Dr. Jim Budzynski is the Founder and Managing Principal of MacroGain Partners. He grew up working in an agribusiness in a farming community and has over 30 years of direct agrifood and related markets experience, primarily in the areas of structuring private equity transactions, strategic planning, distribution strategy development, brand management, marketing, and operations.

From 2006-2008 Dr. Budzynski was a principal with BrightPath Capital, a private equity firm focused on the agrifood space he co-founded. He focused on deal flow generation, acquisition due diligence, and acquired company strategy development.

From 1998 to 2006 Dr. Budzynski operated BrightPath Strategies, a strategic consulting firm focused exclusively on agrifood and related industries, leading a broad range of consulting assignments for some of the largest players in the agrifood industry. Before BrightPath Strategies, he spent three years with Agri Business Group, where he founded and managed the Strategic Agri-Business Consulting Practice.

Dr. Budzynski previously spent 12 years with Monsanto Company in a variety of product management, marketing, and strategic planning roles.

An Indiana native, Jim received his B.S. degree in Agronomy from Purdue University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Soil Chemistry from the University of Arizona. Jim and his wife Carol live in Carmel, Indiana and their daughter Nicole is a sophomore at Indiana University.

Mr. Chris Elliott is an executive with nearly 20 years experience in the agriculture, food technology, and biotechnology industries. He currently is the President and CEO of Agricultural Company of America, LLC, an investment firm which invests in agricultural assets (primarily farmland) through North America. In addition, he is a founder of Accuform Technologies, LLC, a firm which provides contract formulation and analytical services, biological testing services, and pilot scale formulation production for agricultural chemical customers.

Mr. Elliott was most recently President and CEO of Nutra-Park Inc., a company which developed and distributed safe, natural products that enhance the quality and value of key commodities and to increase profitability for growers, processors, distributors, and retailers.

Mr. Elliott previously served in BASF Corporation’s crop chemical business in multiple senior roles in global supply chain, global manufacturing, and global marketing. In those roles Mr. Elliott led the supply chain and manufacturing activities for a $3.8 billion business and developed long-term strategic plans focusing on commercial, production, and R&D activities.

In addition, Mr. Elliott served in various roles including Vice President of Marketing at American Home Products Corporation of Parsippany, NJ, and while with their American Cyanamid subsidiary he held several positions in strategic planning, marketing, sales, and human resources.

Raised on a grain production farm in Illinois, Chris holds a BS degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, IL and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, New York. Chris and his wife Michelle and their three daughters live in Madison, WI.

Mr. Edward L. McMillan is an independent food and agribusiness consultant based in Greenville, Illinois with a primary focus on business alliance creation, merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions, and change management.

Mr. McMillan was President and Chief Executive Officer of Purina Mills Inc., the United States’ largest manufacturer and distributor of animal nutrition products, from 1988 until 1996. He joined Purina Mills in 1969 as a field sales representative and held various positions in Marketing, Business Development and Diversified Business Management before being named President and CEO.

Mr. McMillan served on the board of directors of the American Feed Industry Association and as Chairman of the Board in 1993-94. He currently serves on the board of directors of several food and agri-business related companies including Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ: BCPC); NutraCea, Inc. (OTC: NTRZ.); Durvet, Inc.; Hintzsche Inc.; Newco Enterprises, Inc.; MariCal, Inc.; Certified Hereford Beef, LLC; and Glencoe Capital L.L.C. Consumer Products Executive Network. Mr. McMillan is Chair of the University of Illinois Research Park LLC Board of Managers and a member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Mr. McMillan was named Agri-Marketer of the Year for the National Agri-Marketing Association and received Distinguished Service Award recipient from the American Feed Industry Association, among many other honors.

Mr. McMillan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Illinois and is a Graduate of the Credit Research Foundation, Inc. School of Credit and Financial Management.

Ed and his wife, Judy, live near Greenville, Illinois. Their son Kyle is a National Sales Manager with BASF Plant Sciences and their daughter Kelly is a strategic and marketing consultant to food and agribusiness entities.

Mr. Larry Kline is an independent agribusiness and technology consultant based in Des Moines, Iowa with a primary focus on strategic planning, business development, financial management, capital raising, and mergers/acquisitions.

Prior to consulting, Mr. Kline was the COO of the National Pork Board, an organization consisting of 80 employees and $75m in revenue that promotes the development of the U.S. pork industry.

Prior to the NPB, Mr. Kline served in a number of senior financial management roles for food and agricultural businesses: VP of Business Development and CFO of Nutra-Park, Inc. a biotech firm specializing in plant growth regulators; CFO of Protein Genetics Inc., whose holdings included ABS Global (bovine AI), CFG (fertilizer), and Infigen (animal biotech); and CFO of Broadcast Partners, an agricultural communication company which was successfully divested.

Mr. Kline began his career with Edw. J. Funk and Sons, a seed corn company based in Kentland, Indiana, serving as CFO while the company grew from $20m to $75m in revenues both organically and via acquisitions prior to a highly successful divestiture.

Larry grew up in Earl Park, Indiana and graduated with a BA degree from St Joseph’s College. Larry and his wife Roxanne live in Clive, IA. Their two sons Brock and Aaron live in Minneapolis, MN.

Mr. Curt Fankhauser has 25 years of experience in agri-business, including 20 years in senior management. From 1991 through 2001, Mr. Fankhauser was CEO & President of ffi Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of grain drying and conditioning equipment. Under his leadership, revenue grew from approximately $9 million to $35 million, primarily by expansion of the company’s product lines and global distribution network. Fankhauser was majority owner of the company from 1996 through the acquisition of the company by the GSI Group in 2001.

Mr. Fankhauser previously spent 16 years with Butler Manufacturing Company, serving in numerous management capacities in the Agri-Products division, ultimately becoming Vice President of the Grain Systems operations.

Mr. Fankhauser has extensive experience in buying, operating and selling small businesses, beginning with his career at Butler and ultimately as the owner of two manufacturing companies. He also has experience in making public/private collaboration work via his involvement with Purdue University’s Post-Harvest Research and Education Center in the late 1990’s to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone in the treatment of stored grain.

Curt received his BS in Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Curt and his wife Cindi live in Indianapolis and have three grown children and one grandchild.

Dr. Brendan Fox was President and CEO of Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly & Company, from 1990 to 2001. Dr. Fox worked in research, regulatory affairs, marketing, and line management in both the United States and Europe, becoming executive director of Elanco's International Animal Health Business in 1987. Upon his appointment as President of Elanco in 1990, Dr. Fox became a member of Lilly's Senior Management group.

Prior to Elanco, Dr. Fox had a broad range of international experience in animal health with Burroughs Wellcome and Shell International Chemical Company, London, working in Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Dr. Fox was an active participant for many years in Animal Health Industry Association affairs in both Europe and the United States and is a past President of COMISA, the forerunner of IFAH, the worldwide industry association for animal health.

Dr. Fox is an Advisor to the Mid-Point Food and Ag Fund which is aimed at developing start up companies bringing new technologies to the AgBio field . He graduated from University of Edinburgh in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in 1967 and is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Brendan and his wife Susan live in Indianapolis, IN. They have 3 children .