In this special episode, I reflect on my journey alongside an extraordinary leader and mentor, Veronica Urzua-Alvero, Vice President of Human Resources at Church Brothers Farms, who has been instrumental in shaping not only UnitedAg’s organization but also my own approach to leadership. Veronica’s roots in agriculture, inspired by her family, set her on a path where she found her true calling in operations and community-building within the ag industry. Her resilience and determination allowed her to rise above challenges and stay focused on her own growth without letting external factors derail her journey. Veronica’s strategic thinking and unique insights have shaped UnitedAg’s distinct approach, one that doesn’t simply follow the industry but stays true to who we are. Through her guidance, I’ve learned how important it is to view challenges with a long-term perspective, making big-picture decisions that serve the greater good, even if they’re tough in the moment. During our conversation, Veronica also shares her shift from a focus on individual achievement to empowering her team, fostering a growth-oriented and purpose-driven environment. We both emphasize the importance of empathy and coaching in leadership, striving to build understanding and resilience within our teams. We also reflect on the impact of Veronica’s leadership, especially in her role at UnitedAg such as serving as the first female chairperson in 2013 and guiding us through significant events like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and COVID-19. Her big-picture vision and risk management skills were essential to building a strong foundation for UnitedAg, setting structures and making decisions that continue to support our organization today. I am deeply grateful for her friendship and leadership. She has not only shaped UnitedAg but has influenced how I lead and live my life, encouraging me to think beyond the immediate and truly value the people and purpose behind our work. Join us as I celebrate and share the lessons I’ve learned from this remarkable leader and friend, Veronica Urzua-Alvero.
In this special episode, I reflect on my journey alongside an extraordinary leader and mentor, Veronica Urzua-Alvero, Vice President of Human Resources at Church Brothers Farms, who has been instrumental in shaping not only UnitedAg’s organization but also my own approach to leadership. Veronica’s roots in agriculture, inspired by her family, set her on a path where she found her true calling in operations and community-building within the ag industry. Her resilience and determination allowed her to rise above challenges and stay focused on her own growth without letting external factors derail her journey.
Veronica’s strategic thinking and unique insights have shaped UnitedAg’s distinct approach, one that doesn’t simply follow the industry but stays true to who we are. Through her guidance, I’ve learned how important it is to view challenges with a long-term perspective, making big-picture decisions that serve the greater good, even if they’re tough in the moment.
During our conversation, Veronica also shares her shift from a focus on individual achievement to empowering her team, fostering a growth-oriented and purpose-driven environment. We both emphasize the importance of empathy and coaching in leadership, striving to build understanding and resilience within our teams.
We also reflect on the impact of Veronica’s leadership, especially in her role at UnitedAg such as serving as the first female chairperson in 2013 and guiding us through significant events like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and COVID-19. Her big-picture vision and risk management skills were essential to building a strong foundation for UnitedAg, setting structures and making decisions that continue to support our organization today. I am deeply grateful for her friendship and leadership. She has not only shaped UnitedAg but has influenced how I lead and live my life, encouraging me to think beyond the immediate and truly value the people and purpose behind our work. Join us as I celebrate and share the lessons I’ve learned from this remarkable leader and friend, Veronica Urzua-Alvero.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-urzua-alvero-52842730b/
Church Brothers Farms: https://www.churchbrothers.com/
This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg, one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.
Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg.
