Transparency in Action to Build Trust

Charlie Arnot is recognized as a thought leader in food and agriculture. He is highly regarded as both a writer and sought-after speaker who engages audiences across the globe. Charlie has more than 25 years of experience working in communications, public relations and issues management within the food system. He serves as CEO of the Center for Food Integrity, a international non-profit organization dedicated to building consumer trust and confidence in today’s food system.

Jane Bachmann leads seed business communications for Corteva Agriscience. Her team finds innovative ways to make complex information simple and
transparent as they advocate for market access to seed technology in support of business priorities.

Since joining Corteva in 2010 as research communications manager, she has held a number of technical, strategy and business communication leadership
roles. Jane has served as leader of global research communications for DuPont Pioneer and DuPont, managed executive and leadership communications
during the merger between Dow and DuPont and led commercial communications for Corteva globally, and for the North American business. During her
tenure with the company, she developed the company’s science communications platform, product pipeline investor communications strategy and led the
launch for the Brevant® seed brand.

Prior to joining Corteva, Jane led global science and biotechnology communications for Syngenta at the company’s Research Triangle Park, NC office,
and the global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. She previously worked as a Research Scientist.

Raised on a small family farm, Jane is a native of Iowa. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Iowa and a Master of
Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Jane represents Corteva on the communications committee of the American Seed
Trade Association, Internal Seed Federation Communications Expert Group and the Seed World US Editorial Board. She is a member of the Public Relations
Society of Iowa, a former Girl Scout leader, and an avid fan of the Drake University Marching Band.

Rishi Banerjee is senior director of SmartLabel at Consumer Brands Association. The Consumer Brands Association champions the industry whose products
Americans depend on every day, representing nearly 2,000 iconic brands. From household and personal care to food and beverage products, the consumer packaged goods industry plays a vital role in powering the U.S. economy, contributing $2 trillion to U.S. GDP and supporting more than 20 million
American jobs. In his role, he serves as head of the SmartLabel program. SmartLabel is the leading digital disclosure and consumer transparency platform which connects consumers to product data that goes beyond the packaging label. SmartLabel has gained significant industry adoption including 100,000 products from over 1,000 brands participating.

Rishi’s career spans across multiple sectors including government, non-profit, consulting and retail. He began his career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) where he conducted research on foodborne pathogens. After USDA, Rishi served as Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs for the American Frozen Food Institute. Rishi went on to lead the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) for the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) in U.S. and Canada. Following GFSI, Rishi led Regulatory and Industry Affairs at Amazon where he represented Amazon’s interests for human food, pet food, baby food and dietary supplements.

An active speaker, trainer, facilitator and a trusted advisor to food system thought leaders, Roxi Beck helps audiences think differently about earning trust. As consumer engagement director for The Center for Food Integrity Roxi brings nearly 20 years’ experience working with clients across the food system, directing strategy and activities for consumer-facing food and agriculture initiatives. Whether working with registered dietitians, toxicologists, corporate executives, communication directors, restaurateurs, farmers, non-profit leaders, even consumers, Roxi connects the dots on the varied pressure points that shape today’s food system and helps organizations incorporate transparency principles and trust-growing approaches into their culture.

Erika Burns, Director of Policy Communications for The Coca-Cola Company North America, leads the Company’s SmartLabel platform to ensure product transparency and regulatory compliance across the company’s diverse portfolio of products in the U.S. She focuses on providing consumers with essential information beyond the label. The Coca-Cola Company became the first company to use the Interim Landing Page, enhancing consumer access to relevant product and company details.

Pat Byrnes has contributed hundreds of cartoons to The New Yorker since 1998, and finally won the National Cartoonists Society’s Gag Cartoonist of the Year award—on his sixth nomination. He previously worked as a Clio-winning ad writer, voice actor, illustrator, comedian, and aerospace engineer. He illustrated Eats Shoots & Leaves Illustrated Edition by Lynne Truss, and Dave Barry On Dads, and penned books of his own, including Captain Dad: The Manly Art of Stay-at-Home Fatherhood and What Would Satan Do? He is the creative director of The Drawing Board where, alongside his New Yorker colleagues, he shares the benefits of thinking like a cartoonist with the likes of Microsoft, Ethisphere, The Red Cross and others.

