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The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference returns virtually to unite thought leaders and change makers for an exploration of the power of science, sustainability and storytelling. Unlock exclusive access to insights from leading experts in agri-food, business and beyond.
CEO, Positive Intelligence, Inc.
Shirzad Chamine is the author of "Positive Intelligence," a New York Times bestseller that has been translated into 20 languages. He has served as the CEO of the largest coach-training organization in the world and has used his expertise to train the faculty at the business schools at Stanford and Yale.
Chamine lectures on "Positive Intelligence" and the concept of mental fitness (also known as PQ) at Stanford, where he also works with the university’s student athletes. A preeminent C-suite advisor, Chamine has coached hundreds of CEOs and their executive teams.
Chamine received a bachelor's degree in psychology, a master's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in business administration from Stanford.
Professional Photographer, Filmmaker and Former Photojournalist for National Geographic
Dewitt Jones is one of America's top professional photographers, with a career spanning more than twenty years. Jones is also a motion picture director, and his films garnered two Academy Award nominations ("Climb," nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film, and "John Muir's High Sierra," nominated for Best Short-Subject Documentary) before he was thirty.
Later, Jones turned to advertising, rising to the forefront of corporate creative marketing by photographing national advertising campaigns for Dewar's Scotch, Canon and United Airlines.
Jones has published nine books, including "California!", "Visions of Wilderness," "What The Road Passes By," "Robert Frost: A Tribute To The Source," "Canyon Country" and "John Muir’s America". His most recent book, "The Nature of Leadership," was written in collaboration with Stephen R. Covey, author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". Additionally, Jones writes a monthly column, "Basic Jones," for Outdoor Photographer magazine.
Jones is recognized as a world-class lecturer. His knowledge of the creative process, his relaxed and genuine style, and his ability to communicate make his presentations truly outstanding. Jones received a bachelor's degree in drama from Dartmouth College and a master's degree in filmmaking from UCLA.
Economist and Professor, Trinity College Dublin
David McWilliams is an economist, author, journalist, documentary-maker and broadcaster. He is also an adjunct professor of global economics at the Trinity School of Business at Trinity College Dublin. He has been ranked among the top 10 most influential economists in the world and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum at Davos.
McWilliams has devoted his entire professional life to the objective of making economics as widely available and easily understandable on as many platforms and to as many people as possible. He co-founded the world’s only economics and stand-up comedy festival, Kilkenomics, described by the Financial Times as “simply the best economics conference in the world.” He also founded Ireland’s leading literary and ideas event, the Dalkey Book Festival.
As well as writing a weekly economics column in the Irish Times, McWilliams is active on social media and was named Ireland’s “most influential Twitter user” in 2016. He strives to identify new ways to explain economics, including through a new venture with the Financial Times, "Punk FT," which creates cartoons that help make economics more understandable for the general populace.
McWilliams has written four bestsellers, including "The Pope’s Children," the best-selling nonfiction book ever published in Ireland. Previously, McWilliams worked extensively in the public and private sectors. He has served as an economist in the international relations department of the Irish Central Bank; as the chief European economist at UBS, Europe’s largest bank; and as the head of emerging markets research at Banque Nationale de Paris.
President and CEO, Alltech
Dr. Mark Lyons grew up in the Alltech business, having traveled with his father and Alltech’s founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons, from a young age to visit customers. With experience working in all regions and nearly all departments — from palletizing bags in production to researching in the lab — he has a deep and uniquely personal knowledge of the company.
He has spearheaded many critical projects, including simultaneously managing a biorefinery project in Kentucky, the establishment of a plant in Serbia and the creation of Alltech’s flagship yeast production facility in São Pedro, Brazil. He also spent nearly four years in Mexico rebuilding the company’s solid state fermentation plant in Serdan, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
In 2012, Dr. Lyons relocated to China, the world’s largest feed market, as part of Alltech’s focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Living in Beijing and traveling throughout the country, he led the Alltech China office and focused on building bridges between China and the wider industry through research, education and strategic initiatives.
Under his leadership as director of North America from 2009 to 2011, Alltech expanded its presence with the opening of new offices and a growing involvement in all agricultural sectors. Today, Dr. Lyons is based at Alltech’s headquarters in Kentucky.
He has served as a board member of the American Feed Industry Association and is active in many industry groups, such as the International Poultry Council, the National Turkey Federation, the National Chicken Council and the National Pork Producers Council. He is also vice president of the Soil and Fertilizer Alliance of China and is a committee member of the China Toxicology Association. He is proud to be the only foreign member welcomed to China’s Feed Industry Golf Group, which represents more feed tonnage than all of Brazil.
Dr. Lyons has published papers and patents in areas ranging from enzyme production to global economics and is interested in the assurance of food safety and quality throughout the entire food chain. Recently, he was named as one of "The top 50 Irish business men and women in the BRIC countries" and “40 Under 40” leaders in agriculture by Vance Publishing Corporation. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental science in 1999 from the University of Chicago.
He received his master’s degree in brewing and distilling in 2001, followed by a Ph.D. in the area of solid state fermentation, at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Dr. Lyons is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, and he has a working knowledge of Mandarin.
The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference features tracks that guide your exploration of today’s most relevant topics in agriculture and beyond.
Unlock exclusive insights into agri-food and beyond.
Our favorite moments from last year.