Reach me at kmutatkar@unitedag.org, www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar
UnitedAg website - www.unitedag.org
Episode Contributors - Veronica Urzua-Alvero, Kirti Mutatkar, Dave Visaya, Rhianna Macias
The episode is also sponsored by Brent Eastman Insurance Services Inc. - https://brenteastman.com
Blue Shield of California - https://www.blueshieldca.com
Elite Medical - https://www.elitecorpmed.com
Gallagher - https://www.ajg.com/
SAIN Medical https://sainmedical.com/
MDI Network - https://www.mdinetworx.com/about-us
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:00:04] So today I am in Salinas. I am actually sitting in our health and wellness center in our Salinas office, and this was exciting to come down here today because I am sitting across Veronica Urzua-Alvero. And the reason this is exciting for me is because Veronica was new to the board, 10/15, now it's 11 years ago, 11 years when I came in as a CEO. And she has been extremely instrumental in where United AG is today. She's a friend, she's a mentor. I've learned a lot from her and an amazing chair person at UnitedAg for a couple years. So Veronica, this is actually-- I'm a little emotional and excited to have you sit across here and be a guest on This Is Ag. So welcome to This Is Ag.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:01:10] Thank you and thank you for that very nice introduction. Yes you and UnitedAg have played a critical role in my career and also in serving and the reason why I decided to serve on the board and stay on the board as long as I did. So thank you for having me here.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:01:26] So, Veronica, I have known you for a few years, but I'm curious even I think I don't know the full story behind this. Why agriculture? Why did you decide to work in this field?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:01:40] So I grew up with family members, immediate family members as well, and extended working in agriculture especially. I was born in Mexicali, Mexico, but raised in Salinas, Salinas Valley. I've known it to be a career and a profession that is very demanding and very hard work. I used to see my parents come home exhausted, but also very proud of the work they did. So now you fast forward. You know, I finished high school going to JC, and I decide that I don't know what to do. Like most 18, 19 year olds. Yeah, that led me into trying out criminology, thinking that was going to be a route. And then for sure I knew I was going to be a bean counter. I said, this is going to be my job. So transferred out to San Jose, completed my bachelor's, and started an internship at a local produce company, actually in Castroville. And I then realized that I did not have the mindset to crunch numbers, and that I was fascinated by what happens within operations. So at that point, I went back to school and decided that I really wanted to do more operational accounting finance, maybe not officially that title, but be much more involved with the roots of the business world of it. And I realized that agriculture is definitely where I wanted to be in. I can relate to the culture. It's my backyard. And so I heard there was an opening or unofficial opening with a smaller produce company, Pacific International Marketing, and they were in need of leadership support.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:03:40] So now I'm 23 years old or so. I walk in there, introduce myself to the CFO at the time and said, this is who I am. This is my background. I have no debt. I have no real responsibilities. Let's try this out for six months. If I can't cut your overhead expense. No hard feelings. We shake hands and I move on. I remember walking out feeling so confident I can do the job. But I remember thinking, what in the world did you say? Because at the end of the day, you still need a job. You still have expenses. So that was a 27 year journey at Pacific and everything that I loved about the industry I was very blessed to be exposed to. I had an amazing mentor and being exposed to all the different arms of business. So from the farming to the harvesting to the trucking, to the processing and even exposure into the sales, to have been blessed to be exposed that way just heightened my passion for the ag industry, to be able to build a team of individuals that had the same interest, but didn't quite understand how deep that passion is and commitment to the business, to the employees. That was another blessing that I experienced there. So at that point I was hooked. I realized I was not going to leave the industry.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:05:14] That's awesome. So I know having known you and your thought process, you're extremely strategic thinker and you connect dots very, very well. And that's I guess looks like that's what you learn from that. So when you think back right in the last, what, 20, 30 years that you've been in this industry, anything that stands out for you where either you struggle with it as being a female in the industry, did you notice anything different with that?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:05:45] You know, the bulk of my career involved working with a lot of reputable men. So I never really experienced that because I always felt I was part of the group. Yeah, I was very blessed about that. And I think that my reputation and my hard work, just everybody treated me neutral. Yeah. If it happened, I didn't even notice it. Maybe that did.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:06:14] But isn't that, like, awesome to feel right? Because usually when you think of, like reflecting back, you see, oh yes, this is why. But if you do a good job and you have the skills and you have the experience, so it doesn't matter.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:06:28] I think in listening to you, I think this is how I look at it is I only have one way of working. And my parents had very strict work ethics that also included what you do. You know, you come in every day and you compete with yourself. You don't compete with what your colleague or what the competitor is doing. You come in and you compete with your daily best. So I didn't really spend much time thinking about what other people thought about me.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:06:55] That's awesome. I mean, that's what we should all be, right. Sometimes you get caught up with I'm treated this way because I'm this or any different from others, right? It does not really matter. Some. I think maybe sometimes I was told by somebody about internal racism or because you yourself carry that internal, so that gets reflected. But if things are never thought of it that way, you just you act and you are who you are and then life is that happens, right? It's within our heads more than anything else.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:07:27] I do remember a funny story. I was just thinking back now because I've never had anybody ask me that question. I do remember my mentor at the time. I went up to him and there was some internal politics going on, and there was challenges within the industry, and I was having a really bad day. And I just remember going to him and getting very emotional. Right. And he listens to me and he says, you know, Veronica, you're allowed to be human. And to have feelings. And there's a time and a place for those. But I didn't hire you to be the pretty girl around here, so just get the job done. I know you know how to do it. And then we can talk about how you feel later. And maybe I can advise you on why you feel that way. So I think he also helped me take certain incidences that happened within the operation and industry and not take it personal and really focus at the task at hand. And that allowed me then to achieve and be involved in certain aspects of business that I would have never have done before if I just stayed in my lane, as some people describe it. So I was very driven by, you know, not again what our competitors were doing, but what the mission was. So what is it that we're trying to do, bring in labor? Okay. How are we going to do it? How are we going to do it different? I don't care how other people are doing it and how are we going to sustain it and make it effective so that we can move on to the next initiative. So I think it's, you know, a lot of my upbringing as well as my mentorship in the industry.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:09:00] And I've also seen you bring a very creative approach into a very different, like you just said, right. Not focusing on what others are doing, but trying to understand and see how can we do things different.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:09:13] Reverse engineering?
