Mike Allen is one of Washington’s most influential and well-connected journalists. He is the co-founder and executive editor of Axios, a new media company delivering news and insights on politics, business, media, and tech.

In addition to starting Axios, Allen was a co-founder at POLITICO, the digital media company that upended and revolutionized political and policy journalism in Washington, New York, and Europe. He not only reported on but also drove the day’s conversations in and around the Beltway. His sharp journalistic experience and coveted insider status make him an ideal choice to discuss the latest political happenings. He offers his non-partisan, energetic and up-to-the-minute insider perspective on the political issues of the day, the Trump administration, the Republican Congress, and building a business in an unsteady economy.

Michael Dykes, D.V.M., a long-time government affairs strategist, agricultural policy expert, and veterinarian, became president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association in January 2017. In this role, he represents members that make more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.

Since joining IDFA, Dykes has been a strong advocate for the importance of global competitiveness to the future of the U.S. dairy industry. He has made preserving trade partnerships with Mexico and improving Canadian market access for U.S. dairy exports in all future trade agreements a priority for IDFA.

Prior to assuming his role at IDFA, Dykes served as vice president of government affairs for Monsanto, where he was responsible for developing and implementing a portfolio of U.S. government relations strategies and programs that included agricultural biotechnology policy. He led Monsanto's office in Washington, D.C., and served as the company's primary point of contact for elected officials, regulatory authorities, U.S. farm organizations, key industry participants, trade associations, international organizations and embassies. He directed the company's efforts in state and local government affairs, in addition to government affairs in Mexico and Canada.

Dykes is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the National Academy of Practitioners. He has served on the Farmhouse Fraternity board for 3+ years. He is also a member of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC) and has served on the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21).

Dykes grew up on a small dairy and tobacco farm in Kentucky. He earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University. He also attended the University of Kentucky where he received a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science.

One of the most in-demand speakers and communications consultants in America, Ken Schmidt has lived a life that most can only dream about. He has toured the world on two wheels, met with presidents and royalty, partied with movie and music legends, and appeared numerous times on network news. As the former director of communications for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, he played an active role in one of the most celebrated turnarounds in corporate history – and got paid to ride motorcycles. He is widely known as one of the business world’s most outspoken and provocative thought leaders and has partnered with many of the world’s most successful brands. He is the author of the 2018 book Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance. Today, Schmidt is a frequent speaker to business groups and academic communities throughout the world. He shares stories and insights on the road to building a fanatically vocal customer base, creating a passionately loyal corporate culture, and developing leaders who inspire and motivate.

Drawing on decades of experience driving innovation and leading operations at companies including Apple and Microsoft, Mike Steep shares strategies on how to leverage emerging technology into bottom line business opportunities. Throughout his career, Steep has worked in the presence of industry legends including David Packard, Bill Gates, and Satya Nadella, witnessing first-hand some of the greatest breakthroughs and transformations within organizations and entire industries. Currently the Executive Director of Stanford’s Engineering Center for Disruptive Technology and Digital Cities, Steep is a global speaker and contributing editor to Forbes.

Steep is the former SVP of Global Business Operations at PARC, where he worked with CEO’s and R&D executives from companies including BMW, Google, P&G, L’Oreal, and AirBus to transform technology disruption of their industries into new lines of business. Steep believes we are at the beginning of a new golden age—where emerging technologies define who we are, what we can accomplish, and how we can redefine entire companies and industries. Just as Apple transformed the mobile industry through the introduction of the iPhone, emerging technologies will offer exponential opportunities if we know how to capitalize on them.

Nina Teicholz is an investigative science journalist and author. Her international bestseller, The Big Fat Surprise has upended the conventional wisdom on dietary fat–especially saturated fat–and challenged the very core of our nutrition policy.

The Big Fat Surprise was named a 2014 *Best Book* by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Mother Jones, and Library Journal. Teicholz’s writing has also been published in The BMJ, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Independent, The New Yorker, and The Los Angeles Times among others.

In addition, Teicholz is the Executive Director of The Nutrition Coalition, a non-profit group that promotes evidence-based nutrition policy. She has testified before the Canadian Senate and U.S. Department of Agriculture about the need for reform of dietary guidelines.

Teicholz attended Yale and Stanford where she studied biology and majored in American Studies. She has a master’s degree from Oxford University and served as associate director of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at Columbia University.

Dr. Torsten Hemme is the managing director of the IFCN Dairy Research Center in Kiel, Germany. He studied agricultural economics at the University of Göttingen in Germany and Texas A&M University in the USA. His Ph.D. thesis set the basis for the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN), which annually benchmarks milk production costs and summarizes the findings in its"Dairy Report." He has a long list of publications, presentations at international dairy conferences and experiences in various research/consulting projects.

Dr. Robert Johansson serves as the Chief Economist at the Department of Agriculture (USDA). He has served in this role since July 2015. As Chief Economist, he is responsible for the Department's agricultural forecasts and projections and for advising the Secretary of Agriculture on economic implications of alternative programs, regulations, and legislative proposals. He is responsible for the Office of the Chief Economist, the World Agricultural Outlook Board, the Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit analysis, the Climate Change Program Office, the Office of Environmental Markets, the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, and the Office of Pesticide Management Policy.

Dr. Johansson received B.A. in economics from Northwestern University and then served with the U.S. Peace Corps as an extension agent in several African countries from 1990 to 1995. After returning to his home State of Minnesota, he entered the graduate program in Agricultural Economics at the University of Minnesota at received his M.S. in 1997 and Ph.D. in 2000. His research has spanned a wide range of issues, including biofuels policy, water quality and quantity policies, regulatory economics, food security, and regional modeling of agricultural systems.

Julie Kanak is the Managing Partner of the Chicago office and leads the firm’s Food & Agribusiness effort. She brings over 20 years working with public and private companies across the sector and over a decade in retained search.

Julie conducts senior-level assignments in general management, finance, operations and supply chain, business development and other functional specialties across the agribusiness and food value chain. Her clients range from the Fortune 500 to startups with extensive experience with member-owned/ governed associations, private equity and family businesses and within dairy. As a trusted advisor on all aspects of leadership talent, she consults with Boards and CEOs on transformation, succession planning, retention, development and corporate governance – building strong, productive relationships with both clients and candidates.

Prior to joining DS, Julie spent four years with a leading global search firm and boutique global agribusiness firm complimenting over two decades in banking and corporate finance principally focused on agribusiness, food, and energy.

The bulk of Julie’s global corporate and investment banking career was spent with Credit Agricole CIB, as North American Head of Agribusiness, working closely with global leaders of inputs, dairy, grains and consumer packaged goods. Her career also included more than 10 years as a global banker and senior executive with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, and State Bank of South Australia in New York and Chicago.

Julie is a native Iowan and avid equestrian.

Marin Bozic is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. Marin’s research program in dairy economics covers dairy policy, risk management, demand for dairy foods and economics of new dairy food processing technologies. Since earning his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011, he has published a dozen research articles, and has served as principal investigator on over twenty funded projects.

Dr. Bozic serves in a leadership role in several organizations. He is an Associate Director of Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center, and the facilitator of Minnesota Dairy Growth Alliance. Marin is also a member of the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy, a team of dairy economists who recently won a national award for their outreach work on the 2014 Farm Bill.

Marin is a nationally popular speaker on dairy topics, with over one hundred invited talks on topics covering dairy policy, outlook, exports, risk management and consumer trends. Despite living in the Upper Midwest for a full decade, his accent still reveals he is originally from Croatia. His audience does not seem to mind.

As Vice President of Food Safety, Frank Yiannas oversees all food safety, as well as other public health functions, for the world's largest food retailer, Walmart, serving over 240 million customers around the world on a weekly basis. Prior to joining Walmart in 2008, Frank was the Director of Safety & Health for the Walt Disney World Company, where he worked for 19 years.

