Juan Luciano, President and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, was the featured speaker during the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program “Richard Ryan Seminar on Economics & the Marketplace,” held in Chicago January 18-20, 2017.
Mr. Luciano spoke at CME Group headquarters about “Leadership in Times of Transformational Change,” noting changes in world demographics, consumer preferences and connectivity. He shared personal stories of his career development and leadership style that left a profound impact on class members.
Mr. Juan Luciano, President and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, discusses global trends in food and agriculture industry with the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program Class of 2018.
The seminar featured 12 speakers over the three days, beginning with Bob Engel, Senior Advisor and Recent CEO of CoBank, who provided an economic outlook for rural America. David Oppedahl, Senior Business Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, gave the class an overview of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the programs and information the Fed provides to the agricultural industry.
The second day of the program was held at the world-renowned Booth Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. The class was welcomed by Stacey Kole, Deputy Dean for Alumni, Corporate Relations and the Full-Time MBA Program, at the Booth School of Business.
Seminar sponsor Richard Ryan spoke about his tenure as a student at the University of Chicago as a student, and gave a brief synopsis of the rich history of the institution and its relationship with agriculture.
Michael J. Gibbs, Clinical Professor of Economics, introduced the class to concepts in economics in a speech entitled, “What’s So Great about Markets?” Kevin Murphy, George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, reviewed his research in the benefits and problems with the U.S. education system in his speech, “Human Capital, Inequality and Growth.” Chris Collins, Associate Dean for Leadership Development for the Full-Time MBA Program, talked about “Leadership Effectiveness and Development.”
The afternoon at the University of Chicago concluded with a discussion and demonstration by Harry L. Davis, the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management, and John Michael Schert, Visiting Artist & Social Entrepreneur. Mr. Schert is an accomplished ballet dancer, formerly with the American Ballet Theatre and Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and demonstrated how creativity can enhance business and employee engagement.
Social entrepreneur John Michael Schert uses ballet and other art forms to demonstrate creative insights for business from the arts for the IALP Class of 2018.
The final day of the seminar was held at CME Group global headquarters and featured Tim Andriesen, Managing Director, Agricultural Commodities and Alternative Investments at CME. He welcomed the group and spoke about “The Role of CME Group Markets in the Global Food Industry and Food Security.” Professor Paul Peterson from the University of Illinois College of Business gave the class an historical look at Chicago’s role as a leader in the food and agriculture sector of America. The session was completed by Mr. Luciano from ADM.
The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation provides a 19-month seminar series that develops knowledgeable and effective leaders to become policy and decision makers for the agricultural industry, in addition to Advanced Leadership Training for program alumni, commodity groups and other agricultural organizations. It is a non-profit educational corporation under Illinois law. A board of directors, comprised of recognized leaders in agriculture and business, oversees the program.