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:09:14] Yeah. Yeah. Even at United, like I keep saying, you know, sometimes people get caught up, especially if people come in with a very strong experience from other health insurance companies and they come into United Ag and they are trying to fit United, like convert or make United Ag what it needs to be like an insurance plan. But the uniqueness of what we do is because we're different. We're not like anybody else. Right. We don't think about it. I know you have a strong, strong work ethic, and I know you work long hours. But if I were to ask you what brings you joy? I know you do this because you're passionate. It's like it brings you joy. Talk a little bit about that.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:09:57] Yeah, that's actually a really good question. So different stages of my life. And looking back I think I would define joy and peace differently. Um, when I first started my career, it was really breaking new ground, testing my skill level, my contribution, working my way up, which was not. I wasn't driven by job title. I was really driven by executing. So that was my I would say that would be what drove me at this stage of my career now is being able to take on a lot of the challenges that are relevant to this industry, you know, with labor and risk management and all the other components that fall into those categories. But not myself to do it, but really lead a team and helping them understand the why behind the challenge, the why behind what we do, and more importantly, is how can we approach it in a way that allows each one of my leadership members to bring in their unique strengths, and how do we complement one another? And that is not a job no more. Now that is my passion. Yeah, now that is where I glow, as they say, your North Star. That is my North Star. Because then I feel like I'm leaving a footprint in their lives. And in how they continue the legacy. Not under my legacy, but under the legacy of running successfully in this industry, beating the odds, being more proactive than reactive, and being an example for others as well. So I always told my tell my leadership team, and I've been very blessed that I have a group, a small group of direct reports that stay with me, not because they need to stay working with me, but because they feel that they're getting as much out of it personally and professionally as they put into it. So it's not just a paycheck. Yeah. And I know that my saying to them is, I know that wherever you should go, you will be that much stronger and prepared for whatever direction you want to take your career. And that brings me pleasure. Yeah.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:12:22] That's interesting because I've been doing a lot of thinking around how is joy and work in productivity and what all we do. How is that connected? So actually, when there were last performance reviews that we did for the executive team, one of the questions I asked them was, Does working at United still bring you joy? And my reason behind that was exactly what you just said, right? If you're not passionate and it doesn't bring us joy, then why are we doing what we do then? It's a job, then it's a job. And if it's a job, then yeah, you can do a job at some other place, but maybe not at a place like United Ag. And what do you do with your role then? That's not a look for something else. If that's just if you're looking for a job, look somewhere else. But if you're looking to see what brings you joy, what makes you excited to get up in the morning and do it. And we are fortunate to be in roles like that where it is more than that, right? It's like every day is even the stressful days. You look and say, what is the silver lining in it too, right?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:13:29] I've been asked quite a bit. I've been approached and asked about different career options for me at this stage of my life. And they're, you know, they're appealing, they're exciting. I feel honored that I have certain reputation. But then I say, okay, that would be a job, right?
