Tammi Guldenpfennig, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Des Moines-based Kemin Industries Inc., has been selected by the Business Record as the Deloitte CFO of the Year. 

The award will be presented to Guldenpfennig at the Business Record’s Economic Forecast Luncheon on Jan. 29. 

As Kemin’s CFO, Guldenpfennig is responsible for the global company’s 115-person worldwide finance team and Kemin’s information technology group, which consists of 70 people around the world. She provides oversight for the strategic direction of Kemin’s various businesses and has been an integral part of increasing the company’s top-line growth from $50 million to more than $800 million annually, said CEO Chris Nelson, who nominated her for the award. 

“Tammi’s financial expertise, combined with her knowledge of the business, is helping Kemin to achieve growth through establishing the financial competency for seven new lines of business and expanding sales into over 100 countries,” according to a nomination letter submitted by Nelson. 

Among her accomplishments, she has successfully negotiated acquisitions for Kemin in the United States, China, Europe and Canada, and was instrumental in establishing new companies in Russia, Brazil, Mexico, China and South Africa. 

In her 30 years at Kemin, Guldenpfennig has helped the company grow from 150 people to more than 2,600. She developed Kemin’s human resources competency, establishing policies and procedures that include the company’s current compensation program. As CFO, she negotiated a global banking agreement for a $175 million global line of credit, as well as a $300 million long-term debt facility. 

Guldenpfennig joined Kemin in 1990 as a financial analyst, becoming the U.S. operations finance director in 1996 before being named to her present positions in 2002. She began her career in 1985 as a certified public accountant with KPMG.