Presenter Biographies

Marshall Horn

Director, Market Surveillance Branch

Eastern Region

Division of Market Oversight

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Mr. Horn is the Director of the Market Surveillance Branch in the New York office of the 

CFTC. He and his staff are responsible for overseeing the New York markets to detect 

and prevent price manipulation and market disruption, and to enforce speculative limits. 

Mr. Horn has worked in the surveillance area, first as an economist and since 1978 as a 

supervisor, since the inception of the Commission. He holds BA and MA degrees in 

economics from the City University of New York.

Thomas W. Farley

President and Chief Operating Office

ICE Futures, US

Mr. Farley joined ICE Futures, U.S. (formerly known as NYBOT) in February 2007 as 

President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Farley is also a member of the Board of 

Directors of ICE Futures U.S. Prior to joining ICE Futures, U.S., from July 2006 to 

January 2007, Mr. Farley was President of SunGard Kiodex, a risk management 

technology provider to the commodity derivatives markets. From October 2000 to July 

2006, Mr. Farley served as Kiodex’s Chief Financial Officer and he also served as 

Kiodex’s Chief Operating Officer from January 2003 to July 2006. Prior to Kiodex, Mr. 

Farley held positions in investment banking and private equity. Mr. Farley holds a 

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Georgetown University.

Thomas Jordan Lea 

Partner and Chairman of Eastern Trading Company

President of the American Cotton Shippers Association

Jordan Lea is a partner and Chairman of Eastern Trading Company a cotton 

merchandising firm located in Greenville, South Carolina. He graduated from North 

Carolina State University in 1989 with BA in Business Administration. He began his 

career in cotton with Dunavant Enterprises in 1990 graduating from the Memphis Cotton 

Exchange School in 1991. He worked in various capacities with Dunavant in Memphis, 

Dunavant South America, Australia and in their export sales operation until 1996.

In 1996 he went to work for his father’s company Eastern Trading Company and then in 

1998 he and his partner purchased the company. Mr. Lea has served as President of 

the Greenville Cotton Exchange, the Atlantic Cotton Association and currently serves as 

President of the American Cotton Shippers Association. He currently serves on the 

Board of Directors of the National Cotton Council, Cotton Council International, and 

serves on the Warehouse & Delivery and Cotton Committees of ICE. 
He is active with the Greenville Literacy Association and the Greenville County Museum 

of Art.

John Barrett

Co-Owner BarrettAg

Mr. Barrett is a fifth generation Texas farmer. John is a 1971 graduate of the United 

State Naval Academy. In 1976 he resigned his commission and returned home to the 

family farm and has been operating a 4000 acre cotton and grain farm for the last 34 

years.

John is on the Executive Committee of Gulf Compress; he also serves as a Director for 

EdCot Co-op Gin and Planter’s Grain Co-op. All of these companies are major local 

and regional cooperatives owned by many individual cotton and grain producers in 

southern Texas. In 1996 John served on a Port of Corpus Christi committee created to 

pursue the designation of Corpus Christi as a delivery point for the New York Cotton 

Exchange. John also serves on a similar Port committee today. John has marketed his 

cotton in several different ways during his career including tendering his cotton for 

delivery on the #2 Cotton Contract

Woods E. Eastland

President and Chief Executive Officer

Staple Cotton Cooperative Association and Staple Cotton Discount Corporation

Woods Eastland is president and chief executive officer of Staple Cotton Cooperative 

Association and Staple Cotton Discount Corporation, headquartered in Greenwood, 

Mississippi. Staplcotn, founded in 1921, is America’s oldest farmer owned cotton 

marketing cooperative, marketing Memphis/Eastern cotton.

He is a native of Doddsville, MS. and holds a B.A. Degree from Vanderbilt University, 

and a J.D. Degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

After graduation from law school in 1970, Mr. Eastland served as a Lieutenant, Judge 

Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve from 1970 until 1972. He practiced law 

with the Jackson, MS firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower, and Hewes and was a faculty 

member of the Jackson School of Law from 1972 until 1974. Since 1974 he has been a 

cotton, soybean, and rice producer in Sunflower County, Mississippi. Before his 

selection as President of Staplcotn in 1986, Mr. Eastland was elected as a director of 

Staplcotn in 1977 and served as Chairman of the Board from 1981 until 1986.

He is Vice President and Director of Amcot, Director of Delta Council, a Director of The 

Seam, LLC, Advisor to the 2008 Board of Directors of Cotton Council International, and 

Advisor to the Board of Directors of National Cotton Council.

