SPEAKERS
Sunday March 9th Transportation Open Forum
Eastern Class I Rail Panel
Kathryn Gainey, Senior Director, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs, CN
Ted Johnson, Director, Marketing – Agriculture & Food Products, CSX Transportation
James Wilson, Marketing Director, Norfolk Southern
Representatives from NS, CN, and CSX will discuss issues such as hybrid powered trains, track sharing between passenger and freight rail, and CN’s acquisition of the Iowa Northern Railway.
Western Class I Rail Panel
Jared Farmer, Managing Director – Sales, CPKC
Ryan Raess, General Director – Grain, Union Pacific
Matt White, General Director, Agricultural Products Marketing, BNSF Railway
Representatives from BNSF, UP, and CPKC will discuss issues such as current operations with FXE, impacts of the CPKC merger, and PNW operations.
STB and the Focus on Transparency, Accountability and Collaboration
Patrick Fuchs
Chairman
Surface Transportation Board
Newly appointed Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs will discuss the Board’s 2025 focus on transparency, accountability, and collaboration in transportation.
Patrick Fuchs was designated as Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board by President Donald J. Trump, effective January 20, 2025. He was sworn in on January 17, 2019, as a Member of the Board and re-confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 14, 2024. His second term expires on January 14, 2029.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fuchs was senior professional staff member working on surface transportation and maritime issues for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under the leadership of Chairman John Thune of South Dakota.
Monday March 10th General Session
Current Operations and Recent Advancements at CSX
Joseph Hinrichs
President & CEO
CSX Transportation
In a fireside chat, Hinrichs and NGFA leaders will review the Class I railroad’s operations and CSX’s advancements in culture, customer service, safety, and technology.
Joseph R. Hinrichs, a leader with more than 30 years of experience in the global automotive, manufacturing, and energy sectors, was named President and Chief Executive Officer of CSX in September 2022. Hinrichs brings to CSX a commitment to operational excellence, experience building global businesses through investment in people and culture, and a deep understanding of balancing safety and efficiency in a complex industry. In 2025, he was named the Railway Age Railroader of the Year, honoring his “immediate and long-term positive impacts on the freight rail industry.” This recognition highlights the various initiatives he has spearheaded at CSX to create a more collaborative and customer-centric culture while improving the dynamic between management and rail labor.
Hinrichs previously served as President of Ford Motor Company’s global automotive business. Hinrichs holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering magna cum laude from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He also holds an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters from Tiffin University and an Honorary Doctor of Science and Business Administration from Cleary University.
NGFA Chairman’s Address
Chris Boerm
President, Global Transportation
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Chairman, NGFA Board of Directors
Chairman Boerm will give the annual “State of the Association” presentation, highlighting recent wins and what NGFA will focus on in the coming year.
Boerm joined ADM in 1991 and has served in a variety of merchandising and management positions since that time. He most recently served as president, Grain, and before that, as advisor, Office of the Chairman. He also served as the vice president and general manager of Eastern Grain and Corn Processing Origination and as a senior merchandising manager for ADM’s Corn Processing business unit. Boerm has served or serves on the boards for ADM Insurance, ADM Harvest Shipping, Pacificor Inc, Benson Quinn Commodities, the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, and the Executive Committee of National Grain and Feed Association. Chris is also member of ADM’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. Boerm holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and management from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Key Trends That Defined the 2024 Election and What’s In Store for 2025
David Wasserman
Senior Editor & Political Analyst
The Cook Report with Amy Walter
The 2024 elections ushered in full GOP control of the White House and Congress, albeit with narrow majorities in the House and Senate. In an engaging and strictly nonpartisan presentation, David Wasserman takes audiences on a tour of the trends that defined the 2024 election and what’s in store for Washington in 2025 and beyond.
David Wasserman is the Senior Election Analyst for the non-partisan newsletter, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, and a contributor to NBC News. Founded in 1984, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter provides analyses of U.S. presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial races. The New York Times called The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter “a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative. Prior to joining the The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter in 2007, Wasserman served for three years as House editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a widely respected political analysis newsletter and website founded by renowned University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato. A native of New Jersey, Wasserman is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the 2006 Emmerich-Wright Outstanding Thesis prize.
Tuesday March 11th General Session
Why Smart Businesses Will Use the Future of AI to Improve Operations
Jake Joraanstad
CEO
Bushel
The next wave of AI advancements will be around embedding generative AI and machine learning within existing workflows and systems, known as AI agents. Forward-thinking organizations will harness these autonomous decision-making capabilities to optimize operations – learn why.
Jake Joraanstad is the CEO of Bushel, an independently owned and operated software company headquartered in Fargo, N.D. Bushel is focused on bringing innovative software products and solutions to the agriculture value chain. Since launching in 2017, Bushel’s software powers 3,500+ ag retail and grain facilities and reaches over 100,000 farmers across the U.S. and Canada with real-time business information for their producers.
Key Intelligence on the Geopolitical Forces Shaping Agriculture
Mark Purdy
Executive Vice President
The Directions Group
Mark Purdy, Executive Vice President of the The Directions Group agri-food team, joins us at convention to discuss the geopolitical forces currently shaping agriculture and provide key intelligence insights to help you develop business strategies to succeed in this current complex environment.
Mark Purdy graduated from West Point, served as an Army Colonel, and has 30 years of leadership experience. His roles included leading combat units and managing large security portfolios. He was also Director of Wargames Operations at the U.S. Army War College. Raised on an Ohio farm, he holds master’s degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Operational Art.
Strategies to Help Leaders Manage in Tomorrow’s Complex Work Environment
Melissa Swift
Founder & CEO
Anthrome Insight
Technology, complexity, and a generally overwhelming world have made the work of leadership tougher. In this talk Melissa Swift gives leaders practical, research-backed strategies to guide their teams with finesse in tomorrow’s complex work environment.
Melissa Swift is the founder and CEO of leadership and organizational advisory firm Anthrome Insight. Across her diverse career, she has founded a research institute on leadership of the future for Russell Reynolds Associates, launched two ESG practices at Deloitte, and conducted landmark carbon credit trades for Deutsche Bank. In her consulting career, Swift led people transformation practices for Capgemini, Mercer, and Korn Ferry, leading large teams across industries for work that spanned the globe. Swift is the author of the book Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace, which explores practical strategies to get to a more human future of work. She writes a quarterly and widely read column on leadership and culture for MIT Sloan Management Review, her research has been published in Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal, and her insights have been quoted in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Economist, Axios, and more.