Career Profile

Agricultural merchandising professional with track record of creating growth in privately held commodity marketing organization through strategic negotiation of procurement and distribution contracts, managing logistics and building systems. Experience includes:

  • Commodities merchandising, risk management and logistics with expertise in trading cash, futures and options markets.
  • Identifying marketing strategies for business and customers.
  • Balanced inventory position relative to supply/demand factors.
  • Negotiating advantageous contract terms with small businesses and large multi-national corporations as well as freight rates with multiple logistics carriers and multiple locations.
  • Managing complex business relations through variety of business functions. Customer A/R and P&L responsibility.
  • Planning and forecasting for $22 million private business.
  • Leading acquisition successes as growth strategy.
  • Managing business through investor-owned then final sale.

•  APICS certification pending.

Career Accomplishments

Procurement

  • Procured over $20 million of commodity products per year, consistently doubling the standard margin, maximizing cotango.
  • Developed and managed a computerized open-order system that linked customer pricing offers with actively trading markets that increased sales volume by over 5% and delighted customers.

Negotiation

  • Skilled negotiator of hundreds of customer strategic sales contracts per year.
  • Defended company's right to use a gathered-rate railroad tariff saving $21,000 per year.
  • Consistently secured most advantageous contract terms through strong industry expertise.
  • Expanded warehouse capacity through competitor acquisitions from 1.06 to 2.64 million bushels.

Planning, Forecasting and Analysis

  • Forecasted and budgeted $1.8 million in annual PS&A expenses, consistently holding costs below inflation.
  • Developed inventive indexing system to analyze previously untracked inventory costs, increasing average profits by over 10%.
  • Went beyond traditional forecasting model to include high-impact warehouse turnover options in the annual demand plan making it possible to forward-order scarce freight resources at critical times.
  • Authored an inventory measuring system to USDA standards and transitioned to the field by lap-top computer, improving accuracy by $60,000.

 

 

Managing Complex Business Relations

  • Experienced in cultivating successful business relationships with multi-national companies including Cargill, CHS and ADM.
  • Capitalized on opportunity to purchase two competing business in upper-Midwest, pushing ROE from 5% to 12%.
  • Worked with investor-owners through sale of business.

Transportation and Logistics

  • Originated, directed and expanded to 3,200 truck/rail car shipments per year from 1,000 in span of six years.
  • Developed plan to eliminate logistics deficiencies, including retraining 20 employees, which lowered costs by $28,000 per year.
  • Doubled product volumes after upgrading logistic capabilities of facilities to unit-train status leading to preferred freight rates and increased profits.

Experience

Speltz Elevators, Inc., Minneapolis/Albert Lea, MN 1986 to 2005

-- a $22-million warehouse, shipping and commodity marketing company.

General Manager

-- Consistently maintained stability of the company in a highly competitive industry leading to steady promotions from:

•  buyer/merchandiser -1992

•  logistics, truck and rail specialist -1998

•  business planner and forecaster -1999

•  business development, acquisitions and finance -2001

•  executive team leadership position with P&L responsibility -2003

Previous experience as a Stock Broker with Merrill Lynch, Minneapolis, MN, specializing in options and as an Engineer with Sargent & Lundy Engineers, Chicago, IL, specializing in structural analysis.

Education

MBA, Finance , Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

BCE, Civil Engineering , Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

BS, Natural Science , Mathematics, St. John's University,

Collegeville, MN

APICS Certified - Supply Chain Professional (CSCP ) pending

MOS Certified- Excel

Affiliation

American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS)

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)

National Grain & Feed Assoc. (NGFA)

Midwest Shippers Association

Specialty Grains Association

Toastmaster