David Fikes is the Executive Director of the FMI Foundation, which has the mission of supporting the food industry through a focus on research and education in the areas of food safety and health and wellbeing. His position allows him to act upon his conviction that humans have a right to safe food and consumers have a right to clear information and viable choices.

Formerly, David served as FMI’s Vice President for Communication and Consumer/Community Relations and before joining FMI he was the Director of Communication for the American Frozen Food Institute. Prior to entering the world of food trade associations, he worked for 20 years as an Episcopal priest, serving parishes in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.

He and his wife, Lisa, are the proud parents of twelve-year-old Harper whose soccer skills have now exceeded those of her father.

Executive director of The Center for Food Integrity, Mickie French is an accomplished global expert in marketing and communications with a focus on helping companies develop and activate a more purpose-driven strategy. Her depth of experience across the food value chain, from agriculture to ingredients and CPG, has made her a trusted strategy and innovation partner. She is particularly passionate about bringing together multiple stakeholders to drive significant impact on global sustainability issues.

Previously, in senior strategic leadership roles with advertising and public relations firms, Mickie worked with some of the world’s most powerful brands to launch them into new markets or reposition them based on local insights. In addition, as an advocate for global education, Mickie served on the Executive Leadership Committee and various other volunteer committees of The Thunderbird School of Global Management where she earned an MBA in International Management. She was a frequent guest lecturer at the Singapore Management University and the Budapest University of Economics.

Sherry Frey brings more than two decades of industry experience to her role as Vice President, Total Wellness at NielsenIQ. With a background in market research, innovation and consulting, she has elevated clients across the fresh, CPG and wellness industries, providing forward-thinking insights, combined with practical strategies.

In addition to leading NielsenIQ’s Total Wellness team and industry engagement, Sherry has been a featured speaker at many national and international industry events and is often sought as a media and analyst resource on topics related to consumer health, wellness and environmental issues.

Grant is the Director of Cattle Management and Procurement for Walmart, US. He has been in this position for 2½ years and was hired right out of the saddle and off the ranch. Grant is the first person to hold this newly created and unique roll at Walmart overseeing the live cattle side of their end-to-end beef supply chain. He has 30+ years of animal husbandry and ranch management experience. Grant graduated from the University of Arkansas with an Agriculture Communications Degree. His combination of beef production experience, industry knowledge and communication skills ­­have led him to where he is now. He has the incredible opportunity to connect farmers and ranchers across the country with the world’s largest retailer and their customers, which in the end are your customers too.

Grant and his wife were both raised in the Northwest corner of Arkansas. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Heather, for almost 20 years. The couples pride and joy is their 10yr old daughter Bellamy Cate who undoubtedly has her daddy wrapped around her finger…no, make that all of her fingers except the one reserved for Heather. The family lives on a modest ranch outside of town and about an hour from Walmart’s world headquarters. They raise a few Quarter horses, a few cattle, top notch Bermuda hay and over ½ million chickens every year. He is a cowman through and through and Beef is always what is for dinner, but those chicken contracts sure help a person own high dollar ground in his area where real estate is surging thanks to the biggest 3 in each of their of their industries….Walmart, JB Hunt and Tyson.

Kelly is an accomplished communications, marketing and business development executive, driven by a passion for connecting brands and people through meaningful experiences and purposeful engagements. She is part of Look East’s association management team where she leads growth and development for The Center for Food Integrity.

Kelly spent her formative years on her grandparent’s farm and canning operation in Georgia, where she had a front-row seat to the process of how the vegetables are grown on the family farm, then harvested, canned and sold on grocery shelves under the Margaret Holmes brand name (her great-grandmother).

From that early age, Kelly developed an interest in and passion for how our food is grown, processed, packaged, marketed and ultimately consumed.
Kelly turned that curiosity around the “how”, into a career articulating the “why” and the “how-to” – a career steeped in the importance of honest communication and humanizing brands through storytelling.

