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Eric Adamchick
Senior Meteorological Consultant at Everstream AnalyticsEric Adamchick is a Senior Meteorological Consultant at Everstream Analytics with over ten years of weather forecasting and supply chain risk management experience. Eric specializes in medium and long-range weather forecasts tailored to the supply chain, agriculture, and energy sectors. He has successfully worked across disciplines to deliver creative, solutions driven approaches to best meet the needs of his clients. Eric’s skill set is diverse, and includes solution design, problem solving, and clear and concise communication of technical subject matter. Eric has an M.S. in Atmospheric Science and B.S. in Business, and has provided weather forecast guidance to some of the world’s largest companies and financial firms.
Blake Anderson
President & CEO of ADPIBlake Anderson is the current President and CEO of the American Dairy Products Institute. Anderson joined ADPI with over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development working for leading ingredient and food manufactures. Prior to coming to ADPI, Anderson held the leadership role of Senior Vice President of New Business Development at California Dairies overseeing the sales, marketing and business development and profit and loss responsibility for their global butter, processed fluids, cream cheese and nutritional powders business across all channels.
Anderson has also held the position of Global Director for Premium Ingredients and Customer Development for Fonterra overseeing its ingredients operations in North America, Europe, North Asia (Japan and Korea), and managing relationships with global food companies. Blake spent 15-plus years in senior leadership positions including sales, marketing, business development, HR, and general management/senior leadership roles for Symrise N.A. (President), Dean Specialty Foods Group (President), and Campbell Soup Company (various).
Katie Burgess
Director, Risk Management of Ever.AgKatie Burgess developed a passion for the industry while growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm and joined the Ever.Ag team in 2012. She now works directly with clients across the dairy supply chain – including producers, processors, and multi-national end-users – to build and execute risk management strategies. She also tracks on-farm margins across the US and closely monitors global milk production economics. She holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Business Management, both from the University of Wisconsin.
Stephen Cain
Director, Economic Research and Analysis of National Milk Producers FederationStephen serves as the Senior Director of Economic Research and Analysis for National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). Stephen supports the federation and council through the analysis of both domestic and international dairy markets. He regularly publishes reports on dairy market dynamics and provides ad-hoc analysis on a wide range of dairy and related topics.
Prior to joining NMPF and USDEC, Stephen worked as an agribusiness consultant with IHS Markit, where he covered a number of commodities and specialized in economic impact analysis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness and a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University.
Thomas Cono
Director of Sourcing and Risk Management at Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc.Tom Cono is the Director of Risk Management and Strategic Sourcing for Great Lakes Cheese, the Nation’s largest natural cheese packager. He has been with GLC for almost five years and is responsible for all commodity risk management programs as well as sourcing strategy for all food products. GLC is obviously a large buyer of cheese in the US but also has products that utilize seasonings, nuts, dried fruits, meats, sweets, and other snacks.
Tom has been trading dairy commodities and executing dairy risk management programs since 2003. His past experiences include ten years at Leprino Foods Company, three years at Kraft Foods managing all of the Cheese & Dairy risk profile for North America, and six years at Little Caesars. At Little Caesars, he was responsible for building a risk management program focused in cheese. Along with this came commodity research & reporting as well as as risk management strategies in wheat, soybean oil, corn meal, meats, tomatoes, and corrugate.
Tom has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Metropolitan State University of Denver in Downtown Denver, Colorado. He currently resides just outside of Cleveland near the GLC headquarters in Hiram. His wife, Sheay, is also from Colorado. But they and their two Michigander children have really enjoyed the move to Northeast Ohio.
Dan Conrath
Senior Market Analyst at StoneX Financial Inc. - FCM DivisionDan Conrath is Senior Market Analyst at StoneX Financial Inc., FCM Division. With over 30 years of experience in energy and commodity price risk management, Dan has led advisory projects for Fortune 500 food & beverage companies and many of the largest energy utilities in the U.S. He is a regular instructor in energy price risk management education and has presented risk management topics before corporate boards and city/state regulators. Dan has significant practical experience in guiding companies on the best application of risk management methodologies for their respective cultures and risk tolerances. Dan was a founding partner of Risk Management Incorporated which became part of StoneX Financial Inc., FCM Division, in 2010.
