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Registration & Introductions

Keynote: The Value of Strategic Advisory Boards & Strong Management Teams
Ejnar Knudsen, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AGR Partners

The Role of Supply Chain in Driving Growth
Mike McLaughlin, Board Member, Advisor, and former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Clif Bar & Company

Panel 1 – Driving Transformation in Legacy Food Businesses: Succession & Systems

Panelists: 

• • Juan Valdes, Chief Financial Officer, Delicato
  • Brent Hansston, Chief Financial Officer, A. Duda & Sons
  • Aaron Anticic, Chief Financial Officer, Michigan Milk Producers
  • K-deep Dhaliwal, Managing Principal, Baker Tilly (moderator)

Panel 2 – Hiring and Capital Allocation in Scaling Food & Beverage Companies

Panelists:

• • • Dan Mader, Chief Executive Officer, Rustic Bakery
    • Kristel Corson, Chief Revenue Officer, Adams Group
    • Ejnar Knudsen, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AGR Partners (moderator)

Networking & Cocktail Hour

AGR Partners’ Cocktail Reception at Ella Dining Room & Bar

Founder & CEO, AGR Partners

AGR Partners is a specialist food and agribusiness investor that provides long-term capital to grow industry leaders. The firm can provide common equity, preferred equity, or subordinated debt in amounts ranging from $10 million to $150 million. The funds can be used for acquisitions, to strengthen balance sheets, for large capex projects, dividends, or to assist active managers in buying out non-active owners and increasing their respective ownership percentage. Over the last 12 years, AGR Partners has provided twenty companies with over $835 million in growth capital. www.agrpartners.com

Ejnar is AGR’s founder and Chief Executive Officer and oversees the firm’s investment strategy. He serves on the boards of several AGR portfolio companies.

Prior to founding AGR, Ejnar served as executive vice president of Western Milling, a grain and feed milling company that grew from a single site in Goshen, CA to over $2 billion in sales and is now the largest animal feed company in the Western United States. He also spent 10 years with Rabobank, in its New York office, managing a loan portfolio and venture capital investments as well as providing corporate advisory services.

Ejnar’s first job was on his family’s dairy farm. He received his B.S. from Cornell University and is a CFA Charter holder.

Managing Principal – Food, Beverage, and Agribusiness, Baker Tilly

K-deep Dhaliwal is a Managing Principal for Baker Tilly and has worked in the field of audit and advisory for over 15 years and has cultivated a deep expertise in guiding agribusiness clients towards financial and operational efficiency. With a strong foundation in the industry, K-deep has become a recognized leader in the field and leads Baker Tilly’s Agribusiness Practice. His insights and strategic guidance have played a pivotal role in helping businesses navigate the complexities of the agribusiness landscape.

K-deep specializes in audit and advisory for both privately owned and institutional investor and private equity owned companies.

Board Member, Advisor, and former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Clif Bar & Company

Mike McLaughlin has worked in branded food, agriculture and consumer products for nearly forty years. He has deep expertise in operations and supply chain, and in helping mid-market, entrepreneurial-driven companies scale their brands and build high performing teams. As a board member and advisor, he has assisted numerous founders, CEOs, and CSCOs on issues ranging from supply chain excellence, organizational structure, growth strategies, risk mitigation and mentoring. Mike was Chief Supply Chain Officer at Clif Bar & Company for twelve years, where he led the growth and transformation of their supply chain and ultimately integration into Mondelez, which acquired Clif Bar in 2022. He also held executive positions at Driscoll’s, Bell-Carter Foods and The Quaker Oats Company. 

CFO, A. Duda & Sons

Brent Hansston is the Chief Financial Officer of A. Duda & Sons, Inc., a diversified family-owned company with operations in real estate, commercial properties, and food and agriculture. In his role, Brent oversees finance, accounting, and information technology, supporting the company’s mission to deliver long-term value across all divisions.

With more than 30 years of leadership experience in agribusiness, food, and real estate, Brent has guided organizations through transformational growth, digital innovation, and financial turnarounds. Prior to joining Duda, he served as CFO for leading organizations including Dole Fresh Vegetables, Grimmway Enterprises, Pomona Farming, and Al Dahra ACX Global. Brent began his career with KPMG and later held senior finance roles at Constellation Brands.

A licensed CPA, Brent earned his BBA in Accountancy from California State University, Fresno, and completed the Executive Development Program at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

CFO, Michigan Milk Producers

Aaron Anticic is the CFO at Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) and is responsible for managing and overseeing all financial activities of MMPA, ensuring the organization’s long-term financial stability, and supporting its strategic vision.  Aaron joined MMPA in June 2024.  Founded in 1916, MMPA is a dairy farmer owned cooperative and dairy processor and serves dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Most recently prior to MMPA, Aaron spent over 13 years at Mastronardi Produce, a pioneer and industry leader in the gourmet greenhouse industry.  During his tenure with Mastronardi Produce, Aaron built and led various accounting and finance teams which played a central role in the development of strategy and in managerial decision making throughout the organization.

Aaron holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario, Canada. He lives in the Metro Detroit area with his wife and children.

CFO, Delicato

Juan Valdes leads the Finance, IT, and Compliance functions at Delicato Family Wines, the fifth-largest winery in the U.S. by sales. He is accountable for corporate strategy, board reporting, funding of operations, acquisitions, and long-term planning. Prior to joining Delicato, Juan was a key leader at Bacardi-Martini, the world’s largest privately held spirits company, where he held global financial, project, and corporate transformation roles.

He has worked for more than 20 years on boards, advisory committees, and councils. Juan founded Delicato’s internship program, creating career pathways for students in accounting and IT, and as Executive Sponsor of the company’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, has expanded the program from one to six national chapters with more than 100 active members. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Florida State University, and a Master of Science degree in Accountancy from Florida International University. Juan and his wife Tina reside in Woodbridge, California.

CEO, Rustic Bakery

Dan Mader is the CEO of Rustic Bakery, a leading artisan bakery specializing in organic sourdough flatbreads. His focus is on bringing artisanal baking practices to scale while continuously improving on the award-winning quality of the brand. With 18 years in Natural & Organic food business, he has been a passionate advocate for making healthier food options available to all consumers with his commercial leadership in multiple categories. Dan holds a BS in Business Management from California State University, Chico, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

CRO, Adams Group

Kristel Corson is the Chief Revenue Officer at Adams Group, a fifth-generation, family-owned food company crafting with integrity from seed to shelf. She leads the company’s growth strategy including scaling its specialty ingredient business and driving consumer expansion through Marianne’s line of pantry essentials.

A maverick in the consumer industry with nearly 30 years of experience, Kristel has held leadership roles at Traditional Medicinals, Clover Sonoma, Clif Bar & Co., Jamba Juice, and LeapFrog, where she consistently propelled brand growth, innovation, and consumer engagement. She also serves on the board of Naturally NorCal and is active in One Step Closer 2 (OSC2), both supporting the natural product industry and brands. 

A graduate of San Francisco State University, Kristel lives in Sonoma County with her husband and two children.