# John May

> John C. May is chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company. A former KPMG management consultant who joined Deere in 1997, he worked across China operations, factory management, agricultural solutions and information technology before becoming CEO in November 2019. His Smart Industrial strategy connects manufacturing with precision agriculture, automation, software and equipment support.

- **Role:** Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Deere & Company
- **Organizations:** Deere & Company, Ford Motor Company, Business Roundtable, Council on Competitiveness, KPMG Peat Marwick (former employer)
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree, University of New Hampshire, Master of Business Administration, University of Maine
- **Known for:** Became the tenth CEO in Deere’s history in November 2019., Led the introduction of Deere’s Smart Industrial operating model in 2020., Publicly advocated Deere’s machine-learning investment when the company announced its $305 million Blue River Technology acquisition agreement in 2017.

## Career timeline

- **Before 1997** — Worked as a management consultant at KPMG Peat Marwick.
- **1997** — Joined Deere & Company.
- **Before 2012** — Assignments included managing director of China operations, factory manager at Dubuque Works, and vice president of the Global Turf & Utility platform.
- **2012** — Joined senior management as president, Agricultural Solutions, and chief information officer.
- **2018** — Became president, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division.
- **2019-04** — Became president and chief operating officer.
- **2019-11** — Became CEO on November 4, succeeding Samuel Allen.
- **2020-05** — Became chairman of the board.
- **2020-06** — Deere announced its Smart Industrial operating model.
- **2021-12** — Elected to the Ford Motor Company board of directors.
- **2023-01** — Delivered the CES opening keynote alongside Deere colleagues.

## Achievements

- Became the tenth CEO in Deere’s history in November 2019.
- Led the introduction of Deere’s Smart Industrial operating model in 2020.
- Publicly advocated Deere’s machine-learning investment when the company announced its $305 million Blue River Technology acquisition agreement in 2017.
- Led Deere during the 2022 unveiling of its autonomous 8R tractor for large-scale production.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Deere reported Q3 net income of $1.379 billion versus $1.289 billion a year earlier. May continued to expect 2026 to be the bottom of the agricultural-equipment cycle; this was a forecast.
- **2026-07** — During May’s tenure, Deere and the FTC and five states reached a repair-access settlement. The announced stipulated order included equivalent repair resources and ten years of oversight, subject to judicial approval.

## Links

- Website: https://www.deere.com/en-us/our-company/explore-john-deere/leadership/john-may
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-c-may/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-may
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21