His team executes of approximately $16 billion (notional value) in commodity contracts for clients each year. Dan holds a BS from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
Sara Dorland
Managing Partner at Ceres Dairy Risk Management LLCSara Dorland, is the managing partner at Ceres, a company specializing in providing risk management, market research and financial consulting services to agriculture and food-based businesses. Sara works throughout the dairy supply chain including dairy producers, cooperatives, manufacturers and consumer products companies. Her interactions have involved a broad array of hedging activities, go to market techniques, as well as education, analysis and consulting on a wide variety of dairy industry topics.
Sara lives with her husband and two daughters in Hailey, Idaho.
Ben DuCharme
Client Executive - Food & Agribusiness at M3 InsuranceBen DuCharme is a seasoned client executive at M3 Insurance, specializing in property and casualty insurance for the food and agribusiness sectors. Leveraging his deep-rooted connection to the dairy industry, Ben excels in helping dairy processors and agribusinesses design, implement, and manage comprehensive risk management programs. His expertise ensures that clients are well-protected against various industry-specific risks.
Steve Galbraith
VP Procurement & Commodity Risk Management at SAPUTO DAIRY FOODS USASteve Galbraith is currently Vice President of Procurement and Commodity Risk Management with Saputo and has been in this position the past 11 years in the Dallas Texas office.
For the 8 years prior to Saputo acquiring Morning Star from Dean Foods, Steve was Vice President of Procurement and Commodity Risk Management within the Dean Foods organization in Denver and Dallas.
Steve started his career in 1985 with Nestlé and spent 15 years with the Food Giant in numerous roles of Procurement and Commodity Risk Management.
Steve is a graduate of Kansas State University with degrees in Agriculture and Business and was raised on a farm in Eastern Kansas - but not a dairy farm.
Alexandra Gambonini
Senior Manager, Advisory Services at HighGround DairyAlex is the Senior Manager of Advisory Services for HighGround Dairy. Alex was raised on her family’s dairy farm in Petaluma, California, fostering her passion for the dairy industry from a young age. Her background led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science and Agricultural Business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a master’s degree in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota. Following her academic career, Alex spent three years working for the USDA within the California Federal Milk Marketing Order, where she developed a deep understanding of milk pricing and pooling dynamics. Since joining HighGround Dairy in September 2023, Alex has applied her expertise to provide customers with insightful market analysis and strategic guidance on milk pricing and risk management.
Leon Gressel
Gressel Produce & CommoditiesLeon Gressel has over 20 years of experience in Dairy Risk Management. His career began as a Member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he spent 5 years on the Trading Floor as a broker and trader. During this time, Gressel Produce & Commodities acted as an original Dairy Market-Maker and was instrumental in transitioning trade from the pit to the electronic marketplace. Currently, Leon trades futures and option products and continues to make markets in the CME Dairy complex.
Leon is a CFA® charterholder and resides with his family in Austin, Texas.
Christopher Herlache
Risk Strategies Manager at Schreiber Foods Inc.Chris has been involved with the dairy industry his entire life. Growing up on a dairy farm, he learned the fundamentals of dairy farming from the ground up. Chris attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received his degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics in 2000 and has been working for Schreiber Foods since 2000 where he has led the company’s risk management and dairy economic responsibilities since 2003. In this role he has been developing dairy risk management strategies and programs for some of the world’s largest foodservice and retail companies. In addition to these responsibilities, Chris has been involved in US dairy pricing and policy discussions, along with helping to educate and improve dairy spot and futures markets in the US and Europe.
Prince Jibunor
Senior Director, Food & Dairy Ingredients of Cargill IncPrince Jibunor is a senior director supporting North America agriculture for Cargill Risk Management, which provides risk management solutions to help customers mitigate risk and volatility, reduce costs and diversify their portfolios to navigate uncertainty. His key focus is leading the North America dairy strategy and commercial risk management.
