GLC Minerals names industry veteran, Doug Webel, as new CEO

Heather Graves

Staff

March 23, 2026

GREEN BAY – GLC Minerals has appointed Doug Webel as its new chief executive officer, bringing more than 25 years of leadership in animal nutrition to the role.

“GLC has a strong reputation for dependable products and partnerships, and I look forward to working with customers and nutritionists to build solutions that deliver real-world results,” he said.

Owner and Chairman Wesley Garner said Webel’s expertise in production agriculture and his technical and leadership depth make him well suited to meet the needs of GLC Minerals’ customers, who value reliability, performance and trusted relationships.

“I have complete confidence in his ability to lead GLC forward,” he said.

Early life, career

Webel said he grew up on a small swine farm – “by today’s standards” – in Central Illinois.

“That really spurred my interest in agriculture, animal agriculture in particular, and I developed an interest and a passion in it,” he said.

After graduating from high school, Webel said he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

“I stayed there for about 10 years,” he laughed. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I went in.”

Guidance and encouragement from a professor – “I think he saw something in me that I probably didn’t see in myself yet” – Webel said, continued to guide his career path in animal science and nutrition. 

“They offered me an assistantship to do a master’s early in my sophomore year,” he said.

Webel said he remained at the university to complete both his master’s and Ph.D. in animal science, specializing in non-ruminant nutrition with a focus on the relationship between animal health and nutritional requirements.

Webel said his journey out of college and eventually to GLC Minerals was “a simple path.”

“I came out of my Ph.D. program and joined United Animal Health – which at the time was called United Feeds,” he said. “And that’s where my entire career was spent [prior to coming to GLC Minerals].”

Starting in a research and technical service role, Webel said he gradually worked his way up through the ranks, taking on new responsibilities, joining the board “fairly early in my career” and guiding new product streams.

“We were evolving and taking on technologies to market,” he said. “So, I was fortunate to be part of some new approvals of enzyme products and nutritional products that have a global presence today. I was afforded a lot of opportunities to grow in leadership, to eventually where I became the CEO for the final 10 years.”

A ‘fascinating’ industry

Webel said the biochemistry and complexity of animal science have always fascinated him.

Nutrition, he said, is often the largest cost on dairy, poultry and swine farms, underscoring its critical role in overall farm performance.

“If you can make small differences in getting the nutrition, either the benefits of it or reducing the cost – or probably both – you can have a very significant impact on those customers,” he said. “So, that’s probably one thing that got me interested in nutrition and the impact.”

Webel said he also views animal agriculture as a meaningful and necessary industry.

“It’s a noble profession, because you’re helping to feed your community, helping to play your small part in feeding the world, and the importance of that,” he said.

Webel said growing public awareness around the importance of protein – especially for youth development and an aging population – underscores the important role agriculture and the companies that support it play in global nutrition and health.

“It’s refreshing that protein is having a moment in the public spotlight,” he said.

Why GLC Minerals?

Content with the impact he was making at United Animal Health and in the broader industry, Webel said he wasn’t looking to make a move when a recruiter reached out.

But the more he learned about the company, its history and its people, he said the discussion became less about staying with what was familiar and more about the possibilities.

Webel said he was impressed by GLC Minerals’ 150-year heritage as a five-generation, family-owned business – with the potential to become a sixth generation – and appreciated the company’s deeply ingrained commitment to customer success and keeping businesses running smoothly. 

His first visit – which included conversations with the owner, employees and board members – he said, left a very positive impression and reinforced his appreciation for what makes GLC Minerals the company it is today.

“[The experience I had] when I got to meet the people when I first visited and got to talk with the owner and the board members, was very positive to me,” he said. 

As he dug deeper, Webel said the values of GLC Minerals, they “align very closely with my values and how I want to conduct myself both within the company and within the market.”

Webel said his 25-plus years of experience positioned him well to lead GLC Minerals, particularly his familiarity with privately owned, family-run businesses. 

“I understand the opportunities and certainly the challenges, as with any environment that comes in that situation,” he said. “So, I think my history and background in private-family businesses is a key [strength of mine].”

Webel said his time at United Animal Health taught him that growth comes as much from learning from mistakes as from making smart decisions. 

During that time, he said he was fortunate to have the opportunity to make, correct and learn from several mistakes.

“That exposure, seeing what it takes to grow, what ‘good’ looks like – and the implications of that [served as a good learning experience],” he said.

Webel said his exposure across different industries, with diverse leaders and teams, also provided valuable insights.

“I was really blessed to work with a tremendous founder and owner of the previous business, and I learned a lot of great lessons about how to treat your employees, how to treat your customers and some basic fundamental core attributes that I think will serve me well,” he said. “And those align closely with the attributes and the goals of this organization.”

Hit the ground running

Though he’s only been CEO for a little more than a month – following a leadership transition period during which Garner served as interim CEO – Webel said he has already begun familiarizing himself with key aspects of the business.

“I’ve been able to get to know the organization – where it succeeds, where the challenges are,” he said. 

Webel said much of his early focus has been on understanding the core business and gathering insights from customers – a process he expects to continue over the next 60-90 days.

“I’ve been able to meet several key customers of the business, and I look forward to continuing that process,” he said.

As he settles in as CEO, Webel said his role will focus on supporting dairy nutrition programs, improving mineral and ingredient performance and enhancing service and reliability across GLC’s supply network.

In other words, he said he will build on GLC’s strong foundation of customer service and well-established internal operational processes.

“To me, the first steps [will] probably be incremental [and just] tweaking [things], because things are going well,” he said.

Webel said he hopes to contribute the value of a fresh perspective, bringing new ideas and insights to the organization.

“I think there’s always value in any new employee – and I hope I can do the same thing – you have a fresh viewpoint, a new set of eyes,” he said. “First, [it’s looking at] areas we can improve and make progress in key areas. Generally speaking, people know what those are, and it’s just about helping them and supporting them to make those key changes in the business.”

Building on GLC Minerals’ operational strengths, Webel said he plans to spend the next 60 days focusing more on the market – identifying opportunities, finding ways to better support customers and exploring new ways to serve them more effectively.

In his first month as CEO, Webel said he has valued the chance to learn from and engage with the GLC Minerals team.

“It’s a really great team,” he said. “[They have] an inspiring passion to serve the customer.”

Though GLC Minerals operates in a related industry to United Animal Health, Webel said the role presents new challenges and opportunities.

“I’ve really enjoyed learning about GLC Minerals – both on the supply side and the customer side,” he said. “That has been really enjoyable to me.”

Outside of the company itself, Webel said his family’s relocation to Green Bay has been a positive one.

“Green Bay is going to be a great location for my family and my next stage in life, our next adventure,” he said. “I’m excited to move to Green Bay, to move to Wisconsin and be part of this industry.”

In addition to GLC Minerals’ focus on animal nutrition, an area he is familiar with from his time at United Animal Health, Webel said the company also works in agronomy and industrial products.

“Our company is heavily invested in serving large industrial customers, some examples include glass and plastic manufacturing,” he said. “We are also growing rapidly in other midwestern states as we look to expand our reach, leveraging our rail access and infrastructure advantages. We also serve agronomy markets across our trade area where our minerals portfolio plays a vital role in soil fertility and plant health.”