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:13:47] Right.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:13:48] That would be an actual job. Because what I'm doing now is, yes, you know, supplies income. But I'm still very passionate about it. Now, I can switch careers or industries and then find myself in a job, and that's not what I'm looking for. So I'm very happy. I feel at peace now more than I've been at any stage of my career. Both kids are off to college and I have -- I also have been very blessed to have four bonus children. Adult bonus children, grandkids and a grandbaby. So it's a different stage of my life. And so yeah, now it's nice to be able to do what you're passionate about and leave a footprint and know I can sleep at night knowing that I bring a lot of value not just to who I work with in business, but also who I support and mentor and guide and counsel and be there when I have a favorite saying that, I say, and I won't use the extra words that are not necessary on the podcast, but my saying is that what defines us is not just what barriers we break through, but it's what we do when things don't go quite the way we anticipate them, how we bounce from that, and how do we learn? How do we drive that message? And so it's great when I walk in and, you know, I have somebody, one of my colleagues will come in and say, oh my God, Veronica, this is what happened today. And on top of all this, we dropped the ball here and this happened. And now we're going to get this happening. And I said, okay, so what are we going to do about it now to see that creativity in their eyes? I can see they have that same spark and passion that I have, and that makes me feel so good.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:15:42] So that is such a good when you think of like, if somebody's listening, right. A message to have in there. Because I had a similar conversation earlier because any time you're going through something stressful, you can take it two different ways, right? You can take it like, oh my God, this is stressful and why am I put in this position? And oh, why did this person do this and that person do that. And the other side of it is there is a silver lining in it. And how exciting, right. I'm put in this position with this crazy situation happening. And let me try it as an experiment. Let's see what happens. Let's see how we can do different things and what would the impact be. And that makes it an exciting and learnings from it and experimentation. And if you flip that, a lot of things become very interesting and it becomes more challenging and fun than a chore, right?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:16:45] Yes.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:16:46] Earlier when you were talking about when you come up with a challenge and how we face it, right? It teaches you something so that that's one aspect of it. The other thing, as I was as you were talking about this, what I was thinking was, you know, sometimes in business, this happens to us a lot, where you are putting the human first. You're thinking empathy, you're thinking humanity. You want to empower someone, you want to grow someone, right? And you really, really want to be that mentor deep down, right. You're not looking at it as a maybe a supervisor or manager and somebody who's on your team, but you're really, really passionate to see this person grow. And that person comes back and kind of does something that gets you like, oh, come on, am I questioning? And you question your should I be still? Continue focusing with putting humans at the center of everything, my decisions? Or should I now become a business minded person? Because now I start looking at it from a legal aspect, from a compliance aspect. So when I talk to Veronica, do I talk this way because if I talk the other way, maybe it becomes a legal issue. Right. And you become like a business minded person versus humans. Because I faced those challenges, and I have to snap out of it and say, I need to be back to who I am, right? Does that happen to you?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:18:06] It has and it does, and it will continue. But one of the things that I strongly believe this is maybe a principle that I believe is that it's not fair for the rest of the team. If I change how I lead and how I counsel or mentor. Because even though I might be, let's say, being challenged by a colleague or a coworker or an employee that directly reports to me, at the end of the day, the entire team is experiencing Veronica. And ultimately, that individual will either get an aha! moment like okay I get it now, I see it. And it's important to me that individuals really understand the whys and my intention, not necessarily always the delivery, because, you know, emotions are high sometimes and that adds stress level. But if I slow it down enough to explain this is why and this is my intention and that intention has two core benefits to them individually and the roles that they can continue to learn and grow and succeed, and to the general community that we serve, which is our employee base, which ultimately then benefits the business. Right. So the business gets the benefit if the employees are happier and if they have a greater working environment and the leadership gets to benefit because they're becoming stronger, united. So every once in a while, I will have somebody who maybe is not the right fit or someone who's maybe challenging it, but I will just slow down the process to explain it and I will not deviate from it. If ultimately they decide that this is not something for them, that's fine, but I've treated everybody consistently right.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:20:02] And do you continue doing that after? If something comes back to bite you, do you continue?