Columbia Grain International (CGI) has appointed Siddharth Sharma as chief digital and information officer (CDIO) to lead the company’s next phase of digital transformation and expansion into ecommerce and consumer-packaged goods.
CGI is a major U.S. agribusiness and food-ingredient company. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Portland, CGI operates more than 60 grain elevators and processing facilities across the Pacific Northwest and Midwest. The company sources, cleans and distributes high-quality grains, pulses, oilseeds and organics to domestic and international markets. CGI is a subsidiary of Marubeni Corp., one of Japan’s largest trading conglomerates.
Sharma joins CGI with more than two decades of global technology experience. He previously led industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and innovation practices at Hitachi Vantara and NTT Data. In his new role, he will oversee information technology, cybersecurity, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) strategy while driving digital initiatives that integrate advanced technologies across CGI’s supply chain and customer operations.
“Our customer service mindset at Columbia Grain is our leading initiative,” said Kurt Haarmann, president and CEO of CGI. “Instituting innovative technologies, processes, and AI integration throughout the supply chain will fulfill the goal to address the needs of each customer, externally as well as internally.”
Columbia Grain’s new CDIO
The leadership change reflects CGI’s accelerating effort to digitize its entire operation — from farmer origination to consumer distribution. It also reflects an effort to expand its footprint in ecommerce and consumer-packaged goods.
In June 2023, CGI launched Enrich Foods LLC. Enrich is a consumer-packaged-goods subsidiary formed through its acquisition of Great River Milling in Fountain City, Wisconsin. The deal gave CGI a modern facility for packaging and distribution with a strong presence on Amazon and other retail ecommerce platforms.
The acquisition also integrated CGI’s Balanced Bushel retail line of beans and pulses into the Enrich Foods portfolio. That allowed the company to sell branded and private-label products directly to consumers and retailers. Through this platform, CGI is evolving from a business-to-business bulk supplier. It seeks to become a vertically integrated, digitally enabled food company serving both industrial and consumer markets.
CGI’s parent, Marubeni, said the U.S. subsidiary’s expansion into consumer-facing ecommerce aligns with its global food-supply strategy. That strategy includes leveraging digital technology to connect producers more directly to consumers and enhance traceability across the agricultural value chain.
Sharma’s appointment underscores CGI’s broader digital ambitions. The company is investing in data-driven decision-making, predictive analytics and AI-powered supply-chain systems. It seeks to optimize grain flows, monitor quality in real time and reduce operational inefficiencies.
Columbia Grain expects the CDIO role to unify technology, data and customer engagement under one leadership structure. That model is increasingly common in advanced manufacturing and retail sectors.
By combining its core agribusiness operations with consumer-packaged production and ecommerce channels, CGI is positioning itself as a digitally orchestrated food-supply-chain company. Its evolution reflects a broader industry trend in which global distributors and processors are transforming into connected commerce platforms that serve both industrial buyers and end consumers.
Sign up
Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube.
Favorite