Klein W. Kirby

Since 2009, Klein Kirby has served as Chairman and CEO of A. Wilbert's Sons, LLC, an agricultural company with assets in Louisiana and Mississippi, overseeing management of the company and LLC member relations. As Chairman, Klein engages regularly with others in fields of industry and agriculture, including areas of research and development, education, production, manufacturing, and, most recently, precision agriculture. These relationships provide important community outreach to the immediate and surrounding communities, something that is very important to Klein personally and to A. Wilbert's Sons' goals and vision as a business leader in the area. 

Prior to joining A Wilbert’s Sons, Klein served in multiple engineering and management roles in the agriculture and petrochemical industries. He holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from LSU, the first in industrial & agricultural technology, and the second in mechanical engineering. He was awarded a 2007 United States patent in his role as process improvement engineer in the petrochemical industry. 

Currently, Klein serves on the Baton Rouge Area Chamber Board of Directors, for which he is Chair-Elect, and the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones Idlewild Research Station Advisory Board. He is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

Klein previously served as President of A. Wilbert’s Sons Lumber and Shingle Company, Chairman of the Board for Iberville Bank, and a member of the Board of Directors for The First, A National Banking Association. He also served as past President of the Plaquemine Rotary Club. Past board memberships include the Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing, the Sustainable Biomass Initiative, and the Advisory Board to the LSU Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department. Klein also served as an active, private-sector representative to the LSU AgCenter International Programs. 

As Chairman of Wilbert’s, he led efforts to develop two A. Wilbert's Sons endowed professorships in agriculture in support of the LSU AgCenter. He was also instrumental in creating an undergraduate internship program with the LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture, providing annual funding for up to eight individual LSU undergraduate students. In honor of his parents, Klein oversaw the creation of the Albert E. and Karen W. Kirby Endowed Professorship in Agriculture. In 2024, Klein was honored with the LSU College of Agriculture Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award. 

Klein is married to his college sweetheart, and they share two adult children, Madeline and Ashton, and a son-in-law, Cade.