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The CSU Spur of the Moment Podcast tackles the issues of food, water, health, and sustainability by talking with people making a difference in these fields and exploring the unique pathways that have led them to their current roles. Hosted by the Colorado State University System's new Spur campus in Denver, this podcast builds on its mission of addressing global challenges through research collaboration, experiential education, and a shared vision of inspiring the next generation.
Dan Dye:
The responsibility, the privilege that we have to feed people and do that well and provide safe, affordable, nutritious, great tasting food is what we think about.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Welcome to Spur of the Moment, the podcast of Colorado State University's Spur Campus in Denver, Colorado.
Dan Dye:
I didn't have that. I didn't grow up on a farm. I've been in ag for over 40 years. I can't imagine working in another industry. I've loved it from day one and I think I've learned so much and appreciate so much now all that you can do with a career in agriculture and food.
Jocelyn Hittle:
On this podcast, we talk with experts in food, water, health, and sustainability and learn about their current work and their career journeys. I'm Jocelyn Hittle, associate Vice Chancellor of the CSU Spur Campus. Today I'm joined by Dan Dye, CEO of Ardent Mills, a flower milling and ingredient company. You may not have heard of Ardent Mills, but you have almost certainly eaten foods that include their products. Ardent Mills has a network of more than 40 locations that specialize in flour, quinoa, pulses, otherwise known as bees, peas, lentils, organic and gluten-free products that are in flour and plant-based ingredients across the US and Canada. Prior to the formation of Ardent Mills, Dan held various managerial positions during his 30 plus year career at Cargill, which is a company touching many parts of the food system. Dan currently serves on a variety of boards, including as a trustee of Bethel University where he received his bachelor's degree in business and economics. Welcome, Dan.
Dan Dye:
Thanks, Jocelyn. It's a pleasure to be here and thanks for all the great work you're doing at CSU, and it's great to see the Spur Campus and how that's all come together.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Thank you so much. Very kind. So let's start with your work now as CEO of Ardent Mills. What does a day in the life look like for you?
Dan Dye:
Well, as you can imagine, no two days are the same. A lot of different things going on, and I already think of my main job is to support our team members and support our customers. So most of what I do centers around that. If I'm in the office, which is some of the time, I travel quite a bit, but if I'm there, it's connecting with people. A lot of meetings, a lot of one-on-ones prepping for upcoming things. For example, we have a board meeting in a couple of weeks, so prep work around that. Working on onboarding for a new team member right now. I think, again, our people side of things is just so important. Doing emails, different things, but it's really, again, a lot of different interactions. My job is, again, to help support our people and our customers, and part of that is really to help cast and be clear about our vision, our values, our mission. And so every chance I get, I'm doing that. The other part of my job is quite a bit of travel, and that can be visiting plants, it can be visiting customers, part of industry associations, different work there, but again, a lot of different things. And just again, spending time with people, trying to invest in people and be there to help and support them.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. And I would say that that is probably true about CEOs of many different kinds of companies that they're, A lot of what they're focused on is supporting their team and helping to reduce obstacles and support their team in doing what it is that their mission is. But maybe we can talk a little bit about Ardent Mills specifically. One of the things I know that is really important for Ardent Mills is the long-term viability and protecting the long-term viability of the food system. So maybe you can say a little bit more about that and how that plays into your day-to-Day.
Dan Dye:
Sure. And I think it's so important to think about the ag sector, the food sector as such a fundamental part of our world. And so the responsibility, the privilege that we have to feed people and do that well and provide safe, affordable, nutritious, great tasting food is what we think about when we think about that responsibility. And for us, it starts on the farm and really working with farmers and grain elevators to get that wheat or other specialty crops coming. And wheat is kind of an interesting one. It's truly a food grain. So we're producing wheat flour that leaves our mill, come wheat from the farm, comes to our mill, and literally is being consumed by a consumer within hours sometimes or certainly days, and on a kitchen table, on a restaurant menu. So that's a really important part of what we do, and we have to think about this fundamental need that people have and how critical that is to serve that well.
