Paola Luporini

Paola Luporini

Senior Analyst

Paola joined Stable in 2021 to lead on building out Stable’s global fundamental S&D balance sheets, mapping the global agricultural commodity markets through data and building the infrastructure for a 21st century tech platform. She previously worked as a senior analyst at S&P Global Platts, with prior experience in sugar derivatives trading and risk management at Raízen, in the Brazilian energy sector.

Harshad Kanvinde

Harshad Kanvinde

Global Practice Head, Supply Chain

Harshad runs Slalom’s Global Supply Chain practice. He has helped clients in several industry sectors including Consumer Products, Retail, Agriculture, Aerospace, Automotive, and Technology, address their thorniest strategic problems though Strategy Development, Business Model Innovation, and Supply Chain Transformation.

Prior to Slalom, Harshad worked at Amazon in their Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) business, where he focused on Inventory Allocation and Transportation initiatives to improve Seller experience, increase product selection on the platform, and reduce outbound shipping cost.

Prior to Amazon, Harshad worked at Ernst & Young (EY), where he helped start a Joint Venture (JV) business with Procter & Gamble (P&G) to commercialize P&G’s manufacturing and product development know-how. Additionally, he led several large-scale manufacturing transformation initiatives at Fortune 500 CPG companies.

Matt Carstens

Matt Carstens

President and CEO

Carstens leads Landus’ work to advocate for farmer-members and customers, empower employees, and lean into the future of the ag industry. His passion for, and experience in, agriculture spans every step in the supply chain from agronomy retail to end-user grain customers, food manufacturers, grocery stores and consumers.

Carstens most recently served as Senior Vice President of Truterra, a division of Land O’Lakes, Inc. There, he provided leadership for farmer-driven sustainability collaborations with food manufacturers and consumers by focusing on technology, data, and precision offerings. Previously, he was responsible for the crop nutrient business, including sales, marketing, supply chain logistics, financial performance, and commodity procurement at United Suppliers, Inc., now a part of Land O’Lakes/WinField United. He has also held various sales, marketing, and management positions at several other agronomy businesses.

Carstens graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business. His passion for agriculture developed on his family’s farm and has only deepened after spending years in the industry. He and his wife Shanda have three children (Claire, Camden & Carolyne) and reside in Panora, IA.

Kathy Mathers

Kathy Mathers

Vice President of Public Affairs

Kathy Mathers leads the association’s communication efforts to policymakers, stakeholders and the industry, and serves as The Fertilizer Institute’s (TFI) spokesperson to the media and the public at large.

Kathy has represented TFI on camera in interviews with CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News. Additionally, she has been quoted in The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and by major news services including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters. Public outreach projects managed by Kathy have garnered awards of recognition from the International Association of Business Communicators, the Public Relations Society of America, and the National AgriMarketing Association.

Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the Catholic University of America, and a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Georgetown University. Kathy and her husband, David, live in Manassas, Virginia.

Aaron Hutchinson

Aaron Hutchinson

Co-Founder and President

Since co-founding CropTrak in 2009, Aaron Hutchinson has led its continuous evolution to remain on the forefront of raw source supply chain data management for the food industries. Leveraging his deep farming roots and data science experience, CropTrak helps food companies collect, process and report crop, contract, research and ESG data – digitally in real-time – for more than 73 identity-preserved and specialty crops in 57 countries worldwide.

Previously, Aaron worked for NAVAIR as a senior imagery engineer, designing and delivering geospatial technology for four branches of the U.S. military, Special Operations Command and U.S. intelligence agencies. This experience gave him in-depth exposure to how technology must flex to harsh environmental conditions, support easy adoption by in-field users and ensure real-time accuracy to minimize risk.

Aaron2022-5708

Sarah Waltner

Sarah Waltner

Senior Director of Global Sales

Sarah Waltner is a global leader who has been committed to Raven’s success for almost 20 years. She has been a member of the Senior team of three different divisions over the last 14 years, providing leadership on strategy, growth, and increasing customer value.  Sarah has a passion and proven track record for building high-performing teams and leaders. She has been instrumental in growing Raven’s international business, deepening the focus on digital solutions, and strengthening Raven’s passion for creating customer value.

Waltner is a proven business leader who has tackled challenges and tough situations in roles from technical to operational to sales and business. She is a driven, resilient, and results-oriented leader who enables teams to work together, increase results and grow the business.  She excels in times of change and uncertainty, providing calm and clear leadership that allows teams to focus on the critical few areas that matter and drive the business forward in a positive and cohesive way.

Boomer Cardinale

Boomer Cardinale

Ag Thought Leader

Boomer Cardinale has over 20 years of experience as a top-level global marketing, strategy, and food value chain thought leader. Boomer has managed teams, product portfolios, brand strategies and key accounts across several companies in the agriculture space.

Boomer is currently providing strategic consulting throughout the crop protection industry. Previous marketing leadership roles included marketing and business development for the post-harvest portfolio at UPL, managing the global bioinsecticide, greenhouse and nursery product portfolios at BASF and directing the marketing efforts for the biocontrol products at Novozymes BioAg.

Boomer has an undergrad degree in communications at Texas A&M University. In addition, Boomer earned a Master of Science degree in agriculture economics at Purdue University while completing his MBA from Indiana University. Living in Raleigh, NC for over eight years, Boomer enjoys the great outdoors with his wife and two daughters.

Ben Craker

Ben Craker

Portfolio Manager

Ben Craker currently serves as Portfolio Manager at AgGateway, a global non-profit organization supported by nearly 200 member companies from every sector of the agriculture industry. Ben coordinates the activities of AgGateway members in the development of standards and digital resources that aim to solve interoperability challenges for agriculture and related industries. Prior to joining the AgGateway staff he spent nearly two decades in the farm equipment manufacturing industry, in positions ranging from marketing and sales to technology product management.

Ben grew up on a farm in south central Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Throughout his career he has been committed to taking a collaborative approach to address some of the most difficult issues facing agriculture through membership in a variety of organizations, including the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Agriculture Industry Electronics Foundation, and the Agricultural Data Coalition, in addition to extensive volunteer work at AgGateway.

Jeremy Pafford

Jeremy Pafford

Head of North America for Market Development

 

As Head of North America for Market Development, Jeremy Pafford drives Independent Commodity Intelligence Services’ (ICIS) business development strategy for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and represents ICIS to chemical, polymer, and fertilizer markets to showcase the company’s expertise. His role draws upon his experience in leading engagement efforts by the Americas team over the last several years.

Previously, Jeremy served as Managing Editor, Americas for ICIS, leading the team analysing Americas raw material markets such as fuels, petrochemicals, and oleochemicals. Jeremy has covered several markets himself and has authored research and presented at major events on topics such as the North American shale energy boom, U.S.-China trade tensions and how macroeconomic trends translate into raw material market trends.

A native of Texas and a resident of the Houston suburb of Cypress, the University of Kansas graduate has been with ICIS since 2013 and has worked in the publishing field for more than two decades.

Ben Adam

Ben Adam

General Manager

Ben Adam is the General Manager for ADM Fertilizer and he resides in Mound, MN. He manages commodity risk utilizing various trading platforms and drives global growth through a collaborative internal network. He is experienced in logistics, pipeline and terminal management, procurement, marketing, account management, and drives the ADM Fertilizer business forward.