Billi Hunt is the new executive director of the Cultivation Corridor, an organization devoted to accelerating the development of value-added agriculture businesses in Iowa. Hunt brings 20 years of experience working for DuPont, one of the leading agriculture companies in the state.

Focused on further growing and marketing the bioeconomy in central Iowa, Iowa’s Cultivation Corridor is an effort to help the state attract companies, talent and capital from across the globe. It represents a diverse public-private membership of stakeholders, including the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Chamber of Commerce and Iowa State University, along with nonprofit organizations and private-sector companies from across the region and state. The Cultivation Corridor is known as one of the nation’s foremost cluster-based economic development organizations.

Former DuPont manager

Billi Hunt, executive director, Cultivation Corridor

Hunt joins the Cultivation Corridor after working as government affairs manager for DuPont in the U.S. central region: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In that role, she supported DuPont’s global business through state-level advocacy, public policy initiatives and government-related business collaborations. She represented DuPont in community and industry-related organizations, including the Iowa Business Council, United Way of Central Iowa, Iowa Biotech Association, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Iowa State University College of Human Sciences, and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

“Billi brings a high level of experience in the ag sector and is an influential leader who is respected among her peers,” says Gage Kent, CEO of Kent Corp., and chairman of the Cultivation Corridor’s board of directors. “Billi has been instrumental in the Cultivation Corridor’s success, and I’m confident she will continue to build off the Cultivation Corridor’s momentum as a premier ag-bioscience region.”

Mission: Help feed, fuel world
Prior to her role in government affairs, Hunt worked with Optimum Quality Grains LLC, a DuPont-Pioneer joint venture. She also worked as ag adviser for Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, prior to that organization becoming the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

“Billi has exceptional credentials to advance the Cultivation Corridor’s mission to feed and fuel the world,” says Wendy Wintersteen, president of Iowa State University and member of the Cultivation Corridor board of directors. “We are excited to leverage her industry experience and relationships in collaboration with ISU’s renowned talent and innovation as well as our many other partners to accelerate growth and development throughout the Cultivation Corridor.”

Cultivating ag bioscience innovation
In Iowa’s Cultivation Corridor, global industry leaders, scientists, researchers and capital investors are working around the clock to solve our world’s challenges in the production and security of food, feed, fiber and fuel, Hunt says. 

And it’s through new scientific discovery and innovation, that the more than 1,250 ag bioscience experts living and working here are forging new pathways to energy independence, developing products made from renewable resources and creating a more sustainable future for us all.

“I’m excited to help lead the Cultivation Corridor into its next chapter,” Hunt says. “Having worked in agriculture and with the Cultivation Corridor initiative firsthand, I’ve seen that our region and state are filled with global industry leaders that set us apart, and we will continue to ensure that central Iowa is recognized as a top place for ag-bioscience innovation.”

Leading in innovation, collaboration
An intense concentration of public- and private-sector agribusiness assets in central Iowa has led to an unprecedented level of expertise, collaboration and resource-sharing that is fueling our vision for a brighter global future, she says. The incredible work being done by these institutions inside the Cultivation Corridor is allowing our region to lead the way as one of the world’s most innovative ag-based ecosystems.

Hunt is active in the community. She is involved with Des Moines Christian School, Iowa State University, Lutheran Church of Hope and United Way of Central Iowa. Hunt is a member of the Des Moines Business Record’s Forty Under 40 class. Hunt earned her Bachelor of Science degree from ISU and her Master of Public Administration degree from Drake University.

Hunt will begin her role with the Cultivation Corridor on Feb. 19. For more information, visit cultivationcorridor.org.