Meet our experts
Introducing more than 40 professionals with an incredible amount of passion for what we do. Get to know us. We’re the ones changing the image of the cattle industry.
It should go without saying that we love what we do.
We spend a lot of time getting to know the people we work with, and now it’s your turn to learn more about us.
Leadership
Todd Drake
Chief Executive Officer
Grant Rathje
President
Brandon Hinck
Director of Feed Merchandising Director of Feedlot Performance
Alex Gerdes
Director of Risk Management Director of Cattle Procurement
Kyle Holtmeyer
Director of Finance & Operations
Tiana McKee
Director of People & Culture
Kristen Lange
Director of Brand & Communications
Colten Drake
Director of Sales
Client Development
Jim Phillips
Sr. Market Analyst
Sawyer Willrett
Regional Territory Manager
Ted Fanta
Market Advisor
Dominic Bragg
Market Advisor
Shane Duffy
Market Advisor
Seth Willets
Market Advisor
Sarah Kalman
Market Analyst
James Hogan
Sales Support Specialist
Brand & Communications
Katelyn Downing
Brand Specialist
Finance & Operations
Jodi Tish
Senior Staff Accountant
Mindi Hellbusch
Senior Staff Accountant
Matt Kathol
Operational Accountant
Taylor Hull
Commodities Trade Specialist
Annie Lund
Commodities Trade Specialist
Karissa Bennett
Blended Operations Manager
Vanessa Krause
Nodaway Office Manager
Ross Spencer
Operations Specialist
Cattle Feeding
Kristi Drake
Feedyard Manager
Damon Sunderman
Nodaway Feedyard Foreman
Zach Kaup
Feedlot Performance Specialist
Doug Cooper
Feedyard Operations
Wyatt Baker
Feedyard Operations
Kody Syverson
Feedyard Operations
Francis Cullen
Maintenance
Feed Merchandising
Dana Morgan
Senior Ingredient Merchandiser
Chris Beyer
Senior Ingredient Merchandiser
Jeffrey Katz
Ingredient Merchandiser
Will Reeson
Ingredient Merchandiser
Zach McMillin
Logistics Merchandiser
Beth Baudler Christensen
Beef Nutrition Specialist
Josh Woods
Beef Nutrition Specialist
Kobi Nowels
Blended Feed Delivery
Kevin Roberts
Blended Driver &
Mill Operator
Career Accelerator Program
Zachary Zwiebel
Career Accelerator Program
Sydney Wellsandt
Career Accelerator Program
Hallie Rootkie
Career Accelerator Program
Todd Drake
Chief Executive Officer
Founder and CEO of Balance4ward, Todd Drake started his career in Emporia, Kansas, working in animal health distribution sales after graduating college at NWMSU in Maryville, Mo. He would later return to his home region in southwest Iowa, to build his ranch and first-generation feed yard with his wife Kristi and two sons. After building the feed yard with zero farming efficiencies, it didn’t take long to see he needed to be better at sourcing ingredients. With the help of the ethanol boom, he started New Balance Commodities to help fill a feed procurement void of the timing of contracting and logistics.
While the success of New Balance Commodities was undeniable, it was evident it wasn’t going to make the impact Todd wanted to keep the mid-market cattleman thriving. The pivot to Balance4ward was the natural next move. The pivot was made by Todd reaching out for help. He hired a mentor who had scaled a business and taken it public. With this change came the recommendation to form a board of directors. For personal leadership development he joined Vistage a worldwide CEO group that meets regularly. Todd, along with his team at Balance4ward are now leading the charge of an even bigger opportunity of building a better beef supply chain for the mid-market cattleman.
Todd is a consistent advocate for the cattle industry and relies on his experiences to continue to build trust amongst himself and cattlemen across the Midwest. His passion for leveling the playing field for mid-market cattlemen has taught him many lessons and given him many mindset changing experiences. Todd says, “Cattlemen are genuine, grounded in faith, and have a deep respect for doing the hard things that most of society cannot fathom.”
Aaron Goldsmith
President/CFO
Aaron grew up in Lincoln, NE and attended the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, studying Ag Business. His Ag connection stems from his family being in the dairy industry in south central Kansas. Aaron started as a commodities broker and spent several years outside of the ag business in the packaging and label industry. He came back to ag with those skills and experiences 10 years ago. On his path to leadership, Aaron has done every job in the company except clean water tanks.
Brandon Hinck
Director of Services
With a strong connection to the ag industry, Brandon grew up on a farm in west central Missouri where he had a 600 sow swine operation that he farrowed to ween. As well as a small row crop and cow calf operation. He went to Northwest Missouri State University and majored in Ag Business. Brandon started with the company in 2017 as a logistics merchandiser. He then entered feed merchandising/sales for the Missouri Territory as Ingredient Merchandiser and was then promoted to Merchandising Manager. Later, Brandon was promoted to leadership as the director of merchandising. Recently, he has taken on the role of Director of Services.
Grant Rathje
Director of Operations
Grant grew up in Seward, NE, where his family ran a successful seedstock cattle operation, selling Simmental genetics across North America. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness and Marketing. Grant has previously worked in the animal health industry, where he supported cattle feeders and pork producers across the Midwest. After earning his MBA at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Grant worked as a leadership coach and facilitated leadership development programs for companies across the Midwest from industries including agriculture, healthcare, construction, tech, banking, and more. Grant is passionate about advancing the cattle industry and developing people to reach their full potential.