1. Cate Sprout
Experience
CHS Inc. St. Paul, MN July 2008 - present
CHS - Energy, Grain, & Foods Fortune 100 company
Director Talent Acquisition
 Established and built staffing function and processes from inception to
present.
 Driving innovation & best practices, along with identifying and
implementing efficiencies, into our talent acquisition processes on an
enterprise wide level.
 Direct and manage a team of Sr. Talent Acquisition specialists,
Campus Programs Manager, Staffing Coordinators and HRIS Systems
Analyst
 Partnered with vendor to develop & implement an Applicant Tracking
System, and rollout system enterprise wide.
 Provide staffing support for Sr. level positions and backup support for
recruiters.
 Selected, negotiated and partnered with vendor to develop & buildout
online employer branding presence.
 Created and implemented Military recruiting initiative which resulted in
150 military hires within first year.
 Create and oversee College Programs and Internship program.
o Summer 2015 Intern program 225 interns.
 Strategically partnering with the CHS Foundation & Corporate Giving to
align & improve college relations, relationships with scholarship recipients,
and enhance visibility of CHS in the agribusiness industry.
o 2014 Introduced first Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day events
to honor veteran employees and those who served and lost
loved ones.
o Hosted 2014 Ag Careers Roundtable Conference.
o 2015 IFAMA World Conference
o 2015 Lead sponsor of annual International Agronomy &
Entomology meeting
 Create and oversee our recruiting out-reach strategies and tools,
including online, internet search, and social media partnerships.
 Implemented new processes to ensure OFCCP compliance for candidate
selection to include training & writing job postings.
 Conducted hiring manager training on the behavior based interview
selection process.
 Establish, build and maintain relationships, working effectively with
business unit leaders, management, peers, employees, and vendors.
 Immigration: partner with HR Generalist and Legal department on VISA
transfers and new sponsorships.
 Development of short and long term objectives to meet the strategy of
the business and create and manage budget 1.5m plus vendor
contracts.

2.  Partnered with Marketing and Communications on numerous articles
relating to employment within the Agriculture sector for the C
Magazine and other publications.
 Member of HR leadership team, selecting vendor for e-verify
management and rollout
 Full cycle Talent Acquisition: source, screen, interview, offer, relocation
Special Accomplishments
 Applicant Tracking System creation, implementation and rollout across
organization.
 Selected and build out recruiter toolbox
 Selected and negotiated with on-line vendors (Monster, Linked-In, Ag-
Careers, Indeed, Military.com)
 Partnered with Military.com to create proprietary military job translator
 Co-lead and collaborated with Marketing Communications on
enterprise Employer Branding initiative
 Presenter at CHS annual meeting last four years on topics related to
hiring: creating an intern program, creating a campus recruiting
program, creating a military recruiting program, how to hire
international interns and trainees, and hosted Col. Lanceta from
Washington D. C. Soldier for Life.
 Attended 2013 annual Farm Broadcasters meeting and jointly
conducted over 75 interviews for radio and television relating to hiring
in the Ag sector and hiring our heroes.
 2014 Created and proposed first annual C magazine exclusively
dedicated to recruitment, employment brand and stewardship.
Circulation 300k plus and currently in year two.
 2014 Introduced first Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day events to honor
veteran employees and those who served and lost loved ones.
 Hosted 2014 Ag Careers Roundtable Conference.
 Created on-line New Employee Orientation tool.
 Creation of Interview Competency questionnaires to align with CHS
Leadership expectations.
 Consulted and trained Coop Board of Directors on General Manager
Selection.
 Selected to attend CHS University at Carlson School of Business:
Leading for Results, Project Management, Foundations of Leadership,
Strategy and Finance
Datacard Corporation Mpls, MN Oct 2006 – July 2008
Talent Acquisition Manager / Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist
 Direct management for 2 dedicated recruiters and a staffing coordinator.
 Oversaw College Programs, college recruiting and internship program.
 Oversaw and evolving our recruiting outreach strategies and tools,
including online, internet search, and partnerships.
 Drove innovation & best practices, along with identifying and
implementing efficiencies into our recruiting processes on a Global
level.
 Managed relationship development and utilization of external agencies
& vendors, including retained & contingent placement firms &
temporary agencies. This includes vendor selection, contract
development, negotiating terms, & documentation.
 Established appropriate and relevant metrics related to staffing
effectiveness.