And so a great opportunity for us to invest in things like sustainability, invest in really creating new ideas, bringing innovation to the market. A lot of times we talk at Ardent Mills about nourishing what's next because we have to be thinking about the future. And I think when you think about agriculture and you think about the food systems, there's just so much going on and so much opportunity there. And at Ardent Mills, we're trying to really be leaders in that and try to find ways to improve, enhance, and just make this a very, very viable and valued part of an industry that's just, again, so important, such a staple in everybody's life.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Of course, we all eat
Dan Dye:
Exactly.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So we need you to be milling the flour that we then bake into various different products. And so thank you for everything that you're doing. I'm curious to hear a little bit more about when you say that food system, and maybe you can speak specifically to your part of the food system, when you talk about what's next and innovation, could you give us an example? What's something that might be surprising for people to learn about innovation in the flour milling and food ingredient business?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, it's interesting because flour milling in particular is probably one of the oldest industries in mankind, right? I mean, wheat was really the first crop grown, and it's been turned into flour to make great food for really all of history of man. So yet within that, there's plenty of room and need and opportunity for innovation and new ideas. And so we look at innovation pretty broadly. Sometimes it's product innovation. So we created a product called Ultra Green, for example, which is a whole wheat flour that's made from a specific variety of white wheat. And we talk about having the taste, the texture, the look and feel of white flour, but it's whole wheat flour. And so that creates great opportunity for enhancing a health benefit and so forth. We're looking at different products around food safety. So we do something called bake safer, which is providing a safer flour.
Flour in and of itself is a raw agriculture commodity. It's taken from the farm fields, wheat, it's minimally processed into flour. And so unless there's, that's going into a application with a defined kill step, a bake step, which most of it does, but if it's not, we can provide different tools that make it safer so that if people do assure them that safety of the flour in that bag they buy at the grocery store and the products that they're enjoying. And so we try to, again, think about new products, new ideas. We've also expanded a little bit beyond flower milling into some different ingredients that we think we can use some of our resources and capabilities around and expertise and things like chickpeas and quinoa, and really trying to be innovative in those products that are growing at a faster pace than maybe traditional flour and have different kinds of innovation there where you can get those in application in different recipes and products that can be incorporated in. And so those kinds of products can help our customers who are using that wheat flour to actually then benefit in further. So just trying to, again, think differently, think about the future and be creative and innovative in every way that we can.
Jocelyn Hittle:
It's interesting. Maybe we could talk a little bit more about some of these. You mentioned chickpeas and quinoa, so you're making flour out of these products, and that might be surprising for some folks who maybe are not as familiar with why someone might want a flour made out of something other than wheat. Yeah,
Dan Dye:
I think, and it's not all just flour based, we do whole grain products, particularly with quinoa and chickpeas can be made into flour. We do, again, a variety of those including flour. We actually purchased our first gluten-free meal where we can take a product like chickpea, make chickpea flour, which is gluten-free, again, non GMO, all of these things that are important to some customers and consumers and are able to bring those products to market. We don't do most of that in our traditional wheat flour mills. We use those processings either ourselves, like I said, at a gluten-free mill. We have, or we work with some comans on some further processing of those products. But those are different ingredients that really can bring some good taste profiles, protein, other value to a consumer. And that's all part of what we call our emerging nutrition business. So it's really taking, again, some of our expertise, our knowledge around core baking and application into different products that have just a different profile that for some consumers that's really important and again, may provide plant-based proteins and some of these different things that are really on trend and that customers and consumers are looking for.
We're able to provide those in addition to our traditional products like the wheat flour that we do. And that's certainly the biggest part of our business. But those other products are growing at a faster pace, and we're seeing much better application of those in different products that people are enjoying because again, it has to taste good. It has to be something that people enjoy if there's going to be any traction with it.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Of course. Yeah, that taste piece is always paramount. But you have spoken a little bit about, one of the other things I know that's really important to Ardent mills is this idea that you're contributing to nutrition, and you started to talk about some of the trends that might be nutrition related, but might have other factors at play. So maybe we can transition a little bit to looking at the agricultural sector or at least the areas in which you all operate. What is different about ag as compared to maybe other sectors and where do you see some of the trends and changes in agriculture?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, I think it goes to this, again, core reality that it's so fundamental in people's diets and that ag provides this unique opportunity to bring forward different things. Again, grown on the farm, providing the right things around sustainability, around thinking about even how important it is to preserve the earth for this next generation in the soil. And programs like regenerative agriculture or different things that we're doing in the sustainability space. I think those all come into this ag area and this ag industry that we're very much a part of. And that link from the farmer all the way to the consumer is something we put a lot of focus on. We talk about transforming the way the world is nourished, and we want as ardent mills to really, again, bring that new idea and innovation to the market, but also serve that fundamental need and do it sustainably because food is very much something that we need to renew, we need to be able to do over and over again.
