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Robert W. Lane has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company since August 2000.
Lane, following an early career in global banking, joined John Deere in 1982, initially managing various operations within the Worldwide Construction Equipment Division and later serving as president and chief operating officer of Deere Credit, Inc. In 1992, he joined the Worldwide Agricultural Equipment Division where, as senior vice president, he directed equipment operations in Latin America, Australia and East Asia.
Elected chief financial officer in 1996, Lane subsequently moved to Germany where, as managing director, he led Deere's agricultural equipment operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and the nations of the former Soviet Union. He returned to the United States as president of the Worldwide Agricultural Equipment Division and thereafter was elected president and chief operating officer of Deere & Company.
Lane also serves as a director of General Electric Company and Verizon Communications Inc. He is an honorary director of the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, a national director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and is on the National Advisory Council of Iowa's Figge Art Museum.
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1949, Lane graduated with high honors from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, in 1972. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1974. Together with his wife, Patricia, he raised three children.
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural and forestry equipment, a major manufacturer of construction equipment, and a leading supplier of equipment used in lawn, grounds and turf care. John Deere also manufactures and markets engines used in heavy equipment and provides landscape and worldwide financial services. Since it was founded in 1837, the company has extended its heritage of integrity, quality, commitment and innovation around the globe. | 