Joe Hayman, CEO of Southern AgCredit, has been named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs for 2019 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

Hayman leads the agricultural lending cooperative whose operations span Mississippi and Louisiana, providing financing for farmers, ranchers, agribusiness, rural residents and rural infrastructure.

“When the board hired me,” Hayman said, “I was excited about the potential to make a positive impact not only for our customer-owners but to provide professional opportunities to our staff. Over the past 12 years, the team has originated over $1.6 billion in new loan volume that goes directly into the rural economy for agricultural producers to not only succeed, but thrive.

“Our customer-owners literally provide thousands of jobs, so the impact of our business on the economy is significant. Our focus on setting the standard regarding operating efficiency has allowed the board to distribute nearly $100 million in patronage refunds to our customer-owners during that time period — greatly reducing their effective cost of borrowing.”

Kevin Rhodes, Southern AgCredit’s board chairman, was pleased with Hayman’s recognition.

“He came in at a very pivotal time to the institution and not only navigated it through some very challenging times, but worked to foster an ownership culture that is unique to the industry,” said Rhodes. “That culture is the foundation of our success and is key to our ability to exceed expectations, every time. We’re very proud that Hayman’s achievements have been recognized by Mississippi’s business community.”

The Mississippi Business Journal website notes that the honor recognizes leaders around the state who demonstrate excellence among the top executives in their field — CEOs who “have helped their companies (or organizations) achieve strong growth and success and have made a profound impact on their company and community.”