Mr. Brian Wise has 30 years of finance, banking, operations, and management experience in ag businesses and is currently a Commercial Banking Manager for Midwest Ag Finance in Rushville, IN, where he originates and manages a commercial loan portfolio of rural and agricultural businesses in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. 

Previously, Mr. Wise was a principal at BrightPath Capital, a private equity firm focused on food and agriculture. Prior to that, Mr. Wise was VP of Mergers and Acquisitions for Teays River Investments, an investment fund that accumulated and managed farm real estate in ten states on behalf of institutional investors.

Prior to Teays River, Mr. Wise served as VP and General Manager of the Farm Division of JBS United, Inc, where he managed $70 million in sales with 150 employees in commercial hog farms located in 5 states.

Prior to joining JBS United, Mr. Wise was a commercial banker for 20 years with Key Bank, Indiana National Bank, and the Louisville Bank for Cooperatives, where he maintained and developed banking relationships with food and grain processors, country elevators, farm supply wholesalers, seed processors, and farm machinery manufacturers throughout the Midwest.

After growing up in Carmel, Indiana, Brian received his Bachelor of Science degree in Farm and Business Management from Purdue University. He is very active in his church and the Indiana Ag Leadership Program but has found time to run the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon 22 of the last 23 years. Brian and his wife Jeanne live in Carmel, IN, and their grown daughters live in Chicago and Indianapolis.

Dr. Jeff Higgins is recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on fertilizer technologies. Dr. Higgins is currently the Director of Agronomy for ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance, where he is the Company’s senior technical officer and is responsible for the formulation of cost effective agronomic programs for all golf courses. ValleyCrest Golf Maintenance (Calabasas, CA) is the nation’s largest provider of landscape design, construction, and maintenance services, nursery tree production, and golf course construction and maintenance.

Prior to joining ValleyCrest, Dr. Higgins was Director of Marketing for Agrium Advanced Technologies, who acquired Pursell Technologies, Inc. in 2006. Dr. Higgins spent the prior nine years with Pursell Technologies in various management positions and developed and commercialized Precise fertilizer technology during his tenure at Pursell.

Dr. Higgins has over 20 years experience in the turfgrass industry and had previously held positions as Extension Turfgrass Specialist at Auburn University, Director of Golf Services for Southern Turf Nurseries, Director of Specialty Products for Pennington Seed, Inc., and Dimension Technical Product Manager for Monsanto. He has also served as an Adjunct Turfgrass Professor at Kansas State University.

Jeff earned his Ph.D. in Agronomy, with a major emphasis in Turfgrass Management and Weed Science, from Clemson University and earned an M.S. in Agronomy and Soils and a B.S. in Plant Protection from Auburn University. He resides in Birmingham, AL, when he is not running around the country looking after 70 golf courses.

Ms. Kim Nicholson is CEO, President, and Co-Founder of N-Focus Partners, LLC, a consulting company that provides management, marketing, finance, operations, and sales leadership advice to many start up businesses in the agricultural, chemical, and manufacturing industries.

Ms. Nicholson was most recently President of the Consumer Products division of Chemtura corporation where she managed the global enterprise consisting of 900 employees in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia/New Zealand with 5 dedicated manufacturing facilities. During her tenure she re-structured to reduce division costs, improve margin and focus resources on the most profitable segments of the enterprise. Prior to her appointment as Group President she led the U.S. sales team for Chemtura’s BioLab division.

Before joining Chemtura, Ms. Nicholson held the position of VP of Sales and Marketing of Nutra-Park, Inc. a biotech firm specializing in plant growth regulators. Ms. Nicholson also served as Director of Global Supply Chain for BASF where she managed project groups in Europe, North America and Latin America to optimize projects and processes in the manufacturing and supply chain. She joined BASF as National Sales Manager for the US crop protection division where she led the integration and restructuring of the team post the acquisition of American Cyanamid.

Kim began her career with American Cyanamid’s crop protection division where she held a number of sales and marketing roles, including the launch of two brands and revitalization of two others. She also served as Director of Retail Distribution where she managed the promotions and programs for the company’s network of 2000+ dealers.

Kim graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Crop and Soil Science. Kim and her husband Keith live in Buford, GA with their two children.

For more information on N-Focus Partners see www.nfocuspartners.com .

Mr. Dean Cavey is the Managing Partner of Verdant Partners of Champaign, IL. Mr. Cavey has 30 years experience in the worldwide seed industry, horticulture, and agribusiness. From 1991 to 1998, Mr. Cavey was President of AgriCapital Corporation. Assignments included crop genetics mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, debt and equity financing, and financial consulting.

