Confirmed Speakers

Kyle Hancock Vice President Sales & Marketing - Industrial & Agricultural Products CSX Transportation “CSX - Focused on Serving the Agriculture Business in North America”

Kyle Hancock is Vice President for Industrial and Agricultural Products for CSX Transportation. 

CSX Transportation is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans 21,000 miles with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports.

Kyle has been with CSX for more than 26 years, serving in numerous leadership positions.  Among them, he was President of CSX’s logistics subsidiary, TRANSFLO Corporation.  He also was instrumental in the creation and operation of NDX Intermodal, a European joint venture of CSX, the German Railroad and the Dutch Railroad based in Amsterdam.

Kyle has served in his present capacity for seven years and is responsible for over $2.5 billion in CSX annual revenue across four business units, including Forest & Paper Products, Agricultural Products, Food & Consumer Products and Metal Products. 

Kyle has a BS in Communications and Business from Shorter College, Rome, Georgia, and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School. 
   
Kyle has served on the board of the World Junior Golf Association.  He is currently on the board of GoRail, a national, non-profit, grass roots organization that promotes moving more freight by rail.  Kyle also serves on the Advisory Board of National FFA, an organization over 500,000 strong dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

Kyle has been married for 29 years and has two sons.

Brant was raised in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1981 with BSc in Ag Economics. He began his career with Louis Dreyfus in Winnipeg upon graduation and also spent 3 years with United Grain Growers Ltd. Brant returned to Louis Dreyfus in Winnipeg in 1986 as General Manager. He spent five years in Singapore as Commercial Manager and General Manager of Louis Dreyfus Asia from 1990 to

1995 and another three and years in Johannesburg as Managing Director of Louis Dreyfus Africa from 1995 through 1998. Brant returned to Canada in 1998 as President of Louis Dreyfus Canada Ltd.

He has served as director of the (former) Winnipeg Commodity Exchange and a director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation. In addition to his role as President of LD Canada, Brant is also Chairman of  LDM Foods Ltd. - a Yorkton-based canola crushing joint venture between LD Commodities and Mitsui and Co., Ltd.

Brant lives in Calgary with his wife Margo and their 2 daughter.

John Gillcrist President Bartlett Processing Companies “Major Trends Influencing US Cattle Feeding

John Gillcrist is President of Bartlett Processing Companies based in Kansas City, MO . 

Bartlett And Company engages in the grain merchandising and storage, flour and feed milling, and cattle feeding businesses in the United States. It operates flour mills in Kansas and North Carolina; feed stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; and cattle feed yards in Texas. The company was formerly known as Bartlett Agri Enterprises, Inc. Bartlett And Company was founded in 1907 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

John has been with Bartlett and Company for more than 28 years, serving in numerous leadership positions.  Among them, he was President of Bartlett Milling Company, and President of Bartlett Cattle Company, before heading up both divisions in 1997.
   
John has also been very active in industry associations, serving as Past Chairman of the North American Miller’s Association and the Texas Cattle Feeder’s Association. He is also an active board member in both organizations, as well as with the National Cattleman’s Association. Other industry association memberships include the Kansas Livestock Association, The Consolidated Beef Producers, The American Bakers Association, and the Grain Foods Foundation of which he is a trustee.

John has a BS in Accounting from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  He has spoken on behalf of the grain industry on such topics as the world food crisis, the value of American commodities, and American grain exports.

John L. "Larry" Clarke President and CEO EGT, LLC

John L. “Larry” Clarke was named president and CEO of EGT Development, LLC, a joint venture with Bunge, ITOCHU and STX Pan Ocean, in June 2009.  EGT Development is building and will operate a state-of-the-art export grain terminal at the Port of Longview, Wash.

Before taking on this role, Larry spent more than 25 years at Bunge North America most recently serving as Executive Vice President responsible for Bunge’s agribusiness and transportation activities.  He has also held various trading and management positions including overseeing all export and domestic sales of soybean meal, hulls and oil for Bunge North America.  He served as General Manager of Bunge’s operations in Canada and served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Bunge Oilseed Processing.  

Larry received bachelor degrees in Agricultural Economics and Business Statistics and Data Processing from Mississippi State University in 1983.  He graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 2007.

Stan Barnes President Copper State Consulting Group

Stan Barnes, a native Arizonan, is the founder and President of Copper State Consulting Group. For much of the past two decades, Barnes has been involved in virtually every facet of key political and media-related issues and is viewed as a seasoned veteran of both state and local public affairs battles in Arizona.

Before establishing the firm, Barnes served six years in the Arizona Legislature - First in the State House of Representatives where he was elected in 1988 as the youngest member of the 39th Legislature. He quickly rose to positions of leadership, serving in such capacities as Chairman of the Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee, where he was appointed in only his second term in office. At an early stage of his legislative career, Barnes was identified as a leader on key policy issues and a political force who could build diverse coalitions to get things done at the capitol.

Subsequent to serving in the State House, Barnes was elected to the Arizona Senate in 1994 where he served as Chairman of the Government Reform Committee. He was active on key legislative measures such as business tax reduction, streamlining environmental regulations and developing energy policy. During his service in the State Senate, Barnes was also appointed to the American Council of Young Political Leaders and led a delegation of elected officials from across the U.S. on a diplomatic tour of Australia.

In addition to running his practice, Barnes is a highly regarded political commentator, regularly appearing on Arizona television and radio news programs, as well as frequent guest editorials in state and local newspapers. He serves as Editor-In-Chief of West Washington, a bi-weekly political newsletter on Arizona's elected officials and public policy debate.

Barnes is a 4th generation Arizonan born and raised on a family farm in rural Pinal County. He received his B.S. degree from Arizona State University in 1983 and went on to work for several years in broadcast media including both television and radio. Barnes is currently serving a three-year term as a Governor-appointed member of the Governor's Regulatory Review Council.

Stan and his wife Lisa live in Mesa with their five children.

Glenn Hickman President/CEO Hickman's Family Farms

Glenn Hickman is a third generation Arizona farmer, and is the current president and CEO of Hickman’s Family Farms. According to payment records, his official start date with the family business was 1973, when he was 12.

He was a driven man even at a very young age, and at 19 he left college to run and manage the family farm with his mother and father, Gertie and Bill Hickman, Sr. Two years later, younger brother Billy followed the same path, and soon Clint and Sharman joined the ranks.

Hickman’s Family Farms began on Glenn’s grandmother Nell Hickman’s porch in 1944 in Glendale, Arizona. Growing from an enterprise with an original flock of 50 chickens, Hickman’s Family Farms is now the largest egg company in the Southwest with 6 million hens in three separate states. Together the Hickmans have transformed the small “backyard” egg operation into a multi-million dollar family enterprise. Hickman’s Family Farms has provided fresh eggs for almost 68 years.

Glenn and his wife, Audrey, are the parents of two adult sons, Michael and Grant.