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:20:09] I do, I do to a degree, you know, assuming individuals still with us because ultimately they get to understand that this is how we succeed as a group, as a team. You know, it's yesterday I had a conversation with somebody and I said, okay, you know, this is not going to be a write up. This is going to be a coaching opportunity. And they go, yeah, but this individual did A, B and C wrong. And I said, yeah, I get that. But I don't think this individual ever I don't think the intention was that I think that he or she has never been in a work environment where somebody actually slowed it down enough to explain the why we do what we do and what we expect of one another. You know, the playground rules and the fundamentals of how we treat one another. And does it mean that they're always going to come back and treat you that way? But it does mean that this is how we operate. These are the rules, and we have rules of how we treat one another. Right. Even in the most uncomfortable situation. Right. And sometimes they leave and sometimes it gets ugly. But it's hard to be challenged when your intention is truly to build them and to improve the overall.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:21:22] Yeah. Yeah. And when you kind of do some soul searching and thinking through this, when you're conscious, when you're deep down you believe you did the right thing and you believe you did it for the right reasons of empowering or growing or mentoring or whatever that looks like. And in like you said, for the individual and for the organization, I kind of feel for me, that's enough.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:21:48] Mhm.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:21:48] I mean what happens outside and how that gets treated, it's how it's get treated. But for me, for my personal well-being, for my growth, for my stress level, I'm okay as long as I know I did the right thing and my conscience is very clear.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:22:05] Now, I do spend a lot of time. I always make it just a natural. It's just a natural part of how my DNA is. But if someone is not quite understanding my intention or my direction or my contribution to a matter, I will stand back and go. Am I communicating it right? Maybe I'm not expressing it. Maybe I'm not being clear on what is my role, my position, my thoughts. And I will try again and say, because everybody comprehends things differently, right? And so I go and I'll pull somebody over to the side and say, hey, you know, I hear you. Yeah. But I'm wondering if what you're sharing with me is based on, you know, what's happening here. And I would like another opportunity to clarify that. Right. So I'll paraphrase or I kind of go around it a different way. And first think about who my audience is and maybe how they receive information. Right. You know, and I think that that has been successful for me, and that's at that point is where I can go I sincerely made an effort to try to kind of break through that communication. Does it always work out? No. But I feel at very minimum, it diffuses the situation.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:23:25] Yeah. That's so true. And a couple of things. And I know you faced this and you what you do when you're looking at hiring or recruiting and bringing people in. Right. The talent coming in. One of the discussions we recently had was you tend to hire for people who you look at it through your lens. Which is much different than your style of working, your style of energy, your energy level. And you kind of judge somebody else based on that. Any lessons learned from you from that?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:23:59] So depending on which position or which department or why we're recruiting, a lot of what I like to do is counsel on what are we really looking for somebody to just fill a hole, or are we looking for someone to complement that department? The critical function that that role is going to be doing. So there's a in the last I want to say really, really increase this during Covid but looking at the soft skills, looking at the resourcefulness, the creativity, the energy level, the being cross-functional. So it's I don't spend as much time on the resume. And I'm not saying that there's certain positions that don't require technical skills. Yes, but if I'm looking at a resume and I see, okay, you know, I have five solid candidates because the labor market has really changed now. So now there's a lot more talent available in the market. You know, you're screening those individuals, but not for the technical stuff, really the soft skills stuff. That's where we're looking at, you know. And so there's some role playing. There is, you know, talking about different scenarios and trying to understand how they would approach it. Would they be a fit. And even there, what I might perceive in a two hour interview, I might perceive, or maybe areas that are not as strong skills.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:25:23] How do those skills complement the rest of the team? Because you don't want to disturb those. So yes, hiring has been completely different. Yeah. And resiliency. Are they resilient. You know if I move their chair are they going to throw a fit and quit. I say that as a joke. But actually not too long ago we had an individual who had so much potential. That was part of her exit meeting. I joined in because I was very shocked to hear she had decided to end employment, and I needed to know, and it was the little things that made her decide that this was not the best work environment for her. Now I understand little things are important, but there was something deeper because if you're not committed to the career, the career and position you pick, the little things are things we can work on, but they should not be a deciding factor of where you're going to call your home away from home since you're awake more and at the office or within operations than you're anywhere else.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:26:34] You know the other thing, resilience. And the other thing recently I was thinking about is being modest and being curious because sometimes we all walk in, especially if you're highly skilled, or you'd come in from a very strong experience and you feel like I'm highly skilled. What a disservice you do to yourself, because being modest and being open to learning makes you grow, right? I mean, that's something I just recently added to my list of things to look at.