Prince has been with Cargill for eight years, starting in the financial analyst rotational program where he led in several capacities including Strategy and Development, Treasury and Cargill Risk Management. In 2015, Prince began working in Cargill Risk Management as an associate director. His commitment to being a visionary leader, strategic advisor, and trusted collaborator has advanced Cargill’s impact across the
Ag/Dairy supply chain. Today, Cargill Risk Management is a leader in providing commodity price risk management strategies using tailored solutions that are unique to the goals, industries, and market biases of their customers.
He is based in Hopkins, Minnesota.
Brett Kovarik
Executive Director of CME GroupBrett Kovarik, based in Chicago, IL, US, is currently a Executive Director at CME Group. Brett Kovarik brings experience from previous roles at CME Group. Brett Kovarik holds a 2012 - 2015 Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Finance, Statistics @ The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business. With a robust skill set that includes Derivatives, Options, Commodity, Dodd-Frank, Hedging and more.
Anne Krema
Director of CME GroupAnne Krema currently serves as Director of Research and Product Development at CME Group. She is responsible for maintaining the current livestock, dairy, and weather product offerings, as well as researching potential new products. Since joining CME Group, Anne has worked closely with commercial market participants in the agricultural space to ensure that the Exchange continues to serve as an effective venue for risk management for the hedging community. Anne grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and studied Economics and Statistics at the University of Michigan.
Eric Kroll
Principal at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLPEric Kroll is a principal with Baker Tilly’s manufacturing and distribution practice. He is the firm’s industry food and beverage practice leader. Having more than 20 years of experience serving both public and private manufacturing and distribution companies with global operations. He specializes in delivering comprehensive assurance and advisory services to clients, encompassing a diverse range of operational and financial domains. Eric excels in financial auditing, merger and acquisition (M&A) due diligence, operational analysis, cash flow budgeting and enhancing business processes through optimization and improvement of controls.
Justin Larsen
Global SQA Lead - Dairy at Mars WrigleyJustin joined Mars Wrigley as the Global SQA Lead for Dairy in 2021. In his role, he leads the global supplier quality assurance programs for dairy materials, as well as acts as the global dairy SME. Prior to joining Mars Wrigley, Justin has an extensive 20 year career in quality and food safety, working for many of the top dairy manufacturers across the US. Justin is also a fluid milk judge for the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest and serves as an industry advisor to the College of Agriculture at Mississippi State University.
Justin earned a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology from Mississippi State University.
Troy Mattern
Chief Information Security OFficer at StoneX Financial Inc. - FCM DivisionTroy Mattern is the Chief Information Security Officer at StoneX and vice president of the board of directors for ChiBrrCon, a non-profit focused on developing future cybersecurity leaders. A retired US Marine Corps Officer, Troy played a key role in establishing USCYBERCOM and Marine Forces Cyberspace Command.
Following his military service, he became the first Technical Director for Cyber Intelligence at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute, helping the private sector leverage intelligence practices for cyber defense. He also chaired the Cyber Intelligence Task Force for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), developing guidance for decision-makers on cyber intelligence.
In the private sector, Troy built Zurich Insurance’s security hub in Dublin Ireland and later led global security operations as Deputy CISO. At Motorola Solutions, he built and ran the company’s security program, guided acquisitions, and established the Public Safety Threat Alliance.
Troy frequently speaks at national conferences, addressing industry leaders on cybersecurity challenges.
Jim Matthews
Senior Director, Global Grain and Feed of Ever.AgJim Matthews is the Senior Director of Global Grain and Feed at Ever.Ag, managing the Feed Foundations program alongside grain, dairy, and livestock producer teams. Before joining Ever.Ag, Jim worked at a global FCM within its commercial division. His first 10 years were spent on the CBOT trading floor, managing grain and oilseed risk for commercial traders. Jim then pivoted to the proprietary trading sector to expand his knowledge in the trading and clearing industry, before returning to corporate hedgers as the firm’s US head of agriculture. Jim graduated from Miami University (OH) with majors in history and political science. Jim now lives in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with family.