With 20 years of leadership experience, Kelly has created communications and marketing strategies for organizations including The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, Cargill, the NBA and a number of emerging CPG brands. At The Center for Food Integrity, she leads member development, facilitates stakeholder engagement and helps organizations across the food/ag value chain build trust in today’s food system.

Kelly earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!), while competing as a middle-distance runner on the UGA track team. She and her family now make their home in Minneapolis, where Kelly continues to enjoy running around Lake Minnetonka or exploring the great outdoors with her children.

As Vice President of Community Engagement, Ryan Richard develops engagement strategies that drive the adoption, use and adherence to global standards to solve common business problems. With a focus on the retail grocery and food service sectors, Mr. Richard manages collaborative industry efforts to help GS1 US members meet the needs of today’s consumers, including improving supply chain visibility, food traceability and product information transparency. Additionally, Mr. Richard aligns the organization’s member support efforts with community engagement strategies to further achieve the common goal of building long-term relationships with members and supporting their growth.

Prior to joining GS1 US, Mr. Richard spent two decades with three top multinational corporations—Kraft Foods, Inc., Mondelēz International and Philip Morris. In these roles, he focused on business process harmonization, global data synchronization and the implementation of GS1 Standards to make the companies’ retail grocery supply chains more efficient.

Mr. Richard received his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership and Change Management from DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.

Steve Markenson leads FMI’s research & insights practice. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field – from research assistant to president of a full-service national market research firm – and his diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning.

In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice at FMI, specifically the study design, survey fielding and efforts with outside knowledge partners and FMI subject matter experts. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry.

BJ is the Chief Operating Officer for Prime Pursuits. He is a pragmatic optimist that is working to advance the customer’s ability to have access to the most nutritious and delicious Angus beef through customer-driven, vertically aligned supply chain in partnership with Walmart. Steadfast in his commitment to building trust and credibility through an aligned supply chain, BJ leads a purpose-driven team working to advance initiatives around traceability, transparency, predictability and community. BJ’s unique background from being raised in the Texas Panhandle to starting his career in merger and acquisition due diligence to over 15 years in the cattle industry, gives him a unique perspective and understanding of a multitude of industries but also an appreciation for the complexity that exists within production agriculture. Being a CPA, it is hard for him to not appreciate the analytical side of business and data. With the development of a pioneering and innovative technology called Prime Intelligence, Prime Pursuits is allowing all stakeholders in the supply chain to have access to real-time, actionable data – driving understanding for future strategic initiatives while delivering data-driven decisions in day-to-day operations. Our work improves the life of the American Rancher and benefits the American Consumer by providing access to McClaren Farms’ fine Angus beef in 565 Walmart stores across the Southeastern US.

Julie McGill is the Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Insights at Trustwell, bringing extensive experience and expertise to her role. She joined the company in 2017 when it was known as FoodLogiQ and continued in her position after the merger with ESHA Research to form Trustwell.

In her role, Julie actively participates in various industry groups and committees, contributing valuable insights and information regarding evolving industry standards and their application across supply chains. Her deep understanding of the industry allows her to provide strategic guidance and drive the implementation of effective supply chain strategies.

Prior to joining FoodLogiQ, Julie dedicated over 16 years of her career to GS1 US. During her time there, she led the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative, collaborating with manufacturers, distributors, operators, and trading partners to establish a foundation for traceability and supply chain visibility. Her expertise in this area has been instrumental in driving industry-wide advancements.

Julie’s professional background also includes working for Coors Brewing Company in Golden, further enriching her understanding of foodservice and consumer packaged goods (CPG) supply chains. Her industry knowledge and contributions have been recognized, as she was selected as one of the “Five Food Logistics Champions You Need to Know” by Food Logistics Magazine.

With her extensive experience and deep understanding of supply chains in the foodservice and CPG industries, Julie brings valuable insights and expertise to Trustwell. Her strategic mindset, industry involvement, and commitment to excellence make her an invaluable asset in shaping supply chain strategies and driving success for Trustwell and its customers.