That's the beauty. I think, again, talk about wheat as kind of the original plant-based food opportunity that has been around a long time, but has so many tremendous benefits. And I think even as we start to think about the future, the linkage between health and food and how people are looking at that differently provides us with, again, further incentive to try to really help people with their diets and provide the kind of products that will help them in that journey. And so ag is right at the heart of that. And we at Art at Mills are very much think about it in that bigger picture, longer term future view. And that's, I think important for all of us for generations to come to have, again, safe food supplies that are helping people to be healthier, to enjoy and really continue to do the things it does great today, right? Bring families together, bring people together around the great products that are produced with our ingredients.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So you've touched on this with things like regenerative ag and thinking about soil and thinking about sustainability. Are there some other trends within the food, maybe within the food industry that you see coming or that you would like to see?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, things are kind of constantly changing. And so again, if you think about trends on the farm, greater predictability, and I think precision with technology where everything from how farmers are harvesting their crops, planting their seeds, all of those things, I think farmers are incredibly innovative and incredibly sustainable. They want to be, need to be right. These are generational farms often. And again, programs like regenerative ag and the farm practices that really enhance farm productivity, but also help the environment and help the soil. I think also we're going to see more and more automation around plants and around the technology that we use and how we produce, taking again, the crops all the way through to the consumer, getting more effective and efficient around that. That is a key part of things. And again, as technology improves and we get better data and information, I think that's a trend that we'll continue to see.
And then a lot of these trends though, ultimately are really driven by what the consumer trends are, and that's something we pay a lot of attention to as well. And I think we have trends towards, again, healthier diets, towards greater convenience toward food that's produced sustainably. These are things that consumers are saying are more important to them. They're trends that are happening. And I think bringing the greatest enjoyment from food and having some of those benefits is something we are always striving towards. And so this again, idea of nourishing what's next, of trying to look at these trends that are shaping the whole industry and then looking around corner and trying to support and serve these various trends and really partnering with our customers around that and partnering with other organizations and institutions around that, including CSU and some of the projects we work on, all the way from wheat genetics to food safety and other things that we can partner on.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. And that's a great transition to the next question I had for you, which is about your team and the folks that you work with to do all of what you're describing, all of the innovation or what a day in the life looks like for you includes supporting a team of people. Can we talk a little bit about who is that team? What teams do they lead? What are their areas of expertise? What are the big pillars within the organization?
Dan Dye:
Sure. We're a very, what I would call cross-functional business. So we structure that way, and maybe that's the easiest way to explain it, but as a starting point, it takes everybody really working together for us to achieve high levels of trust and this interdependence that we have across our businesses. And we have six what I call operating functions, and that would be sales, our marketing communications, RQT, which is r and d, quality, our technical services, supply chain, operations and risk. That's really, those are the engines that really drive the operating or the manufacturing side of the business and all the way through to the customer. That's all happening there. And then we have a number of support functions like finance or HR and law it. These are the underlying services and necessary resources and tools that we have to make sure we're running the business right, accounting for the business, taking care of our people, all of those support services.
And so that really is how the business operates, right? All of those functions doing their parts, but doing it together. And again, we have this incredible interdependence that we have. One of our core values at our mills is trust. And we talk a lot about the need for us to work and trust each other, cross-functionally because if we have people that are just narrowly looking at their job and their area and they're not paying attention to what all these other areas are doing, we're not going to be able to serve our customer at our best. We're not going to be able to achieve the greatest outcomes and results. So that is really at art at Mills, how we think about the business and the kinds of jobs and the way we run and operate. It's interesting, about 80% of our people work at a plant.