In addition, he is a licensed layreader in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. He is 

Past Chairman of National Cotton Council, Past President and Chairman of Cotton 

Council International, past member of the Board of Managers of the New York Cotton 

Exchange, and a past Director of the Memphis Branch Federal Reserve Bank of St. 

Louis, and former member of the Board of Governors of the New York Board of Trade. 
He served one year as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors of the New York 

Board of Trade.

Mr. Eastland and his wife, Lynn, have two children and three grandchildren

David J. Amato

Economist

Market Surveillance Section

Division of Market Oversight

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Mr. Amato has been a grain surveillance economist in the Chicago Regional Office of 

the Division of Market Oversight since 1994. Over the course of his career at the 

Commission, Mr. Amato’s main responsibilities have been to detect and to prevent price 

manipulation and to ensure that a market's functions of risk transfer and price discovery are 

not hampered.

Mr. Amato has an undergraduate degree in Business from DePaul University and a 

MBA with a concentration in Economics from DePaul University.

Nicole Aulerich

Research Economist

Office of the Chief Economist

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Ms. Aulerich joined the Commission in 2008 as a Consultant and became a Research 

Economist in 2009. She is finishing her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from The 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she specializes in agricultural futures 

and options markets. Ms. Aulerich’s research focuses on convergence of futures and 

cash prices, commodity index trader activity, and the effect of futures traders’ positions 

on market direction and volatility. Prior to joining the CFTC, she worked for Strong 

Financial and Wells Fargo Investments.

David Lehman

Managing Director, Commodity Research and Product Development

CME Group

David Lehman was appointed Managing Director, Commodity Research and Product 

Development of CME Group in February 2010. He is responsible for leading efforts to 

identify and develop new CME Group product and services opportunities related to both 

exchange-traded and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, maintaining viability of current 

product offerings and providing strategic insight into new markets, business 

development and research within the commodity space. Before assuming his current 

role, he most recently served as Director, Commodity Research and Product 

Development, since July 2007.

Previously, Lehman also served as Managing Director and Chief Economist of the 

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Prior to his appointment as Chief Economist, Lehman 
started at the CBOT in 1989 as a staff economist and held various research and 

marketing positions during his tenure there as well as working closely with regulatory 

staff at the exchange and at CFTC.

Before joining CBOT, Lehman held the position of Industry Economist, Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission, from 1986-1989. In this role, he was responsible for 

commodity market surveillance and statistical analysis.

He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural and resource 

economics from the University of Maryland.

Jeffrey C. Borchardt

President & CEO

Kansas City Board of Trade

Jeff Borchardt was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kansas City 

Board of Trade (KCBT) on February 24, 2004 and is a member of the KCBT Executive 

Committee. Mr. Borchardt joined the KCBT in September 1982 as a commodities 

investigator/auditor. He has held various positions throughout his career with KCBT in 

the areas of compliance, regulation, finance and operations. He was promoted to Vice 

President-Compliance in 1987, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer in 1994

and Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer in 2000.

Mr. Borchardt serves as a director and executive committee member of both the 

National Futures Association and Commodity Markets Council and also serves as a 

director of Northwest Foundation, Inc., which oversees the private donations and 

endowments for Northwest Missouri State University. He has also served on various 

industry working groups. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 

1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and earned his certificate as a 

certified public accountant in 1984.

Steven K. Campbell

Vice President, Louis Dreyfus Commodities

Director North America Wheat Trading

Steve Campbell coordinates the North America wheat trading/export activities, while 

managing the Kansas City office, for Louis Dreyfus Commodities. He started his trading 

career with Louis Dreyfus in 1987, and has served in many capacities including 

Regional Trading Mgr for Kansas City and Chicago. In 1993, he was charged with 

leading the joint venture formed by Louis Dreyfus and Archer Daniels Midland, later 

being named a VP for ADM. In 1997, Mr. Campbell joined American Electric Power as 

Manager of Natural Gas Trading, to help lead AEP in establishing a trading presence in 

the energy markets. In 2000, Mr. Campbell rejoined Louis Dreyfus in his current 

capacity.

Mr. Campbell has Bachelor of Science and a Masters degree in Agricultural Economics 

from Oklahoma State University. He has also been married to his lovely wife Susan for 

26 years, and is blessed with a 20 year old son, Jack.
Harold W. Hild

Senior Economist

Market Surveillance, Division of Market Oversight

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Mr. Hild is a Senior Economist in the Division of Market Oversight. The responsibility of 

the office market surveillance program is to preserve the economic functions of futures 

and option markets. The market surveillance program’s primary mission is to identify 

situations that could pose a threat of manipulation and to initiate preventive actions.

