CoBank announces executive appointments

DENVER (August 13, 2025) — CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, today announced that Mike Hechtner has been named executive vice president and head of the bank’s Agribusiness Banking Group.

Hechtner previously served as the head of CoBank’s Regional Agribusiness Banking Group, which serves farmer-owned cooperatives and other small and mid-sized agribusinesses in all 50 states. In his new capacity, he will have responsibility for the entire agribusiness portfolio, which also includes corporate agribusiness and sponsor finance.

Hechtner joined CoBank in 2005 as regional vice president in Omaha, where he oversaw lending operations across Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. He was named Central Region president in 2011, leading business development and credit administration across five regional offices. Before CoBank, Hechtner held positions with the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis, AgriBank, Farm Credit Services of Central Arkansas and Farm Credit Services of America.

In addition, Blake Wright will join CoBank as senior vice president and leader of the Corporate Agribusiness Banking Group, reporting to Hechtner. In this role, he will be responsible for banking relationships of CoBank’s largest agribusiness customers. Wright comes to CoBank from Natixis, a global corporate and investment bank, where he was head of the Nordic region. Previously, he spent more than 25 years at Crédit Agricole, a $2.5 trillion bank and the world’s largest cooperative financial institution, where he held senior roles, including Head of Corporate Coverage for the US and Americas region.

“I am delighted that Mike is stepping into this expanded role and that Blake will be joining our team,” said Eric Itambo, CoBank’s president and chief banking officer. “Both are veteran banking leaders with exceptional experience serving agribusiness customers and will help differentiate CoBank in the marketplace.”

About CoBank

CoBank is a cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 78,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country. CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.