So that's where everything happens. And I also tell people that's where a hundred percent of our products are produced at a plant. And so we're a very, again, manufacturing business with very operationally driven, but we have to have all these other parts of the business to then take that product and get it to the right customer and transportation and everything else and account for it properly and then really take care of our people. And the last thing I'd say on this area of how we run is we start with our very culture. And we talk about having a people first values-based culture at Arden Mills. So we're always striving to put our people first. So regardless of what function you're in, what that specific job is, you're valued, you're important. It's really a key aspect of our very culture. And then living by our values of trust, serving simplicity and safety, those values then drive how we behave, how we work together, and those unify all those different parts of the business. But that's how we operate at Arden Mills.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So I thought we were going to talk a lot about flour, but we're talking a lot about people. And I think that is key to so many conversations around food that really it is all of these different products that we eat really come from a group of people over the course of the lifetime of whatever that food product is coming together to bring it to you. So maybe we can talk a little bit more about the people and the skill sets they have because you mentioned a whole lot of things that, okay, so 80% of your team works in a plant and is doing flower milling or product creation in some form or fashion. But you mentioned a whole lot of other skill sets, so maybe we can talk a little bit about that. I think it's something that people maybe don't expect about agriculture, that it would include people in marketing and people in accounting and people in risk management. Well, maybe that one, but you get where I'm going that there's a wide variety of different careers that are available.
Dan Dye:
There really are. And I think sometimes people think of ag and they think just of jobs that people must have a farm background or really understand the fundamentals of agriculture farming and that that's needed. And certainly that can be valued or you need really specialized training or skills that are very narrow. The fact is just as you just said, we need people for all of those different functions with a lot of different kinds of skill sets and capabilities. And there's great value of bringing together, I think people with rich ag backgrounds that have that perspective, but also those that don't have that backgrounds, but can bring new perspectives and ideas. And I think when we think about skill sets and training and those kinds of things, there are certain areas that are kind of in short supply. And so areas that might be really specific around milling, for example, being a true miller, there's limited opportunity to learn that trade and so forth.
So we're trying to expand in that area and other areas that might be more in those support areas, like it very competitive marketplace. And so some of those kinds of roles across those different functions that I talked about are all important and they all are needed. And so for people to really think about ag and food, you can come from a lot of different angles and have great rich careers and be able to have the kind of impact and difference as we talked earlier about helping to feed people. And I tell our people all the time, regardless of what our job is, we're all really equals here. We just have different roles that we play, but together we make art at mills. And I encourage our people all the time and say, Hey, we get to come to work every day to help feed people.
I mean, that's a responsibility. It's a blessing we have and something that we take very seriously and is very important. But it's all those different skill sets that come. You don't have to have an ag background to work in ag. In fact, it's great when people, I didn't have that. I didn't grow up on a farm. I've been in ag for over 40 years. I can't imagine working in another industry. I've loved it from day one, and I think I've learned so much and appreciate so much now, all that you can do with a career in agriculture and food.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Well, and I think that is something that might be particularly special when people think about a private company or being in the private sector may not think about this idea that you are still mission-driven, that there's meaning in the work, and particularly for younger generations who care a lot about meaningful work and mission-driven work, that there is a role to play within the private sector when you're talking about feeding people is really, I think something that's worth
Dan Dye:
Noting. Very much so. I mean, our very mission is to enhance the quality of life and standard of health. We want to make people's lives better with the food that they eat and that linky and even to health. So I think you're exactly right. That meaning and purpose is really something that's important.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Okay, so I'm going to transition to a couple rapid fire questions for you still focused on your life now, your typical workday. So in that typical workday, what's a task that you currently have to do that you don't really like doing, and conversely one that you're surprised you like?
Dan Dye:
Well, the first, I mean, I can't keep up with my emails. It's like email overload. It's a purity of
Jocelyn Hittle:
Email.
Dan Dye:
Nobody can probably, my administrative skills aren't the best anyway to organize and plan. There's probably a better, more efficient way, but it just seems like emails are just always there, always ever present. That's one of those, I think one that surprised me, and this maybe came out, it did come out of covid. People don't like meetings. And there's been a lot of talk about virtual meetings and so forth. I've actually come to kind of appreciate what a virtual meeting can provide. So for me, what surprised me, I never really liked pre covid to have that kind. I always want to be in person. I still value that very, very much and think there's tremendous in that. But it's allowed me to have, for example, I do something called Donuts with Dan, where I meet with people and used to do that in the office all the time. I can do that now virtually. And I've started doing it with our plant employees. Couldn't do that before. And I think the other thing about a meeting on teams or Zoom or whatever, in some cases you get to know people in a different way. You might be in their homes or where they're working from or whatever. And it just creates a little different dynamic. So I think it initially thought that might be bad, surprise me a little bit. Sometimes those meetings can be really effective.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Yes, pros and cons. Exactly. You do see people shouting at their pets to be quiet while they're on mute every now and then, right? Yeah. And I should note that you and I are here in doing this recording together. We could have done it on Zoom, but we're here in person. Absolutely. I'm with you both have a place, and there's certainly pros and cons to both. So maybe we can talk a little bit about some challenges. What's a challenge that you come up against that, particularly one that might be surprising for people? And when you do come up against a challenge, how does your team engage on that challenge? And is there anyone you call that's sort of three questions in one?