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:27:06] That's actually a really good point. You need to have some grace, humility, be open to hear and try new ways. I mean, that's the whole thing. It's not you're not being hired to run a business solely. You're being hired to be a part of a team. That is the motor that makes the business grow. How fast, how successful or how, um, profitable even is based on how every one of those positions work together and connect. So yes, it takes a little bit of that and know when to turn it up and know when to turn it down. So check your ego on the side. We're all here for the common, a common goal.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:28:02] It's not just about you. It's about us. All of us to combine together. Yeah. You know, Veronica, I just realized as we were talking, I did not introduce you in terms of what do you actually do? Because when you're talking about Jack of all Trades, legal and compliance and operations. So what do you do? So day to day life.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:28:23] So my official title is vice president of human resources. Um, and what I do is I oversee safety risk management. Risk management includes any type of legal complaint or risk factor. We have a legal team. We have a corporate counsel who has a long history with Church Brothers. And so he's extremely knowledgeable and it's been great working with him on specific items. And I we also have an employment attorney who it's been great getting feedback. His constant comment to me is you should have been an attorney, Veronica. And that's more the strategic reverse engineering risk management side, which by nature just comes natural to me and I really enjoy that. But my primary responsibility is how I see it is to make sure that I'm developing a strong executive team and succession plan for not just the departments that work for me, but also the other departments that I support and those executives. One day my goal is to whenever it's my time to either reduce my work schedule or move on or semi-retire. I'm going to feel extremely accomplished when I know that I've left that place, any place I'm at, better than what it was before, and be able to see the leadership team continue to succeed. And that I know that I was a part of that whatever level, some individuals more than others. That brings me complete joy and satisfaction.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:30:12] When you're talking through all the roles that you play -- Risk management. I mean, this fits into all the operations and how a company is built. Right now, I see I mean, I know this about you, but you've been very instrumental at United Ag with some of these things that you brought in and, and had an impact at a board level. Right. And sometimes when I've seen you make decisions where somebody else might question and say, why would we do this? But you're looking at a big picture and saying, if this creates noise and it creates just additional stress or whatever it does. Let's make this decision. So I've learned that from you on how to take the hard decisions and have a bigger impact than not just that immediate right and impact.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:30:57] Look at the what is the goal? You know, what's the long term goal or short term goal that's needed if it needs to have two steps? Get out of the weeds. Get out of the noise and just focus on that. And how can we execute that in a fashion that doesn't ruffle as many feathers, but also is a learning opportunity for the organization. In this case, let's say the board or United Ag and or in my career with our employees or with my colleagues. So I really try to look at that. I don't need drama. I don't like drama, even though a lot of what I do is to defuse drama. And so, yeah, I came into United Ag during a time of lots of changes, lots and lots of changes. It's not a position that I was uncomfortable with because I was used to. I was already doing a lot of risk management, and it's probably at the peak of my career, but it was a blessing to be surrounded by board members and yourself as well. You had just joined or you actually you had already been there, but moved up to the CEO role to be surrounded by like minds. That was their purpose too, is how do we make this organization better and what is better? Defining better. And how does everybody contribute? And it was great to be able to see that and experience it the last ten or so years now. And I'm very proud of what you all have done. The community, the industry during ACA, during Covid, I mean, there's so many, so many major events historically in United Ag has been there for our members in one capacity or another.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:32:45] Personally, I don't think I've ever thanked you, Veronica, but you have been extremely instrumental in all the success that has happened at United because the ten year journey was with you, and not just in your role as a chairperson, the first female chairperson at United, but your role as being on the board when it was crazy. Crazy, right? And this is a volunteer position where you stepped in and helped, and the impact or the decisions made are still we have the benefit of that, right? Because structures were put in place, decisions were made, hard decisions were made. And I personally, from a personal standpoint, you've had a huge impact, not just on the way I lead United Ag, but the way I live my life a little way, because the things that you put in my head has got me to think a little different on what needs to happen. So thank you for your friendship, for your leadership. I feel so blessed that you're in my life. So thank you. And United Ag is grateful to that. You were part of our board for all these years.
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:33:57] It's been a pleasure. Totally a pleasure.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:33:59] Any last words?
Veronica Urzua-Alvero: [00:34:01] No. I know this is a -- I was thinking about this last night. I was telling you when I first got here, I was like, what are we going to talk about? Should I have a script ready? You know, how technical do we want to get about this? But it was very comfortable to be able to share and thank you for allowing me to share about my leadership style, about how I view the industry and the people in it.