Mark Moran

Mark Moran has worked at John Deere for over 25 years and has held various roles in IT operations, enterprise architecture, advanced marketing, manufacturing and product engineering. Throughout his career, he has been focused on how information and communication technology can transform and disrupt enterprises like John Deere. Before joining John Deere, Moran worked as a civil engineer, focused on airport infrastructure. At John Deere, he started his career by building the company's internet and web infrastructure to enable more efficient processes for employees, dealers and customers. Currently, Moran leads a group of engineers, scientists and data scientists who are developing solutions to improve the sustainability of customers' operations.

Moran serves on the External Advisory Council for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department and on the industry advisory boards for IoT4Ag, AIFarms and SoilTech. Moran is also an industry member of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable for the National Academies.

Moran holds a B.S. degree in general engineering from ISE, MBA from the University of Iowa and S.M. in system design and management from MIT. His thesis was titled "A Study in Product-Service Systems Strategies." In May 2024, Moran will graduate from Illinois with a Ph.D. in informatics. His dissertation is titled "Stakeholder Representation in the CEO's Letter to Shareholders."

Moran and his wife Lori live in Urbana, Illinois, with their three dogs. They are Fighting Illini men's basketball fans. The couple has two adult daughters, both Illinois graduates, a son-in-law who is also an Illinois graduate, two grand-dogs and a granddaughter.