Mr. Hild has more than 12 years of surveillance experience at both the CBOT and 

CFTC. He began his career with the CFTC in the Chicago Regional office where he 

specialized in Agricultural and Financial Futures surveillance. He has traded 

agricultural futures as a CBOT floor broker and held positions with McDonald’s Corp. 

and Citibank.

Mr. Hild holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the 

University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign and an MBA from DePaul University in 

Chicago.

Jay A. Johnson

Director

Midwestern Regional Office

Packers and Stockyards Program

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

United States Department of Agriculture

Mr. Johnson is the Director of the Midwest Regional Office, Packers and Stockyards 

Program, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, United States 

Department of Agriculture. The responsibility of this office is to regulate competition 

aspects of the pork industry on a national basis and to ensure compliance with the other 

aspects of the Packers and Stockyards Act as they relate to the financial and trade 

practices of the regulated entities in the twelve state upper mid-west region.

At Packers and Stockyards, Jay has held various roles in his 27 years with the Agency. 

He has been the Regional Director in Des Moines for the past twelve years and prior to 

that he was in Washington DC office for 13 years where he had various roles and 

responsibilities.

Jay holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business from Western Illinois 

University.

Warren Preston

Associate Deputy Administrator

Livestock and Seed Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dr. Warren Preston serves as associate deputy administrator for the Livestock and 

Seed Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, a position he has held since April 2010. In this role, he oversees the 

livestock, meat, and grain market news service; seed regulatory and testing activities; 

and five producer-funded research and promotion (“check-off”) programs. He also 

supervises the Program’s chief of staff, chief economist, and information technology 

staff. Throughout his career at USDA, Warren has been recognized with numerous 

certificates of merit and Agency awards for his contributions supporting the mission and 

goals of his Agency.

Warren joined the Agricultural Marketing Service in November 2001 as the Livestock 

and Seed Program’s chief economist and assumed added responsibility as chief of 

Livestock and Grain Market News in 2007. From 1992 to 2001, he worked in the 

Packers and Stockyards Programs of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 

Administration, initially serving as leader of the Economics Section in the Industry 

Analysis Staff and later as the first chief of a newly established Competition Branch. 

From 1986 to 1992, he held a research and teaching position as assistant professor in 

the Department of Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech, focusing on agricultural 

marketing and the interface between public policies and food system performance.

Although a native of California, at a young age he moved with his family and spent most 

of his youth in the town of Canfield, Ohio. Warren earned his bachelor’s degree in dairy 

science from The Ohio State University. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees 

in agricultural economics from Purdue University.

Paul Peterson

Director of Commodity Research and Product Development

CME Group

Paul E. Peterson is Director of Commodity Research and Product Development for 

CME Group. Since joining the research staff in 1989, he has directed the Exchange’s 

development and maintenance efforts for cash, futures and options contracts on 

livestock, dairy and weather. Prior to CME, he held staff positions at the Chicago Board 

of Trade and the American Farm Bureau Federation. An Illinois native, he received B.S. 

and M.S. degrees in Animal Science and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, all from the 

University of Illinois.

Don Close

Market Director

Texas Cattle Feeders Association

Don Close has served as Market Director for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association for 

the past two and a half years. Don has a 30 year carrier in livestock marketing. Don 

was Vice President and the head of Risk Management at AzTx Cattle Co in Hereford, 

TX. Prior to joining AzTx Don was Assistant Vice President and the head of Risk 

Management at Future Beef Operations in Parker Colorado. Before FBO, Don spent 11 

years at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. in Des Moines, IA. Originally serving as a 

Livestock Market Analyst and later served as the manager of PHI Marketing Services 

that managed the contracts with seed growers, merchandized discard grain and 

provided market analysis and marketing strategies to seed customers. Before Pioneer 
Don worked as a fed cattle and feeder cattle market analysis for Farmers Grain and 

Livestock, A commodity brokerage firm in Des Moines, IA. Don’s earliest employment 

was as a fed cattle and feeder cattle buyer on both the Oklahoma City and Omaha 

Stock Yards.

Neil Dierks

Chief Executive Officer

National Pork Producers Council

Neil Dierks is Chief Executive Officer of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). In 

this position, he is responsible for the overall implementation of all NPPC programs. 

Dierks' position requires him to spend time in both Des Moines, Iowa, the national office 

of NPPC, and Washington, D.C.

Beginning in 1990, Dierks served NPPC in a series of senior executive positions, 

including Executive Director of Operations, Vice President for Research and Education 

and Senior Vice President for Programs. Prior to his service with NPPC, Dierks was the 

Special Activities Director for the Iowa Pork Producers Association and Marketing 

Director for the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.

Neil grew up on a livestock farm in eastern Iowa and remains involved in a family 

farming operation. He is a graduate of Iowa State University.