  Mr. Cavey was previously President and Chief Operating Officer of United AgriSeeds, Inc. from 1989 through 1990. Previously, he was Vice President of Finance and Administration beginning in 1983. The Company was sold to Dow Chemical Co. in December, 1987. From 1977 through 1982, Mr. Cavey was Vice President of Finance at Amfac Nurseries, a horticulture production and marketing company. In 1980, American Garden Products was acquired by Amfac Nurseries. From 1972 through 1976, Mr. Cavey served as a Certified Public Accountant with Arthur Andersen and Co., specializing in audit, tax, and management consulting.

  Mr. Cavey holds a degree in finance and accounting from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

For more information on Verdant Partners see www.verdantpartners.com .

Mr. Dale Monceaux is a co-founder and principal of AdvanceBio, a firm which provides consulting services and technology to the growing global biofuels industry and emerging biochemical sector. The AdvanceBio team, including co-founder Mr. Bipin Shroff, have deep experience in operations, management, engineering and technology, and process development in starch, sugar and lignocellulosic-based bioethanol.

Mr. Monceaux is a leading ethanol technologist with more than 30 years experience in process technology development and plant design, construction, commissioning, startup and operations in petrochemical and renewable fuels. Mr. Monceaux has experience in oil refining, molasses- and grain-based distillery quality control, operations, and production management. He is a frequent speaker at biofuels industry events and has served as an instructor and author in fuel alcohol production at the well-known annual Alcohol School training symposium.

Mr. Monceaux previously spent 15 years with Katzen International where he was a Senior Vice President and a board member while focusing on process technology modeling and development with a concentration on advanced enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, distillation and separation technologies and international project and business development.

Dale was raised in Southwest Louisiana and earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA prior to graduate studies at Northern Arizona University. Dale and his wife Anne live in Loveland, Ohio.

For more information on AdvanceBio see www.advancebiollc.com.

Mr. Jim McCallie is the owner of HedgeRight Energy Solutions, LLC, an energy risk management consulting firm. Jim has extensive background in the area of commodity risk management, hedging, and energy consulting. His firm focuses on educating clients on energy price risk and developing and implementing appropriate risk management strategies to manage volatile fuel risk in corporate budgets. He publishes a daily newsletter for clients on global macroeconomic developments and market moves in the diesel, gasoline, natural gas, propane, jet fuel, and bunker (ocean) fuel markets.

Mr. McCallie previously spent five years at F.C. Stone in Indianapolis, IN as an energy risk consultant who developed and managed a team responsible for prospecting, developing, and managing new accounts for energy and fuel risk management. Prior to that he worked with Archer Daniels Midland as a commodity trader and merchandiser, originating multiple grain varieties for domestic use and export.

Jim grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Kansas. During college he served internships at ContiBeef in Dalhart, TX, Bartlett Grain in Kansas City, MO, and ConAgra Milling in Blackwell, OK while working to complete a dual B.S. degree in Agriculture Economics and Animal Science & Industry from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. In addition to holding a Series 3 License from the National Commodities Futures Association, Jim is also a certified private pilot. Jim was recently married and he and his wife Amy live in Greenwood, IN.

Mr. Chris Higgins is the General Manager and Co-Owner of Hort Americas, LLC, an international distributor of horticultural commercial equipment, supply goods and services for the North American greenhouse vegetable and niche ornamental market. In addition, he operates a consulting firm to assist manufacturers (as well as sales and marketing firms) better place, position and sell products and/or services aimed at either the commercial or the retail horticultural market.

Mr. Higgins previously was the VP Sales and Marketing for AgroDynamics-Grodan North America, who is a large Netherlands-based supplier and distributor of substrates and other supplies to the greenhouse production industry. His roles there included line management responsibility for North American sales/sales support teams, budgeting, forecasting, profit management, hiring and recruiting, vendor management, product positioning, contract negotiations, market development and strategic planning for both retail and commercial markets.

Prior to AD/Grodan, Mr. Higgins spent seven years in sales, sales management, and marketing roles for Olympic Horticultural Products (now OHP). His responsibilities included distributor and dealer product training, account management, end-user pull-through sales, direct sales calls, industry educational programs(CEU’s)/tradeshow and intern management.

Chris received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Olivet College in Olivet, MI, where in addition to being on the Dean’s list for four years and receiving the outstanding senior award he also played collegiate basketball, serving as co-captain and receiving Honorable Mention for All-MIAA Basketball (Div III NCAA) in 1996. Chris lives in Euless, TX when he is not on the road helping horticultural businesses.

For more information on Hort Americas see www.hortamericas.com .