3.  Partnered with HRIS & IT to develop & implement PeopleSoft Applicant
Tracking System Globally. Traveled to China to rollout system for
ASIAPAC
 Implemented new processes to ensure OFCCP compliance for candidate
selection to include training & writing job postings.
 Implemented a Turn-key behavior based interview process.
 Project Manager for a real-time online New Employee Orientation process.
 Implemented onsite College Fair for internal Datacard employees to
promote an environment of continued learning.
 Conducted I-9 training for internal and US field staff. Oversaw I-9 audits.
 Conducted PeopleSoft training globally for managers & HR staff.
 Immigration: transfers and new sponsorships.
 Developed and updated policies related to staffing.
 Full cycle Talent Acquisition: source, screen, interview, offer, and
background screening.
Medtronic Corporation Mpls, MN Jan – Oct, 2006
Sr. Talent Acquisition Consultant - CONTRACT
 Support 6 Talent Acquisition Consultants within CRDM & MECC Business
Units
 Sourcing technical talent for R&D, Product Development, IT &
Manufacturing
 Full Life Cycle Recruiting
 Team member of Special Task Force for OFCCP compliance
Sysdyne Corporation Mpls, MN 2000-2004, 2005
Sr. Technical Recruiter
 Sourcing for medical device, avionics, aerospace, defense, and other
technology based companies located in Twin Cities
 Participate in Job fairs & Networking meetings
 Proactively identify & recruit high quality technical candidates
 Sourced R & D Engineers / Extrusion / Software / Hardware / Mechanical
Engineers, Technical Writers, Electronic Technicians, IT Consultants
 Partnered & Built relationships with internal hiring managers of Sysdyne
client base to better understand their industry, need, & recruiting strategies
 Conduct professional references on qualified candidates
 Coordinate phone / on-site interviews between candidate / client
 Administer orientation to new Sysdyne Consultants
 Assist consultants with relocation assistance as needed
 Developed Training Manual for internal Sysdyne Staff
 New Business Prospecting, Top Lead Sourcer 2 years
 Top Technical Recruiter 2 years

4. Express Personnel Services Rochester/Winona, MN 1999 - 2000
Operations Manager – Staffing Solutions
 Recruiting / Screening / Hiring Internal Staff & Temp Associates
 Interview, hire, orientation, counsel, mentor, and terminations
 Training & skills testing
 Unemployment & workers compensation I-9 Audits / W-C Audits / Database
Management
 On site management - 80 associates
 Diversity training, benefits administration, team building
 Advertising : print & radio
 EEOC / ADA / Right to Know
 Experience with a multi-cultural environment
 Experience with Professional / Office Services / Production placements
 Staffing solutions for manufacturing in medical device, automotive, &
electronics
Education
2006 Northwestern College St. Paul, MN
 FOCUS – Adult degree program
 Area of study: Psychology
1992-1994 College of St. Catherine St. Paul, MN
 Liberal Arts & Psychology
Additional Training / Skills:
 CHS University: Finance & Planning, Foundations of Leadership (2014),
Leading for Results (2015)
 Project Management Training (2014)
 Go Make a Difference Training & Certification (2014)
 HR Connections Talent Acquisition Training Series
 Lean / Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification
 Immigration / OFCCP
 MS Office Suite, Several proprietary systems / databases, Web tools,
PeopleSoft, IBM Kenexa Recruit 2X & Brassring
Memberships:
 Minnesota Recruiters Network
 Affirmative Action Compliance Council