2018 Agvance Customer Conference

Product Owner

Dispatch Reimagined

In 2011 Andy joined SSI as a member of our Agronomy Customer Service Team specializing in Mapping, Dispatch, and Mobile Job Manager. In his current role of Product Owner, Andy is responsible for guiding one of our Agvance SKY teams as they design and develop the agronomy web and native apps utilizing new technologies and a fully web-based API to ensure the user experience is both pleasing and efficient.

Transition to Digital Agriculture

Rob works to manage initiatives to be as successful as possible. He is actively engaged in finding new business processes to help staff productivity. Rob uses his experience and understanding of the Agvance program to work with SSI’s vendors to agree on the best processes for all parties. Rob began his career with SSI in 1986 and has held a key role in program development over the years.

The SKY Transition Decoded

Joining SSI in 2003, Jessamy put her BS in Math and Computer Science to work, first as part of our Customer Service Team, then as a Business Analyst, and now as a Product Owner. Jessamy leads our Agvance SKY Platform team providing the foundation for SKY applications including shared services, identity, and access. Her experience has given her a unique perspective in understanding both the technical side and the user side of Agvance.

VP of Marketing

Customer Experience & Engagement

The Agvance Brand is synonymous with unmatched functionality and dependability. Dave is the man behind that brand. And not only does he develop the marketing voice of Agvance by overseeing the national sales and marketing of Agvance, he also lends his voice to the development of the product to address the needs of our customers while utilizing emerging technology. Dave joined the SSI team in 1989 and has a BS in Marketing from Millikin University.

GROWMARK

Transition to Digital Agriculture

Jacob graduated from Illinois State University with a B.S. in Finance and started his career with Western FS in 2001 as Assistant Controller. In 2004, he became the Controller at Lincoln Land FS and later that year earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield. In July 2013, he became the Director of IMS at GROWMARK, Inc. As Director of IMS he is responsible for the development, marketing, training, installation and support of all computer and information systems offered to member cooperatives, subsidiaries, retail divisions and customers in the U.S. and Ontario.

Director of Technology

General Session

One of those rare individuals who can excel in any role, Todd’s vast experience at SSI perfectly positions him to effectively lead and guide our development team. He is always open to new ideas and promotes forward thinking. In his role as Director of Technology, Todd has been instrumental in guiding the evolution of Agvance to the Cloud and making sure our customers are always ahead of the technology curve.

Curriculum Development

Explore Your Agvance Potential

Kim began working at SSI in 2015 developing educational and training curriculum to foster Agvance knowledge and learning. Kim loves to teach and brings enthusiasm and experience in education to her role at SSI. Presenting curriculum in different ways is important as we all learn differently, and Kim is always looking for better ways to help enrich our Agvance users.

Customer Advisor

Warehouse - Inventory at Your Fingertips

Melissa is an Accounting Customer Advocate on our Customer Support team. Utilizing her 5 years of experience with Agvance and her deep understanding of accounting and payroll, Melissa helps answer a wide variety of questions from our users. In addition to accounting, Melissa is also well versed in other Agvance tools and often serves on our implementation teams helping new Agvance customers with data setup and training.

Implementation Specialist

Explore Your Agvance Potential

Randy brings 23 years of experience in the Ag Retail industry to his role at SSI as an Implementation Specialist. He knows that understanding the current processes and goals of a business is key to a successful implementation. Randy assists customers in finding the most efficient workflows to accomplish their goals and then provides the training needed as they transition to Agvance.

Product Designer

Customer Experience & Engagement

Angie joined the Accounting Customer Service department at SSI in 2004 working mainly with the Energy Module. In her current position as User Experience Designer, she takes stories presented and develops solutions to questions presented in the stories. She applies what she’s learned in support as well as feedback from support staff and other team members as well as our users to validate the designs and then presents these designs to developers to build it out then present the solutions to stake holders and users for further validation.

Sales Account Manager

Mapping Reimagined

Spencer came to SSI in 2012 with a degree in Agricultural Consumer Economics and a minor in Crop and Soil Management. He gained experience and insight into all Agvance offers by supporting our Agvance Agronomy modules as well as training new users. Recently Spencer transitioned to a Sales Account Manager on our Sales Team and is now busy helping customers find the right balance of products to assist in their daily operations.

Product Owner

Agvance Accounting - Changing with the Times

Since 2015, Mackenzie has put her experience in both the public and corporate accounting environments to use at SSI. Mackenzie has a master's degree in Accounting and her CPA license, both important assets when working on specific accounting projects with our customers. Understanding the intricacies of accounting and the ins and outs of Agvance prepared Mackenzie for her current role as the Product Manager of legacy Agvance where she heads up the team that continues to keep Agvance moving forward to meet our current customers’ needs.

Support Team Manager

Supplier eLink - Put it to Work!

With a BS in Accounting and years of accounting experience, Mindy joined the Accounting Customer Service Team in 2013. Her experience in support, serving as a customer advocate for one of our larger co-ops, and training customers and staff have given Mindy unique insight and knowledge of Agvance Accounting and the needs of our customers. Mindy brings these tools to her current role as a Support Team Manager, helping provide great support to our customers.

Customer Service

Streamline Your Fuel Deliveries, Energy Roundtable

Ashley joined the SSI team in 2015. With a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a passion for customer service, Ashley is always ready to roll up her sleeves and assist our customers with their questions. As a Customer Advocate, she works to make sure customers get the help they need. Along with Accounting, Ashley is experienced with our Energy module and enjoys assisting customers to keep their Energy departments running smoothly.