As a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, Frank is known for his ability to build partnerships and for his innovative approaches to food safety, including being a pioneer in the use of blockchain technology to create a more digital and transparent food system.

In 2008, Frank was given the Collaboration Award by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is the 2007 recipient of the NSF International Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Food Safety and the 2015 Industry Professional Food Safety Hero Award by STOP Foodborne Illness. Frank is also a Past President of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and a Past Vice-Chair of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

He is also an adjunct Professor in the Food Safety Program at Michigan State University and author of the books, Food Safety Culture, Creating a Behavior-based Food Safety Management System, and Food Safety = Behavior, 30 Proven Techniques to Enhance Employee Compliance, by Springer Scientific.

Frank is a Registered Microbiologist with the American Academy of Microbiology. He received his BS in Microbiology from the University of Central Florida and his Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of South Florida.

Phil Plourd is President of Blimling and Associates, Inc. and President of the services division of Dairy.com. He has been involved in dairy market analysis, research, forecasting and risk management activities for 20 years. Phil draws on that experience to lead an expert team of 16 committed to helping clients find better ways to do business. He is a popular speaker who engages audiences on a variety of topics.

Phil resides near Madison, Wisconsin with wife Rhonda and daughters Rebecca and Leah. He is currently President of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County and his family is involved with the Madison Public Library Foundation.

Beth Hughes is responsible for supporting the association's efforts on international trade and import and export issues. She also oversees IDFA's trade committee, as well as programming for the annual International Sweetener Colloquium. In collaboration with other dairy and food industry associations, Hughes has worked with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to promote and protect U.S. dairy interests in free trade agreements and held briefings on Capitol Hill about the importance of preserving the use of common food names.

Before joining IDFA, Hughes served for five years as manager of international policy for the USA Rice Federation. She developed and implemented international trade policy and promotion activities to support the U.S. rice industry and help small- and medium-sized U.S. enterprises in overseas export markets. She also analyzed domestic and international rice trends and prepared comments relating to non-tariff and technical barriers, such as sanitary and phytosanitary barriers.

Hughes earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at George Washington University and received a Master of Arts in international affairs from Florida State University.

Christina Adams is a leader in McKinsey & Company’s consumer goods practice, with deep experience across commercial optimization, growth strategy, and optimizing portfolio and network complexity. She regularly looks at topics relating to how food and beverage consumer goods companies can adapt and grow in the changing consumer and retail landscape.

Christina started her career at Procter & Gamble working in brand management in Cincinnati, Ohio. Christina earned both her B.A. and M.B.A. from Harvard University. She is a native Oklahoman.

Beth Ford is the 9th President and Chief Executive Officer at Land O’Lakes, Inc., a role she was named to July 26, 2018. Ford was named President and CEO by Land O’Lakes’ board of directors after a series of successful executive postings within the company since she joined in 2011.

Most recently, as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Land O’Lakes Businesses, Beth was responsible for the Purina Animal Nutrition, U.S. Dairy Foods and WinField United businesses, which reported 2017 net sales totaling $14 billion. Prior to that, Ford was head of Land O’Lakes’ Dairy Foods and Purina Animal Nutrition businesses, and during her tenure she led record performance, leveraging innovation through R&D to strengthen the Purina brand, and leading record growth in the dairy business. She was key in identifying the opportunity to acquire Vermont Creamery in early 2017.

In her 31 years of experience as a global operator, Beth has held senior and line leadership positions in seven companies across six industries, including Energy (Mobil Oil), Consumer Packaged Goods (Pepsi/Pepsi Bottling Group), QSR (Perseco), Publishing (Scholastic and Hachette), Chemicals (International Flavors and Fragrances) and now Food Production and Agribusiness.

