Hats off to Joel Cowley, recently named president and CEO of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
After eight-and-a-half years as executive director of agricultural competitions and exhibits at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Joel Cowley has been named the 81-year-old show’s president and CEO.
It was an extensive interview process. Cowley said that his initial meeting came back in April, and he continued interviewing for nearly five months before the announcement of his new position, Aug. 5.
It’s been a whirlwind of congratulatory emails, text messages, phone calls, and Linkedin messages ever since.
“I’ve spent probably three hours replying with a simple ‘thank you,’” said Cowley, who said he’s been so busy he hasn’t even had time to officially change offices. “I’ve had so many congratulations. It’s been rather overwhelming.”
Cowley said that though he’s been with the organization so long, he’s still looking at a learning curve for his new position.
“I do know where all the bathrooms are, so that’s helpful,” he joked. “The relationships I’ve established with both the staff and the volunteers will make it easier, but I’m not sure it makes it easy since this is a very complex organization.”
He takes over for interim president and CEO Leroy Shafer, who will move back to his position of VP and COO and will train Cowley on how to run the Show.
“It’s hard to imagine a Show without Shafe,’” said Cowley. “He’s been here 40 years and is pretty well-ingrained, so I have an excellent teacher.”
Shafer was on the selection committee for the new president of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He said that there was an international search to find the right person to take over the Show, but that the committee chose the best candidate for the job.
“Joel’s strong ties to the organization’s agricultural roots, coupled with his leadership abilities, makes for an excellent president of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,” Shafer said in a statement.
Cowley’s agricultural roots not only are what brought him to the Show, but also where he learned confidence and practical skills as an 11-year 4-H member in Wyoming and Colorado. Cowley lost his parents young, and he and his two brothers were being raised by his paternal grandparents by the time Cowley was 9 years old.
“My grandfather, at the time of his death, had been a 4-H leader for 46 years, and he immediately got my brothers and I involved in the program,” said Cowley. “Truly that’s where I developed confidence.”
“I look back on my life and pretty much everything good that’s happened to me has stemmed from that early experience in 4-H and livestock,” he added. The experience has made Cowley very passionate in developing youth and contributing to their educational goals.
The show’s total payouts in scholarships, grants, auction premiums and show ring premiums add up to around $24 million this year. Cowley said that one of the things he looks most forward to at the Show each year is meeting the scholarship recipients, especially those who may not have been able to attend without the four-year, $18,000-scholarship.
Cowley was involved in educating youth while he pursued graduate degrees, earning his master’s in animal science from Texas A&M University and his MBA from Michigan State University. While in Texas, Cowley coached a livestock judging team where youth learn how to evaluate and rank different species of animals. Because he was fewer than two years older than some of his students, he had to learn how to establish professional distance and maintain respect from his peers.
At Michigan State University, Cowley assisted livestock producers in managing their operations more efficiently, both from a production standpoint and a financial analysis standpoint. He also edited a newsletter that went out to 4,000 people.
“The big thing I developed there was the skill to take complex information and boil it down so that others could use it,” he said.
Cowley also worked for Certified Angus Beef, where he began as executive account manager in the international division and finished as assistant director of the food service division.
“The interesting thing about Certified Angus Beef is that people probably don’t understand that it’s a charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit where the mission is to increase the demand for Angus cattle and Angus beef,” explained Cowley. “To grow the company, really, they rely on others to embrace the mission and quality of the brand, which is really very similar to the volunteer relationship at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.”
“We really rely on volunteers to buy into the mission of the show, which they do wholeheartedly,” Cowley continued, adding that there are around 28,000 volunteers at the Show each year.
For his first year as president and CEO, Cowley said that his main focus is going to be to watch and learn. Most of the planning for the March 4-23 event is complete.
“I would anticipate that my role will be less operational and more meetings and events, but it’s hard to tell until I actually get through a show,” said Cowley. “It’s my intent to observe and learn, and wherever I can just encourage everyone to make the experience of coming to and working at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo the best it can be.”
“If our staff and volunteers are having a great experience, then our guests will have a great experience, too,” added Cowley. “You just sense the enthusiasm when you come on the grounds.”
Interviewed for this story: Joel Cowley and Leroy Shafer, (832) 667-1057