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Experience an exclusive Presidential Advisory Council Mastermind Q&A with Mark Whitacre, former ADM whistleblower turned FBI informant. An Exclusive Presidential Advisory Council Mastermind with Mark Whitacre You Know the Hollywood Story. Now Hear the Story Hollywood Didn’t Tell. Join the Virginia Christian Chamber of Commerce Presidential Advisory Council for an exclusive Mastermind with Mark Whitacre, Vice President at Coca-Cola Consolidated and a key leader with the t-factor Leadership Initiative. This experience is reserved for our Presidential Advisory Council—the highest membership level of the Virginia Christian Chamber—giving Christian CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, and marketplace leaders unique access to one of the most fascinating guests we have hosted. 

The Man Behind The Informant! Mark Whitacre’s extraordinary life became the inspiration for the 2009 major motion picture The Informant!, with Matt Damon portraying Mark. But the movie tells only part of the story. Mark rose to the highest levels of corporate leadership at Archer Daniels Midland before becoming an FBI informant in the historic ADM price-fixing investigation. For nearly three years, he secretly wore a wire while continuing to work as an executive. Then Mark’s own decisions caught up with him, and he ultimately went from the executive suite to federal prison. That’s where the story most people know ends. But it’s where another story begins. While incarcerated, Mark encountered the influence of Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship, surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, and began an incredible journey of redemption, restoration, second chances, and purpose. Go Deeper Into Mark’s Story Mark Whitacre Official Website:Explore Mark’s story, testimony and resources⁠ Mark’s story was also featured in the Discovery documentary Undercover, featuring people directly connected to the actual FBI investigation. Discovery Documentary – Undercover:Learn more about the Discovery documentary⁠ 

More recently, Mark sat down with K-LOVE Podcasts’ Rooted with Jan Harrison for an extended two-part conversation about success, failure, faith, consequences, and God’s power to redeem a life. K-LOVE Podcasts – Part 1: “When Success Leaves You Empty”Listen to Part 1 of Mark’s K-LOVE interview⁠ K-LOVE Podcasts – Part 2: “The Power of God’s Redemption”Listen to Part 2 of Mark’s K-LOVE interview⁠ From Corporate Scandal to Transforming Corporate Culture Today, Mark serves as a Vice President at Coca-Cola Consolidated and is deeply involved with its t-factor Leadership Initiative, helping corporate leaders understand how faith, servant leadership, purpose, care, and biblical values can influence workplace culture. Coca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, serving more than 60 million consumers across 14 states and Washington, D.C. Through t-factor, Coca-Cola Consolidated shares its journey of building a faith-friendly, servant-based, and purpose-driven workplace culture with corporate leaders around the world. The reach is significant: t-factor reports more than 15,000 attendees from 37 countries and offers live leadership summits, training experiences, networking, resources, and a 24/7/365 on-demand experience for leaders seeking to transform workplace culture. Explore t-factor:Learn about t-factor, upcoming summits and workplace transformation resources⁠ PAC members will have an opportunity to ask Mark what this actually looks like inside a major publicly traded organization—from organizational purpose and servant leadership to faith in the workplace, legal considerations, teammate recruitment and retention, chaplaincy, prayer, Bible studies, and workplace culture. 

Hear the Part of the Story Most People Never Heard! This Mastermind gives Presidential Advisory Council members the opportunity to hear directly from Mark about the story Hollywood didn’t fully tell—the consequences, his relationship with Ginger, the people God used in his life, Chuck Colson’s influence, finding Christ, rebuilding his life, receiving a second chance, and ultimately returning to corporate America with a completely different purpose. And then—you get to ask him your questions personally. 

Agenda 

8:00 AM - Prayer, Welcome & Networking 

8:15 AM - Whitacre will provide personal insight into his story with business leadership and his investigations, while discussing lessons learned and beneficial actions in executive positions. He will also draw from experiences with his marriage and family as insights into a healthy leadership philosophy with faith integration. 