Mike McCully
President at McCully ConsultingMike McCully is currently the president and owner of McCully Consulting, a strategic consulting firm focusing on dairy and food companies. He has experience in business analysis, long-term strategic planning, purchasing strategies, risk management policies/procedures, Mergers & Acquisitions, and supply chain issues/opportunities.
His past experience includes over 15 years with Kraft Foods where he held management roles in dairy, meat and grain purchasing. His responsibilities included sourcing dairy commodities as well as commodity risk management, dairy policy and industry relations. While in the Oscar Mayer division of Kraft, he was also responsible for meat commodity risk management and corn purchasing. His knowledge base also reaches into dairy policy and price volatility issues.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Western Illinois University and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.
Mike has been a member of ADPI’s Center of Excellence for several years, and is actively engaged in the Institutes events and activities including Dairy Ingredient Training Courses.
Eric Meyer
President at HighGround DairyEric has over 21 years of experience in dairy procurement and price risk management, beginning his career in 2001 at Downes-O’Neill, one of the dairy industry’s founding futures and options brokerage firms. From there, Eric has also built his career experience at the Sara Lee Corporation (2006-2008), FCStone (2008-2010) as well as Winona Foods (2011-2012) before founding HighGround Dairy in 2012.
HighGround Dairy may be best known for its comprehensive global dairy market intelligence but has made a name for itself with superior futures & options execution across the major global dairy derivatives exchanges (CME/SGX/EEX). HighGround also adds value to its customers through its hedge education/advisory services along with insurance product offerings for US dairy producers. HighGround has quickly become a firm that the global dairy industry turns to for market and price risk management expertise, empowering its customers to “Thrive in Dairy”.
Adnan Mikati
Director- HTM Americas of HoogwegtAdnan Mikati is the Americas Director for Hoogwegt Trade Management, the risk management and analytics business unit for Hoogwegt. With a passion for commodities and global commerce, Adnan has spent over 15 years focusing on global commodity trade and risk management; developing North American dairy exports for Hoogwegt in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as living in Dubai and managing the sugar trade in the region and Horn of Africa for ED&F Man. For the past several years, he is managing position and price risk for Hoogwegt’s American portfolios, as well as global proprietary trading strategies.
Jared Morgan
Vice President, Global Education at StoneX Financial Inc. - FCM DivisionJared trains both producers and consumers commodities from around the globe on using financial contracts to manage their price-risk. Benefitting from years of personal experience in production agriculture and financial markets, Morgan creates interactive training programs designed to introduce financial tools, proven techniques, and challenge students to consider all possible outcomes when developing and analyzing risk-management strategies.
Michael Moroney
CI HedgingA member of the CIH management team and head of the beef margin management team, Mike leads a group of professionals who help beef cattle producers model and manage risk, identify opportunities and develop comprehensive margin management strategies. He joined the firm in 2013 after more than 15 years of prior experience trading in the commodities industry. Prior to joining CIH, Mike was the manager of a group of traders at a proprietary trading firm. His experience also includes roles as trader and market maker in futures and options on the floor as a member of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Mike holds a B.A. in economics and history from Marquette University and a Series 3 (National Commodities Futures Examination) License.
Jen Pino-Gallagher
Director, Food & Agribusiness Practice of M3 InsuranceJen Pino-Gallagher is the director of food and agribusiness practice at M3 Insurance. She identifies the most effective and efficient way to help clients in the dairy industry identify growth opportunities and reduce risks within their operations. Jen grew up on a family-run dairy operation in Northeast Iowa. Her interest in supporting the farming and dairy industries led her to the WI Department of Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection where she led an international team and executed trade-building missions on four continents. As board member with the US Dairy Export Council she helped create global awareness of Wisconsin as a dairy powerhouse.
John Ricci
Managing Director and Global Head of Agricultural Products at CME GroupAs Managing Director and Global Head of Agricultural Products at CME Group, John Ricci is responsible for leading the development, execution and management of the exchange's agricultural business globally. John has 25 years of experience in derivatives markets, most recently serving as Global Head of ETF Trading at Invesco, where he led the team responsible for all equity and alternative trading for the global ETF business. Prior to that, Ricci was responsible for equity trading across developed, emerging and frontier markets, along with commodity trading for the mutual fund and ETF complex at BlackRock.
