Tore Alden began his career as an analyst for the Agricultural Marketing Group at Smith Barney. When the group left to form International Agribusiness Group (IAG), he directed the firm’s fundamental research reports covering the markets for grain, oilseed, coffee, frozen concentrated orange juice, along with oil and natural gas. After leaving IAG, he developed and implemented trading strategies for grain, oilseed and livestock for a hedge fund. Before joining The Jacobsen, he covered the oilseed complex for Informa Economics. Tore covers the Vegetable Oils Bulletin for The Jacobsen.

David Becker is an analyst and portfolio manager with 30 years of experience in the capital markets. Prior to joining The Jacobsen, he worked for 2-investment banks and 3-hedge funds in London and New York, focusing on commodities, fixed income, equities and foreign exchange. David is the editor of The Jacobsen’s Organic & Non-GMO Bulletin.

Wei Chen is a full stack software engineer with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from The College of Saint Rose. She has a decade of experience building software for a variety of industries primarily using Microsoft’s tech stack. At The Jacobsen, she is focused on developing and maintaining web applications for both new and existing product offerings.

John Cusick has 15 years of experience as a trader in biodiesel and biodiesel feedstock. His career has included work for the trading upstart RBF Port Neches, Texas, the largest biodesel production facility in the US, along with Morgan Stanley Commodities, Trafigura, Glencore and Imperium Renewables. He has successfully navigated the complex and challenging relationship between agricultural inputs and energy outputs woven into the fabric of regulatory credits.

John Donicht earned a degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota. In the 1990s, he traded fats and oils for five years before joining with a partner to create By-Products Interactive (BPI). BPI created a platform to trade by-product commodities that were not traded on a centralized exchange. BPI acquired The Jacobsen Publishing Company in 2000 and John has been President since 2001.

Gary Gagnon has three decades of experience as an executive in the hide and leather industry including 19 years as the Vice President and General Manager of Prime Tanning’s web blue tanning facility in St. Joseph, Missouri. He has extensive knowledge of the mechanisms that drive the global hide, leather and wet blue tanning industries. In 2008, he joined The Jacobson as an analyst and the editor of our Hide Bulletin.

David Gavensky has over 35 years working in the hide and leather industry in South America. He worked for A.J. Hollander y Asociadoa S. A.; Tannerco S.A. as the general manager; Curtasa S.A. as general manager; Curtarsa Curtiembre Argentina S.A. as foreign trade manager; GST AutoLeather, Inc. as Director of South American Business Development. Today he is a consultant in the leather business, utilizing his vast wealth of knowledge and contacts in the business over the decades

Rich comes to The Jacobsen with a wide experience of financial, sales and entrepreneurial experiences. After earning a BS in Finance, Rich’s experience started out with co-founding a cigar manufacturing business then transitioned to a specialist on the floor of the Boston Stock Exchange. He spent several years as a Sales Operations Manager and two different firms. Rich is also a licensed real estate agent and has held that title for 20 year. Aside from work, Rich is a family man with a loving wife and three kids that are his number one priority outside of golf, hockey, tennis and surfing.

Chase Hubbard earned his degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC and later completed NC State’s Agricultural Leadership Development Program. His career in farm management — including a broad range of crops, livestock, and markets – received widespread local and national recognition for progressive agricultural practices and for mentoring young farmers. Chase’s unique perspectives in agriculture result from deep sector knowledge across many commodities and geography, ranging from Western North Carolina to Latin America and Southeast Asia. In addition to farming full-time, he served as an elected Soil and Water Supervisor, and in appointed leadership roles for local/state agricultural committees and commodity groups. Chase is now covering the emerging hemp industry for The Jacobsen.

Hamed is an experienced researcher and engineer. Hamed earned his Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Washington, and his master’s degree in Business Analytics from the University of Minnesota. He has almost ten years of experience in R&D, having investigating topics in surface chemistry, biophysics, and nanotechnology. Here at the Jacobsen, Hamed is using machine learning to forecast and gain insights into key commodity markets.

Bob Lane holds an MBA and a BBA in finance from Loyola University in Chicago. He has experience in real estate asset management and spent more than 15 years as a professional analyst and trader for options, futures and equities on the floors of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Bob is a commodity analyst and editor of the Biodiesel and Grain & Feed Bulletins for The Jacobsen.

George earned his degree in environmental studies from Shippensburg University. Prior to joining The Jacobsen, George was the co-founder and President at Imulus, a digital agency in Boulder, Colorado. Today, George brings his entrepreneurial energy to The Jacobsen where he applies his knowledge of sales and marketing to help promote and grow the influence of The Jacobsen.

Erin Perkins has more than seven years of experience in technology sales with an expertise in account management, relationship building and customer support. She manages software solutions, accounting and marketing for The Jacobsen. She is committed to making sure you have the technology tools to achieve your goals.

Ryan Standard earned a degree in English literature and history from Monmouth College, while maintaining a parallel track in economics. With a background in logistics and sales, he joined The Jacobsen in 2007 as an analyst and the editor of the Animal Fats and Feed Bulletins, and contributor to the Biodiesel Bulletin. He has built a solid, reliable network of sources to inform his industry analysis.

Alexandra Watts has earned her BS in Finance and the Spanish language from Bryant University. During her time at Bryant University, Alexandra was a securities analyst and a portfolio manager in the technology sector of the student run equity portfolio called the Archway Investment Fund. She also competed for the school’s Division I Track & Field team, specializing in the pole vault. Professionally, she has experience with UBS Financial Services, concentrating in Wealth Management. Alexandra resides in Boulder, Colorado with her dog Boomer.  Alexandra has a passion for health, animals and sustainability. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, running, cooking and traveling.