A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Beth earned an MBA from Columbia University Business School and a BBA from Iowa State University. She remains involved in both universities, sitting on the Deming Center Board of Advisors for Columbia Business School and the Dean's Advisory Committee for the College of Business at Iowa State. Beth also sits on the Board of Directors for the National Milk Producers Federation and non-profit boards, including Greater Twin Cities United Way in Minneapolis.

Additionally, Beth is Chair of the Board of Directors for Clearwater Paper, Inc., and sits on the board of PACCAR, Inc. both publicly traded companies which have been recognized in the Fortune 1000 and 150 lists, respectively.

Dr. Barbara Glenn recently joined the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) as CEO on August 18, 2014.

Dr. Glenn is a scientist with decades of experience as a policy researcher and advocate for agriculture. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Science and Regulatory Affairs for CropLife America, where she was responsible for developing policies and regulations to support agriculture through crop protection. Prior to joining CropLife America, Dr. Glenn served as Managing Director of the Animal Biotechnology, Food and Agriculture Section of the Biotechnology Industry Association in Washington, DC.

Dr. Glenn holds a B.S. in animal science and a Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition from the University of Kentucky. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the Federation of Animal Science Societies.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska and raised in Centerville, Ohio, Dr. Glenn developed a passion for agriculture from her parents and her involvement in 4-H. She lives on a small farm in Maryland with her husband and three children, and serves on various boards for farm bureau and 4-H.

After earning a B.A. from Wheaton College, in Wheaton, Illinois, Miriam Erickson Brown worked for a small publishing house in the suburbs of Chicago, before joining Anderson Erickson Dairy in 1985. She began her career in the marketing department at AE Dairy, the company her grandfather founded, and held various positions over a 21-year period. In 2006 she was named President and Chief Executive Officer.

Miriam invested much of her career representing independently owned dairies, such as AE Dairy, through leadership on dairy industry boards. In 1994 she was selected by the Secretary of Agriculture to join the MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program) Board. Miriam also served as Chair of the International Dairy Foods Association and the Milk Industry Foundation Boards. She is a board member and officer of The Innovation Center for US Dairy. She was the 2007 recipient of the International Dairy Foods Association’s Soaring Eagle Award for extraordinary service in the dairy industry.

Mariano Lozano has been CEO of The Dannon Company since January 2014. From March 2009 to December 2013, he was General Manager of DANONE Brazil. He started his career in various sales functions at Cerveceria y Malteria Quilmes, a leader of the Argentinean beer market, and was then appointed Sales Director of Pillsbury Argentina. He joined DANONE in March 2000 as General Manager of Logistica La Serenisima, the company in charge of sales and distribution for DANONE and La Serenisima products in Argentina. From 2004 to 2006 he was General Manager of DANONE Slovakia and from January 2006 to May 2009 General Manager of DANONE Clover (Pty) in South Africa. Lozano is an Argentinean citizen and holds a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Buenos Aires.

Mariano Lozano will expound on the importance of creating regional and community links in all the places where their products are sold.

John has a Ph.D in Food Science and over 20 years of research experience. He previously worked in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. As CDR Director he provides leadership to CDR staff to help CDR move forward and live up to its reputation as a world-class research center focused on applications, outreach and education. He is also a professor in the Food Science department and conducts research on the functionality of dairy foods. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and 20 book chapters.

Ludovic Meilhac is a procurement and supply management expert partner at McKinsey & Company in the Stamford office. He co-leads the McKinsey Food Institute and is a core member of McKinsey’s Consumer Operations practice. Ludovic has over 25 years of experience in procurement and sourcing globally and helps both companies and national governments develop world sourcing strategies and design manufacturing solutions for milk and dairy ingredients. Among other work, Ludovic has helped shape the 2020 vision for French milk and fruit procurement, design solutions for oversupply of local fluid milk in China, and optimize COGS on dairy and flavor for an ice cream manufacturer.