Patrick Schilling
VP Commodity Products at Wells Fargo BankPatrick Schilling is Vice President of agriculture derivatives at Wells Fargo Bank NA. Responsibilities include execution of both Over the Counter (OTC) commodities hedges and Commodity Linked Finance structures for agribusiness customers ranging from producers to processors and large
multi-national food companies.
Patrick began his career in the agriculture derivatives industry in 2002, working for R.J. O’Brien. He then transitioned to the dairy industry in 2011 with a role at Dairy Farmers of America Risk Management in Kansas City. In 2016, he moved to Houston, Texas, joining Wells Fargo to work with processors, producers, coops and end-users on dairy price risk management using OTC products.
Jon Spainhour
Senior Commercial Advisor at Ever.AgAt Ever.Ag, Jon has been an integral part of the team for over 18 years, focusing on NFDM and whey markets. He has extensive experience in developing hedging and general merchandising (cash and carry) programs as well as options strategies. He also focuses on educating clients on the dairy markets, new business development, and studying international price relationships. He currently writes about NFDM and whey markets for the weekly Dairy Market Digest. Jon came to Ever.Ag in 2005 from Cargill Investor Services, where he was the dairy floor Operations Manager on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and became a partner of Rice Dairy in 2006. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Finance.
Dan Stauffer
Sr. Vice President Commodities & Risk Management at California Dairies Inc.Dan Stauffer is the Sr. Vice President of Commodities and Risk Management at California Dairies, Inc., the nation’s largest butter and milk powder manufacturer. Dan oversees all dairy and non-dairy commodity price risk for the Cooperative. Prior to his time at CDI and DairyAmerica, Dan managed the global dairy commodity portfolio at KraftHeinz and he started his career at StoneX in New York
Erin Taylor
Director of the Order Formulation and Enforcement Division (OFED) at US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS)Erin Taylor is the Director of the Order Formulation and Enforcement Division (OFED) within the USDA – Agricultural Marketing Service-Dairy Program. Ms. Taylor has worked on dairy policy for USDA for over 20 years. Currently she leads the OFED team in its efforts to analyze current market conditions, provide analysis of potential changes to the Federal milk marketing order system, coordinate Federal milk marketing order regulatory proceedings, and provide dairy policy analysis and recommendations to AMS and USDA leadership. In addition, she also manages the administration of the Dairy Donation Program, the Milk Donation Reimbursement Program and the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program.
Ms. Taylor received a B.S. in Agriculture and Resource Economics and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland.
Mike Tomlinson
Tomlinson & Shapiro, P.C.Michael P. Tomlinson is a shareholder at Tomlinson & Shapiro. Prior to founding Tomlinson & Shapiro, he was a shareholder at Tomlinson Law Office, P.C., which he founded in 2010. He began his legal career at a large national law firm, where he represented clients involved in various types of complex business litigation. At Tomlinson & Shapiro, Mr. Tomlinson continues to represent clients in complex litigation. He also represents clients with respect to various non-litigation matters, including forming, restructuring, and dissolving entities, drafting governing documents (e.g., operating agreements, buy/sell agreements), and drafting and reviewing contracts.
Ashwini Vashisht
Global SQA lead- micro at Mars WrigleyAshwini Kumar Vashisht is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the high-risk food industry. Holding a Master of Science in Food Safety from North Dakota State University and a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, Ashwini has demonstrated expertise in Food Safety & Quality management, laboratory operations, staff training, policy development, and regulatory compliance. His leadership roles at industry-leading firms like Mars Wrigley Confectionery and The Hershey Company involved spearheading initiatives to enhance supplier quality, mitigate microbiological risks, and drive continuous improvement in food safety & quality programs.
With a proven ability to develop and implement effective strategies, Ashwini excels in managing corporate food safety operations, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring compliance with global standards. His dedication to excellence and extensive hands-on experience make him a valuable asset in navigating the complexities of the high-risk food industry, ensuring consumer safety and satisfaction.