8:45 AM - Presidential Advisory Council Q&A with Mark Whitacre: This exclusive session allows Presidential Members to engage directly with Mr. Whitacre through an interactive discussion on topics such as: Integrity in Business Second chances in careers and rejoining the workforce Support from family amidst trials in the workplace Founding/growing new positions within businesses Upward mobility and career choices Leading with biblical principles and faith integration in the business sphere 

9:30 AM - Closing remarks and prayer 

Not a Presidential Advisory Council Member? This is exactly the kind of access the Presidential Advisory Council was created to provide. The Presidential Advisory Council is the highest membership level of the Virginia Christian Chamber of Commerce, providing exclusive opportunities to engage with influential Christian CEOs, executives, thought leaders, and marketplace leaders through intimate Masterminds and leadership experiences like this one. Want Access to This Mastermind and Opportunities Like It? Upgrade your Virginia Christian Chamber membership to the Presidential Advisory Council level. Email covachristianchamber@gmail.com to learn more about upgrading and gaining access to this opportunity and many more. Not a member yet ? Click here for your application:

ABOUT Mark Whitacre 

Mark Whitacre has been engaged with the faith at work movement the past twenty years. Mark is Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director of the t-factor initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. and Mark has worked with Coca-Cola Consolidated since 2019. Coca-Cola Consolidated is a faith-friendly, publicly traded (NASDAQ) company with an official purpose statement “To honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably”. Mark had served as National Director and then COO of Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) from 2013 to 2019. Mark was the COO and Chief Science Officer from 2006 to 2013 at Cypress Systems, Inc., a California faith-based biotechnology company where Mark still serves on Cypress’ advisory council. Mark’s story is also a story of redemption and second chance where he now works for his largest victim of price-fixing from 35 years ago, and Mark is still happily married to his wife who turned him into the FBI 35 years ago. After completing his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Ohio State University, Mark earned his Ph.D. degree at Cornell University in biochemistry. He worked as an executive for some Fortune 500 companies, including Ralston Purina (now Nestle), Degussa (now Evonik), and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). He was recruited at ADM when he was 32 as the President of the Biotech Division and Corporate Vice President of ADM. Mark has extensive international business experience, having lived in Germany for four years working for Evonik at their world headquarters in Frankfurt. Mark and his wife Ginger have been married for 47 years and have three adult children. 

Few business executives have led a career quite like Mark Whitacre’s. After receiving his doctorate from Cornell University, Whitacre was hired as a scientist for Ralston Purina, briefly served as Vice President of German chemical Evonik, President of BioProducts at food processor Archer Daniels Midland until, in 1992, Whitacre became the highest-ranking executive in American history to become a whistleblower as he informed FBI agents about his and other executives’ involvement in a price-fixing scandal. During the investigation, Whitacre also confessed to embezzling $9 million, and served eight and a half years in federal prison. While in prison, Whitacre found Jesus through Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship, and fundamentally altered his approach to leadership. He has since resumed his professional career and now serves as the vice president of culture and care and executive director of the t-factor initiative (a faith integration program) at Coca-Cola Consolidated, which is the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States and influenced by strong Christian leadership. 

With decades of experience in both biochemistry and corporate leadership, Whitacre has learned several lessons concerning innovation and business leadership on levels as high as Fortune 500 companies. From his hiring at ADM in 1989, he oversaw the founding and growth of one of the largest fermentation sites on the planet, and his quick progression up the corporate ladder reflects his professional prowess. The most well-known portion of his career, his story at Archer Daniels Midland, has also been told in the 2009 film The Informant starring Matt Damon. Since his release from prison, he has committed himself to encouraging Christian principles of work in Coca-Cola Consolidated’s T-factor initiative, which promotes servant leadership, employee encouragement, and purpose-driven decision-making. Whitacre has discussed the differences between the ideals he held before his conversion, which were centered heavily around material success, and a faith-based approach to work in a recent interview on K-LOVE. His story with investigations, conviction, and redemption, combined with his new perspective on faith in business, are what set him apart from other executives. Whitacre humbly credits his family, specifically his wife Ginger, as key to his confession of his wrongdoings, and has since championed constant integrity, allowances for redemption, and the integration of strong morals into business practices.

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