Prior to McKinsey, Ludovic spent 13 years at Danone sourcing all fluids and dairy ingredients for North America, while also serving as a board member on the Quebec Dairy Council. He also spent 5 years at Coca Cola/Glaceau in manufacturing and sourcing. Ludovic earned his Master’s in Automation from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris in France and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.

Patty Stroup is global vice president and head of commodities at Nestlé. Before joining Nestlé in 2006, she was director of dairy procurement and policy at Hilmar Cheese Company in California and, prior to that, director of communication, education and legislation at Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers in Virginia.

She holds a bachelors degree in communications with a cognate in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech, and an MBA in Food and Agribusiness from Purdue University.

Roberto leads McKinsey’s Agriculture Practice globally and our consumer operations work in North America.

As an advisor to agricultural and food and nutrition companies, Roberto brings on-the-ground experience in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe. He partners with executives to address their most pressing strategic and performance issues, including growth, merger management, commercial excellence, supply-chain optimization, and organizational restructuring.

Since joining McKinsey, Roberto has built extensive expertise designing growth strategies and delivering performance improvements across commercial and supply-chain operations. Working with companies across the globe, he has led efforts to assess value-chain vulnerabilities and growth opportunities in the dairy, protein, row-crops, oilseeds, and starch and sweeteners sectors. Roberto also supports complex postmerger situations, defining integration approaches and ramping up value-capture teams.

1. leading a rapid performance-improvement initiative for a grain and food-ingredient company, identifying substantial profit improvement potential across manufacturing, sourcing, logistics, and commercial areas
2. driving merger integrations for global companies in animal nutrition, chemicals, agricultural inputs, food ingredients, and logistics
3. setting enterprise strategy for more than 20 business units of a global food company, including performance aspirations and new growth areas
4. defining a milk and dairy ingredient strategy for a global food company, including setting contract-manufacturing approach, identifying potential joint ventures, and building in-house capabilities
5. developing a growth strategy for a global protein company, including performance-improvement initiatives and the M&A agenda
6. building a growth strategy for global food company, identifying markets for international expansion, setting entry strategies, identifying merger opportunities, and planning a new organizational structure
7. deploying a global performance-improvement program addressing pricing, sales-force effectiveness, supply chain, manufacturing, and network footprint for a global animal-nutrition company
8. designing and delivering a multiyear pricing, go-to-market, and supply-chain transformation for a global agricultural inputs company, leading to improvements in market share, margins, and customer satisfaction

Roberto has contributed to several of the World Economic Forum’s major reports on sustainable agriculture. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Paul brings over 20 years of consumer package goods marketing and finance experience in a wide range of industries. His experience includes managing brands and leading innovation for well-known brands such as Kraft, Velveeta, Tombstone, DiGiorno, Rust-Oleum, First Alert and Cats Pride. Paul has guided brands with revenue from $100M to over $1B, while launching more than $500M of new product platforms. Prior to joining Dairy Management, Paul served in senior-level positions at companies including Kraft Foods, Jarden Safety, Rust-Oleum, and Oil-Dri Corporation.

In the EVP role, Paul leads DMI’s the fluid milk revitalization and domestic foodservice partnership efforts, with industry leaders such as McDonald’s, Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

Dave earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ohio University and his MBA in Labor Relations and Human Resource Management from Ohio State University. He also served in the Air National Guard, where he received the Meritorious Service award and Fire/Rescue Man of the Year award.

He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. In the community, Dave is involved with CASA of Brown County, serving as a member of the corporate board and advisory council. Dave and his wife, Chris, live in the Green Bay area in Wisconsin. They have three children. Away from work, Dave enjoys biking, running, skiing (downhill and cross country), golfing, and reading military books and biographies.

Alexander Anton is the secretary general of the European Dairy Association (EDA), which is recognized as the voice of the dairy processing industry in Brussels. He has been in the post for the past five years and has played a pivotal role in how the organization has changed over his tenure.