmel - Senior Vice President - Credit

Kimmel leads the credit functions in pursuing market growth opportunities and is responsible for improving pricing and capital positions for the organization. He has almost 30 years of agricultural lending experience within the Farm Credit System. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelors in agricultural economics and rural sociology. Kimmel represents Farm Credit at various Indiana ag functions and was most recently awarded Purdue University's APEX Award, an honor given in recognition of individuals with a strong connection to the school's Department of Agricultural Economics who have made outstanding contributions in their fields.

David Lynn - Senior Vice President - Financial Services

Lynn responsibilities include planning, organizing and leading the sales functions for Tennessee, Kentucky and southeast Indiana. He oversees a sales staff of approximately 300 employees. He began his career with Farm Credit Services in June, 1981, and has held several leadership positions during his 25 year tenure. Most recently, he served as vice president for 16 counties in eastern Tennessee. Lynn is a member of the Tennessee Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. He graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1974 with a B.S. degree in Agriculture. He received his M.S. degree in Administration and Supervision from UT Knoxville in 1978.

Dick Poe - Senior Vice President - Financial Services

Poe oversees the management and sales of over 40 FCS offices throughout Ohio and Indiana. He began his employment with Farm Credit in 1982 as a loan officer in Washington Court House, Ohio.  Over the last 25 years, he has held a number of sales and management positions, most recently serving as vice president – financial services for the central Kentucky sales region. He is a member and past president of the Louisville Ag Club as well as a past director for the Kentucky Ag Heritage Center Board and the Kentucky Council of Cooperatives. More recently, Poe has worked extensively with Kentucky producers participating in the tobacco buyout. Poe received his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Kentucky.  Additionally, he is a graduate of the school of the Commercial Banking School of the South at Louisiana State University and is a graduate of The Ohio State University’s L.E.A.D. program, a program designed to promote leadership in agriculture.