Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam is a fifth-generation Floridian and a graduate of the University of Florida where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Food and Resource Economics. He has also been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and served as a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute. In 2010, he was the E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Florida. 

He is a hunter, angler, conservationist, and third-generation farmer who owns Putnam Groves Inc. Putnam Groves is a family owned and operated citrus farm and cattle ranch located in Central Florida.