Paul Noth is a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine, where his work has appeared regularly since 2004. He created the Emmy-nominated animated series “Pale Force” for Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He has been an animation consultant for Saturday Night Live and developed shows for Cartoon Network Adult Swim and Nickelodeon. He is the author of How to Sell Your Family to the Aliens, How to Properly Dispose of Planet Earth, and How to Win the Science Fair When You’re Dead, all published by

Robert Petter and his wife, Karen, live in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Robert farms with his brother, David, growing approximately 1,500 acres of soybeans and 1,500 acres of rice. Robert and his brother are the fourth generation to operate their farm, which has belonged to the family for more than 100 years.

For the last 20 years, Robert has been working with USA Rice Federation. Now, he’s ready to contribute his time and talents to the soybean industry.
Robert is a second-year director with USB. He sits on the Demand Action Team in the Innovation and Technology Priority Area.

In his free time, Robert likes to watch documentaries on travel and farming. He looks forward to serving on the board and bringing value to U.S. soybean farmers.

Cameron Scadding is a forensic and analytical chemist. He is a globally recognized and respected expert in his discipline and has extensive experience in forensic investigation. Cameron has specific experience and expertise in supply chain integrity, security, and risk management.

Cameron’s supply chain and forensic skill set have made him a leading consultant in many sectors, including agriculture, seafood, cannabis, critical and strategic minerals, gold, and diamonds. He is invited to speak regularly on global trends in supply chain integrity, specifically around agri-food, the integrity of food, food fraud, transparency, trust, traceability and provenance.

Cameron is a vocal advocate of connecting customers to food and product sources by developing tools, systems, and platforms that mediate transparency within the supply chain.

In addition to his role as Managing Director of Source Certain, Cameron was a founder of Source Certain and a founder and the CEO of TSW Global and TSW Analytical.

Susan is an insights expert with 25 years of experience, most recently as the founder of Mangaso Consulting. Formerly, she served as President of Circana’s Food & Beverage Practice, where she helped North American CPG clients turn insights into actionable strategies. A founding member of The Center for Food Integrity’s Trust Insights Council, Susan is a frequent speaker on consumer trends and co-creator of influential consumption behavior studies. She is a University of Michigan graduate with a passion for the food and beverage industry.

Dr. Meng Wang is the Transparency Lead at Bayer Crop Science, responsible for building public trust and societal technology acceptance by creating transparency on product safety and promoting science-based dialogue. She earned a Ph.D. in Vision Science from the University of Houston and an MBA from Webster University. After completing a National Institute of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Wang joined Bayer in 2005 and has had various leadership roles in Research and Development, particularly in regulatory strategy and operations.

Dr. Rosie Ward is an energetic, passionate, compassionate leader, consultant, coach, speaker and author who focuses on transformation from the inside out.

Her mission started over 25 years ago when she experienced firsthand the ill effects of working in a toxic work environment and found her wellbeing eroding. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to find a solution so this experience is no longer the norm. Rosie is a Top Voice in Leadership, Leadership Development and Culture on LinkedIn and is sought after to help rehumanize workplaces so that people are freed, fueled and inspired to bring their best selves to work – and home – each day.

Rosie is also the host of the podcast, Show Up as a Leader – which won the Best People-First Podcast Award from the People Forward Network. She currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son.

Todd Wilkinson is a co-owner and operator of a commercial cow-calf operation with his son, Nick, in De Smet, South Dakota. He is also a co-owner of Wilkinson Livestock, a family-owned cattle feeding and finishing operation. He has been involved in the cattle business for over forty years in multiple facets of the business.

In addition, Wilkinson has practiced law for more than 40 years, specializing in estate planning and agricultural law. He is a graduate of Augustana College and USD School of Law. His firm, Wilkinson & Schumacher, is sought after by landowners (cow-calf, stocker and feeder segments) across the state when they are facing legal challenges.

Over the years, Wilkinson has been heavily involved in local, state and national leadership roles. During his time on the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association board, he had many roles including president. Wilkinson has also served on numerous NCBA committees as well as the Environmental Working Group, Traceability Working Group and Cattle Marketing Working Group.

He and his late wife, Jean, have 3 children and 10 grandchildren.