SPEAKERS

Economist Dan Basse has been in the commodity business since 1979, providing research and insight around the globe. His counsel is sought out in 81 nations - by farmers, elevators, processors, millers, food companies, trading companies, importers, exporters, meat packers, and more. Mr. Basse was raised on a dairy/grain farm in Waukesha, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1979. Dan has worked with Professional Farmers of America, Brock Associates and the agricultural research division of GNP Commodities in Chicago. In 1987, Mr. Basse founded AgResource Company to serve the needs of the United States and world agriculture community. Mr. Basse is a member of Farm Foundation and the Commodity Market Council.

Alejandra Castillo is the President & CEO of the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA). A senior executive with over 15 years’ experience in global trade with expertise in trade execution, stakeholder management and trade policy. Alejandra worked at the U.S. Grains Council in D.C., Singapore, and India. Most recently, she opened the Council's' newest office in India, where she served as the Regional Director for South Asia. In that capacity, Alejandra set up the strategy to evaluate and implement the Council’s market development programs in the region which included India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Alejandra also serves as volunteer President of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC). Since 2019, Alejandra has supported the IGTC Working Group on Electronic Trading Documentation. In that role, she served as one of the co-chairs for the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) and the IAG representative for the CPM Focus Group on Sustainable Funding for the IPPC ePhyto Solution Project.

Prior to the Council, Alejandra worked in trade execution with Cargill focused on trade risk management as well as vessel and container logistics for cotton, grains and oilseeds. She also gained experience as an international freight forwarder prior to entering trade execution. Before joining Cargill, she worked as a project manager for the Mayo Clinic and an associate director of admissions for St. Catherine University.

Alejandra is a native of Nicaragua and earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in strategic management and organizational leadership, both from St. Catherine University, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Erin Gowriluk is the president at Canada Grains Council. Erin most recently served as the executive director for the Grain Growers of Canada, where she managed the day-to-day operations and advanced federal policy work on behalf of 65,000 grain farmer members from coast to coast. She has an extensive and diverse background in agriculture policy having held senior policy roles with Syngenta Canada, the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, and the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Erin holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Mark Hemmes is president of Quorum Corporation, an independent subsidiary of the Quorum Group of Companies, of which he is a founding partner. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Quorum Corporation has been responsible for monitoring Canada's Prairie Grain Handling and Transportation System on behalf Transport Canada and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada since June 2001. Quorum reports to the Government and industry on changes in the efficiency, reliability, structure and operation of the grain handling and transportation system as well as the impacts these changes have on producers. Quorum and its sister companies have also completed studies related to container movements, transloaders, and the role of inland container terminals in Western Canada; analytical and research services for the review of rail freight service in 2008 and 2009 as well as performing multiple studies on the Canadian Grain Supply Chain over the past 20 years.

Mark has extensive experience in the transportation industry. During his 23 years with the rail industry he held a variety of senior and executive positions in the fields of marketing, intermodal, and operations. Mark attended post-secondary schools in Edmonton at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario. He has been involved in many transportation industry organizations throughout his career, including the Canadian Transportation Research Forum.

Todd Hirsch is an internationally renowned economist, keynote speaker, and author whose research and work focuses on enhancing adaptability in an ever-changing world. Having had a front row seat to key issues transforming the global economy for the past 25 years, he delivers dynamic, clear-eyed talks on adaptability, creativity, and resilience to help industry and business leaders prepare for a future that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.

An economist by training, Hirsch is currently the director of Energy Transition Centre, an incubator of tech startups focused on navigating our path toward net-zero carbon. Prior to this, he served as VP and chief economist for ATB Financial for 15 years, taught economics at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, and worked in the research department of the Bank of Canada.

In recognition of his work, Hirsch has received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the University of Alberta’s Alumni Honour Award, and an honorary degree from Mount Royal University. He has also spoken to hundreds of business audiences across the United States and Canada, and international audiences from Venezuela to Dublin.

The author of four books, Hirsch’s latest, Spiders in COVID Space: Adapting During and After the Pandemic, shares the inspiring and compelling stories of businesses and not-for-profits that reinvented themselves during the pandemic.

Todd's presentation is sponsored by CropLife Canada.

Geoff is a senior leader in commercial aviation and an engineering professional at the forefront of airline sustainability with more than 25 years of experience in integrating aviation fuel procurement, environment, and climate risk management, giving him a unique perspective on creating a sustainable aviation fuels market in Canada to support decarbonizing the aviation industry.

His past responsibilities have centred around setting direction on aviation environmental sustainability strategies, being an industry advocate in the design of aviation climate policy and regulatory measures and reducing aviation emissions through stakeholder collaborations to advance the use of sustainable fuels and other emissions reduction initiatives.

Geoff holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering. He is also an ambassador with the Alberta Energy Futures Lab, a sustainability-driven, innovation-focused initiative whose vision is to accelerate the clean transition of Alberta’s energy system and a board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network.

Neil Townsend has done one thing during his career in agriculture: write market commentary for farmers. He has worked at the Canadian Wheat Board, Cargill, CWB 2, and G3 in this capacity. For the last 3.5 years, he has worked at FarmLink as the Chief Market Analyst. Neil works with his team to make sense of the markets and advise farmer clients on timing of sales and marketing strategy. Before embarking on his Canadian ag career, Neil spent three years trying to buffer Northeastern Thai farmers from information disequilibrium. He lives in Winnipeg with his wife and three sons.

Nobody knows Ottawa better than Paul Wells. One of Canada’s leading political journalists, he has spent more than 25 years on the Hill, covering eight federal elections, four prime ministers, and a big piece of Canada's history. Fresh, funny, and authoritative, Wells speaks in both official languages on all matters of the day, from the nation’s position in the global economy, to the inside scoop on what’s really happening inside the Parliament buildings and beyond.

For 19 years, Wells was the lead political columnist at Maclean’s magazine. Prior to this, he was the national affairs columnist at The Toronto Star and has also written for the Globe and Mail and The National Post. Wells has won three gold National Magazine Awards and a National Newspaper Award, and has filed stories from 17 countries around the world covering the war in Afghanistan, the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, and three US presidential election campaigns.

Today, Wells is a regular political commentator on both the French- and English-language CBC networks. He has also launched a subscription newsletter, which is already one of the most widely read political newsletters in Canada. In fall 2022, Wells launched his podcast, The Paul Wells Show, in partnership with the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He is also a Senior Fellow.

A bestselling author, The New Yorker magazine called Wells "Canada's foremost Harperologist” with the release of his book on Stephen Harper, The Longer I'm Prime Minister. It is the only book to have ever won three major non-fiction book awards: The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize, the John W. Dafoe Book Prize, and the Ottawa Book Award.

Wells studied at the University of Western Ontario and the Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris. He also sits on the Advisory Committee of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs.