Optibrand is fortunate to count as members of its Advisory Board the following business and industry leaders: Brent Backman, Jim Fuller, Alan Glueck, Paul Hudnut, Phil James and Dr. Gary Smith.
Mr. Backman started his career at Hughes Aircraft Company, ultimately becoming the Business Manager of a $400 million research lab. He left Hughes to help found Ion Tech, which was acquired by Veeco Instruments. He co-founded Advanced Energy Industries in 1981, a company that designs and manufactures subsystems for the semiconductor equipment market. Brent was a Vice President of AE from its incorporation until April 1998, and remains on the Board of Directors. AE differentiated itself by growing to well over $100 million without any outside capital until it went public in 1995. In 1995, Brent founded GDBA Investments, LLLP, a broad-based investment company with a special focus on small technology start-up companies.
Mr. Fuller brings to Optibrand an extensive international business background with high growth companies. At Heska Corporation, he was President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for all commercial and manufacturing operations. At
Allergan, an international medical products company, he was President, Latin America Region and Corporate Vice President. He has had full P&L responsibilities for international business units, including sales, marketing, and manufacturing operations. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Southern California.
Alan Glueck has worked in the meat industry all his life. A native of Fresno, California, he attended the University of California in Berkeley, graduating in 1958. Alan got his start in the meat industry when he went to work for his father’s company, Watsonville Dressed Beef. He left his fathers company in 1965 to work for Cudahy-Bar S Foods. In 1971 he began a long career with John Morrell and Company where, after serving in several locations as plant manager and regional manager, he was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President for Beef and Lamb.
In 1984, Alan joined ConAgra as President of the Armour Fresh Meat Company. During his 17 year career at ConAgra he held several senior positions with the company including President of ConAgra Beef Companies and President of ConAgra Red Meats Company. As president of ConAgra Red Meats, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide beef and lamb business.
Alan retired from ConAgra in 2002 to form Glueck and Associates Consulting, a Greeley Colorado meat industry consulting firm. Alan’s firm specializes in livestock procurement, plant operations and yields, food safety, and sales and marketing consulting. He has customers around the world but works primarily in the United States and Australia.
Top
Mr. Hudnut has extensive business development experience, most recently as the Vice President of Corporate Business Development for PR Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he was Executive Vice President at Heska Corporation, a NASDAQ listed company, and was responsible for business development, legal affairs and intellectual property. From 1988-96, he held various positions in business development, marketing and general management with US WEST. From 1985-1988, Hudnut practiced corporate law with Davis, Graham & Stubbs in Denver. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1984, and graduated from the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 1991. He received his B.A. from Colorado College.
Mr. James is a Senior Vice President in the Environment, Health and Safety Division at ConAgra, Inc. He has extensive business experience, having co-founded United Agri Products, a leading formulator/distributor of crop protection inputs in the U.S. United Agri Products is now a wholly owned subsidiary of ConAgra, Inc. Prior to founding United Agri Products, Mr. James held several sales positions with Monsanto Chemical. He has and continues to service on the Boards of Directors for several industry and related companies. He has a bachelor’s degree from Kansas University and an MBA from Stanford.
Top
Gary C. Smith occupied the Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science at Colorado State University in June of 1990. Previously, he served as a Professor (1969-1982) and Head (1982-1990) of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University where he won the Outstanding Teaching Performance Award, the Honor Professor Award, the College of Agriculture Teaching Award, the University Distinguished Teaching Award and the Deputy Chancellor’s Award for Team Research.
Gary has won both the Distinguished Research Award and the Distinguished Teaching Award from both the American Society of Animal Science and the American Meat Science Association. He has also been awarded the National Association of Meat Purveyors—Outstanding Educator Award, the National Livestock Grading and Marketing Association—Service Award (three times; in 1979, 1988 and 1995), the Livestock Publications Council—Headliner Award, and was named one of the “25 Who Made a Difference” by Beef magazine.
In 1993, he was named a University Distinguished Professor by Colorado State University and a Fellow-In-Teaching by the American Society of Animal Science; in 1994 he was named one of six “Industry Innovators” by Meat Marketing and Technology magazine. In 1989, he was named a Distinguished Alumni by College of the Sequoias; in 1996 he received the Alumni Award of Excellence from California State University-Fresno. In 1997, he received the Meritorious Service Award from the Intercollegiate Meat Coaches Association of the American Meat Science Association and the Meat Industry Achievement Award from the American Meat Institute. In 1998, he was the recipient of the “Floyd Forbes Award” for service to the National Meat Association and of the Secretariat of Agriculture of Argentina, Service Recognition Award. In 1999, Gary received the Top Choice Award from the Colorado Livestock Association and was named the Distinguished Alumnus in Science, Education and Technology by Washington State University. The International Livestock Education Foundation inducted him into the International Stockmen's Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the CSU Mortar Board National Honor Society Appreciation Award in 2000. College of the Sequoias honored him with the Outstanding Service Award (Support of Intercollegiate Meat Judging) 2000. In 2000, he was the recipient of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, 2001 Vision Award—Region 5, 2000 and the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The American Meat Science Association honored him with the R.C. Pollock Award in 2001. He received the Beefmaster Breeders United, Commitment To Excellence Award, 2001. In 2002, he was selected as CSURF Honored Researcher by the Colorado State University Research Foundation. He was listed in ISI Thomson Scientific’s, 2002 Highly Cited Researchers.
Smith’s research interests include red meat safety, carcass evaluation and grading; composition, quality and palatability of red meat; and, packaging and retailing of red meat. He has published 398 full-length articles in refereed scientific journals and more than 825 other contributions as proceedings, technical reports, etc. Gary served as President of the American Meat Science Association in 1976. For the National Academy of Sciences, he was chairman of the Committee that wrote “Irradiation of Meat and Meat Products” (1979) and a member of the Committee that wrote “Designing Foods.” (1988). For the Office of Technology Assessment, he was a member of the Committee that wrote “Packaging and Labeling of Fresh Red Meat” (1974).
