May 19, 2025
Mark Whitacre, the true story behind Matt Damon’s ‘The Informant!,’ shares journey from scandal to salvation
Whitacre’s unique story provides insight into corporate ethics, corporate greed, and warning signs of flawed corporate leadership
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Christian Business Men’s Connection’s (CBMC) (https://www.cbmc.com/) former COO, Mark Whitacre, now Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director of the t-factor Initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., is a real-life example of God’s redeeming grace.
Mark’s well-documented story in the Discovery Channel documentary tells of his whistleblower role in the mid-1990s at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), exposing an international price fixing conspiracy to the FBI. At the age of 32, he was a wunderkind at ADM. He and his family were living a dream life until he told his wife about a price-fixing scandal that penetrated the highest levels of ADM. He wore a wire for the FBI for three years. Mark was found guilty of fraud charges. He did not actually steal the money, he was owed that same amount in stock options, but exercised them in a fraudulent way because he knew he was going to get fired when they learned he was an informant. He was found guilty and spent eight years in federal custody.
Although the 2009 motion picture, “The Informant!,” starring Matt Damon, chronicled the remarkable plot, it never mentioned the role that “faith” played in Mark and his wife Ginger’s lives. Additionally, the impact of CBMC on Whitacre’s life and how he used his time in prison as a second chance to dedicate his life to Christ is another key part of the story not frequently told.
Mark explains, “During my eight and a half years of incarceration in federal prison, I often thought, ‘Will I ever be employed when I get out, even with an Ivy League PhD from Cornell University?’ I met Paul Willis in 2001, when I was three years into prison at that point. The professor under whom I did my PhD at Cornell University, Dr. G.F. Combs, a cancer researcher, wrote me a letter saying there’s a man who wants to visit you named Paul Willis. He said Paul Willis is CEO of a company that is one of the largest manufacturers of selenium in the world. And the neat thing about Paul is that not only is he CEO of a company whose product I have a lot of expertise in from a research standpoint, he said Paul is also involved with prison ministry, and he’s all about giving people a second chance.
“Within 24 hours after I was released, I had an offer from Paul Willis and Cypress Systems. To have that second chance in life, and I will never forget that for the rest of my life.
“When I joined Paul, [because of] the fact that he was in prison ministry, I got very involved in prison ministry right alongside him. From the get-go, we would go inside prisons and give inmates hope.
“Shortly after that, one of the two persons who led me to Christ, the person who went through [CBMC’s unique discipleship program] Operation Timothy with me, Ian Howes, contacted me. They were having a mayor’s prayer breakfast in Durham, North Carolina. Ian Howes contacted me about doing the mayor’s prayer breakfast. I thought, what a wonderful opportunity. It’s amazing how that blossomed to eventually become hundreds of prayer breakfasts, lunches and couples events for CBMC. Paul, who is very active in CBMC, said, ‘Mark, God is just using you in amazing ways.’”
Along with Ian, Chuck Colson — White House counsel for President Nixon during Watergate — started to disciple Mark in prison, and three months after meeting Chuck, Mark became a Christian at the age of 41.
Paul Willis, Chairman, CEO and President of Cypress Systems, Inc., described his time working with Mark: “We’re seeing a transition in Mark’s life. He’s been called as a Marketplace Ambassador with CBMC and really, it became a natural transition — and God’s moving my heart, He’s moving Mark’s heart, He’s in the center of it. And so, Mark and I both began noticing that this role as a Marketplace Ambassador was bigger than either of us, and it was bigger than Cypress.”
Mark Whitacre served as COO and Chief Science Officer from 2006 to 2013 at Cypress Systems, Inc., a California biotechnology company where he still serves on their advisory council. He then served as National Director and then COO of Christian Business Men’s Connection from 2013 to 2019. He now serves as Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director of the t-factor Leadership Initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., which inspires, equips, and activates leaders to influence the transformation of employees and their organization. As they transform their organization, they become part of a community working together to build a better workplace and leave a legacy that honors God. Mark says CBMC prepared him for his current role of integrating faith inside of Coca-Cola Consolidated, a faith-based publicly traded company. Mark has the chance to live out CBMC’s two-fold mission of evangelism and discipleship every day in his role with 17,000 employees.
Mark’s unique history provides one-of-a-kind insight into corporate ethics, corporate greed, and the warning signs of a flawed corporate leadership. Mark and his wife, Ginger, have traveled the country speaking at national CBMC events, sharing their faith as witnesses for Jesus Christ.
As Mr. Douglas Burris, Chief of U.S. Federal Probation in the Eastern District of Missouri, has stated publicly, “The story about Mark Whitacre’s redemption and second chance is one of the most inspirational stories of our time.”
Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) presents Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission. CBMC exists to point marketplace men to Christ, allowing the Gospel to transform them into marketplace ambassadors. Reaching men in the marketplace with the Gospel and equipping them for kingdom impact in their life and work is now more relevant than ever. As men strive for meaningful lives, CBMC is prepared to share the hope of the Gospel and offer essential tools for spiritual growth. Through Gospel-centered peer advisory groups and mentoring relationships, CBMC helps professionals achieve their business objectives and personal development goals.
For more information, visit the CBMC website at https://www.cbmc.com/.
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To interview a Christian Business Men’s Connection representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096 ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