The Equity

Transition to Digital Agriculture

Natasha started her career at The Equity in 2011 as a software trainer and helped facilitate the cooperative’s implementation of Agvance. In her current role as Information Services Director, she works with technology vendors to ensure that The Equity is staying current and using innovative solutions to provide services for their customers. Her involvement in AgGateway began in 2014. As Chair of the Ag Retail Council, Natasha provides leadership to that council’s mission of connecting the retail link in the ag supply chain.

Product Owner

Accounting: Q & A

Craig has been with SSI since 2003 during which time he has served as a customer advocate for the Accounting, Grain and Agronomy products as well as being SSI's key contact for some of our corporate accounts. Currently, Craig is a SKY Product Manager, where he works with a team consisting of developers, UX, and Operations staff as they research, prioritize and code changes to Agvance SKY.

Implementation Specialist

Accounting: Q & A

Assisting customers transitioning to Agvance is Barb’s specialty. She brings a BS in Organizational Management and extensive experience in the software industry to her role as an Implementation Specialist. Barb knows how to listen to the customer, gather the information needed, develop a game plan, and keep a company on track to accomplish their implementation goals.

Implementation Specialist

Accounting: Q & A

Paul joined SSI in 2007 as an Implementation Specialist. With a BS in Ag Business Administration and spending several years in management positions in ag retail settings, Paul brings ‘hands on’ experience to his role. He can relate to the demands of the ag industry and what it takes to transition to a new business system. Combining this with his knowledge of Agvance, Paul is able to deliver the consulting and training services customers need as they transition to Agvance.

Implementation Specialist

Accounting: Q & A

Debbie’s prior years of experience as the Controller for an ag retail facility provides industry knowledge that she applies as she assists customers in transitioning to Agvance. Starting with our Customer Service Team in 2006, Debbie now is an important part of our Implementation Team. Debbie is a ‘boots on the ground’ implementer, often taking a customer from the initial conversation, through setting up data, to training the staff.

Customer Advisor

Ease the Grain Workflow

Katie joined our SSI Team this year bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and real-life experience as an Agvance user which has proven very valuable as she stepped into the role of supporting and training our customers. Previously working as a Grain Accounting Coordinator, Katie is well versed in Agvance Grain and grain accounting and can help our customers apply the tools in Agvance to their everyday work processes.

President

General Session

Since founding the company in 1981, Pam has guided the company’s culture and spearheaded its growth. She is a hands-on leader, a master at simplifying the complex, a mentor, and remains one of the industry’s most respected experts. Pam has a BS in Mathematics from the University of Illinois and lives on a cattle farm with her husband Curt a few miles south of Shelbyville.

Support Team Manager

Agvance Analytics Roundtable

Prior to coming to SSI in 2012, Denise was an Agvance user for a seed company for almost 8 years. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Communications and her years of experience with the seed industry, Denise has a thorough understanding of the ever-evolving world of agriculture and the knowledge to navigate these changes with our customers. Denise works as a Support Team Manager sharing her expertise and continuing to build our Customer Service Team to better serve you, our Agvance family.

IS Team Lead

What's All the Buzz About Hosted?

Darin, an IS Support Specialist since 2013, came to SSI with over six years of experience as a Hardware Support Technician with a software developer. Darin utilizes both his work experience and his AAS in Network Administration to assist Agvance customers and their IT consultants. Whether supporting our hosted environment for Agvance, working with other software interfaces, or researching new technologies, Darin’s passion is to make your Agvance experience the best it can be.

Developer

Introducing Agvance Analytics
Agvance Analytics Roundtable

As a Project Manager, Brandon and his team are responsible for developing the Agvance Analytics feature in SKY. They are working hard to reimagine how to get our users information from Agvance in the way they need it and put powerful decision-making tools at their fingertips. Brandon has been at SSI since 2004 and taps into his bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and his years as an Agvance Business Analyst to see things from both the developer’s side as well as the customer’s side. This combination gives him a solid background for leading our Business Intelligence Team.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

USDA - Funding and Technical Assistance

Mary is the Business & Cooperative Programs Director with USDA Rural Development in the Champaign State Office. She began working with Rural Development in the spring of 2006. During her tenure at Rural Development, she has worked with Community Programs and also Multi-Family Housing Programs. In December 2016, she became Business Programs Director and oversees all business-related programs in Illinois. Mary was raised on a grain farm in southern Illinois and is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance.

Project Manager

Streamline Your Fuel Deliveries

After several years in the banking industry including six years as Director of Trust Operations, Martha has the financial and accounting experience to assist Agvance customers with their accounting questions. Martha has also developed a deep knowledge and understanding of the Energy program since she started at SSI in 2014. Whether working with existing Agvance users or training new ones, Martha’s ability to take detailed information and develop an efficient Agvance workflow helps customers be successful in their job.

Implementation Manager

Accounting: Q & A

Working as an office manager at a multi-site ag retail business provided Scott with ‘real world’ experience in the ag industry. That, along with a BS in Accounting, gives Scott a solid background for serving on our Implementation Team since 1999. Now as Implementation Manager, Scott is often the first point of contact when an implementation begins. He also oversees staff members dedicated to helping customers achieve a successful migration to Agvance whether a brand-new business, migrating from a different software, or working through a merger.