John Deere

John Deere is a company that consists of three major business segments: agriculture and turf, construction and forestry, and credit. John Deere manufactures farm equipment, lawn and garden tractors, mowers, golf course equipment, and other outdoor power products. The company also manufactures forestry and construction equipment. It is also one of the largest equipment finance companies in the U.S., offering credit to help consumers buy their products. The company was founded in 1837 by John Deere, a blacksmith and inventor.

In 2011, John Deere reported $32,012,500,000 in sales and revenues.

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem."

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
For an unknown period through mid-2012, John Deere & Company was a corporate member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It was a member in around 2000, and in 2011, it was a member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force.

In July 2012, a John Deere representative announced that it is leaving ALEC. Please see Corporations Which Have Cut Ties to ALEC for more.

A list of other ALEC corporations can be found here.

Board of Directors
As of January 2013
 * Samuel R. Allen - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company
 * Crandall C. Bowles - Chairman, Springs Industries, Inc., Chairman, The Springs Company
 * Vance D. Coffman - Retired Chairman, Lockheed Martin Corporation
 * Charles O. Holliday, Jr. - Chairman, DuPont
 * Dipak C. Jain - Dean, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
 * Clayton M. Jones - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rockwell Collins, Inc.
 * Joachim Milberg - Chairman, Supervisory Board, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG
 * Richard B. Myers - Retired Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Retired General, United States Air Force
 * Thomas H. Patrick - Chairman, New Vernon Capital, LLC
 * Aulana L. Peters - Retired Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
 * Sherry M. Smith - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, SUPERVALU INC.

Former directors include
 * David B. Speer - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Executives
As of January 2013
 * Samuel R. Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 * Max A. Guinn - Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Communications, Public Affairs - and Labor Relations
 * James R. Jenkins - Senior Vice President
 * Mary K. W. Jones - Senior Vice President and General Counsel
 * Rajesh Kalathur - Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 * James H. Becht - Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, International
 * Frances B. Emerson - Vice President, Corporate Communications and Global Brand Management
 * Timothy V. Haight - Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
 * Michael A. Harring - Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, North America
 * Marc A. Howze - Vice President, Global Human Resources
 * Thomas K. Jarrett - Vice President, Taxes
 * Jenny R. Kimball -Vice President and Treasurer
 * David C. Larson - Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Business Development
 * Bradley D. Morris - Vice President, Global Labor Relations
 * Luann K. Rickert - Vice President, Internal Audit
 * Laurie S. Simpson - Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
 * Thomas C. Spitzfaden - Vice President, Pension Fund & Investments
 * Charles R. Stamp, Jr. - Vice President,Public Affairs Worldwide
 * James E. Temperley - Vice President and Comptroller
 * Patrick W. Webber - Vice President, Information Technology
 * Marie Z. Ziegler - Deputy Financial Officer
 * Gregory R. Noe - Corporate Secretary and Associate General Counsel

Contact details
Deere & Company World Headquarters One John Deere Place Moline, Illinois 61265 URL: http://www.deere.com

Featured SourceWatch Articles on Fix the Debt

 * Fix the Debt Portal Page
 * Fix the Debt's Leadership
 * Fix the Debt's Partner Groups
 * Fix the Debt's State Chapters
 * Fix the Debt's Lobbyists
 * Fix the Debt's Parent Group
 * Fix the Debt's Corporations
 * Pete Peterson
 * Peter G. Peterson Foundation
 * America Speaks
 * Simpson-Bowles Commission
 * Erskine Bowles
 * Alan Simpson
 * Social Security
 * Medicare
 * Medicaid

Sourcewatch resources

 * Project EverGreen
 * John Deere Dubuque Power Plant
 * John Deere Harvester Power Plant
 * Karen P. Hughes
 * Robert Marston & Associates
 * National Policy Association
 * Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy
 * Renewable Fuels Association
 * Robert W. Lane