Dan Dye:
Sure. Yeah, no, I think we all have challenges. I think for us, certain challenges that come up that might be a little bit maybe unique to our business or industry, I think there's some fundamentals in any industry, but things like capacity utilization, how hard we're running our plants and that can ebb and flow and with flower demand, white flour demand especially, or wheat flour demand rather, that has generally been relatively flat. So we're challenged when demand is off a little bit. And again, we rely on the consumer, we rely on our products to be out there and being used and consumed. So that can be a little bit of a challenge. I think sometimes a challenge we faced recently, especially in the last couple three years, is really bringing people into the manufacturing roles that we have at our plants. Like our first year turnovers higher than it's ever been.
And I think that's created a challenge is people have more options. It's not easy work, but again, trying to help people understand the importance of the work and really the career, not just a job for paycheck, but that's more challenging than it's been before. And so how we approach those, we try to get 'em head on, we talk about it. We really try to create different ways of addressing and tackling those issues and improving our onboarding, for example, to help with that retention or different things that we look at as a business, as an industry, as a team in terms of who you call. I mean, I think it's so important that you do call others that we don't take these problems or challenges and think we've got to solve them just ourselves. We have great teams, we have other resources. I know for me, I've got a couple mentors, a couple other CEOs of other companies that I've gotten to know during covid for example, we would connect on a regular basis. That was really helpful. There was a whole host of challenges during that time and having people that you trust that you can really be open with and transparent with. And I've got a great board as well. Our Arden Mills board is outstanding, so I can call on them if I need some help or support, but it starts with our team and really working together and trying to work through those things.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Yeah, I'm the same in terms of wanting to bounce potential solutions to challenges off different people. And it's good to have a network of people who might be particularly good at different things. You have different people who have different strengths that you call on. I'd like to envision a moment where you feel like I am good at this job. What has just happened? What's the context? And then I'll ask the flip side, which is are there moments where you're like, oh, still learning?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, well, I'm always still learning. So that one's easy and we always have that. But I think in terms of what I guess makes me feel good, I think of a lot, I put a lot of importance around our vision, our values, and really trying to cast. And I think when I feel good, if I'm with a team of our people and I've been able to talk to them about that and try to get them excited about where we're going at Ardent Mills and what our vision is and how important our values are and how that helps us drive better outcomes and results and when we work together and just being able to bring our teams together and doing all I can to do that, I love that feeling and I think that's what I try to do and I know I can improve on that, but that's something I really feel good about.
If I'm together with a team of people, we've had a couple of different leadership meetings or different functional team meetings, and when I can be there with them and try to cast that vision and really reinforce the importance of our values and really help them see, hey, putting people first, living by our values, that's going to drive the best outcomes and results and be the best work environment for our people and our customers. I think we're always all learning. And I think every day I am sure there's something that comes up and I think, man, I need to learn more about that. I think sometimes it's with maybe different challenges that might come up a little bit more unexpected. Maybe it's a challenge around a consumer need and how do we address that? And we're, man, I think I got to learn more about this. For me to be effective in my job, I got to get ahead of this more. But I think we're on this constant learning, and I think for me, I believe that's a lifelong journey. And so there's challenges all the time. I think there's times where that learning can feel a little overwhelming sometimes when you can't find that solution or come to that real easily, you feel like, man, I've got to learn more here. I've got to do a better job.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Alright, last quick question for you. If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?
Dan Dye:
Wow. Maybe I'd be a teacher. I love to learn myself. I love to share learnings and bounce things off peoples. And I think teaching, I've had the opportunity to teach in a couple classes over time in my past, over the years, either as a guest lecture or as actually teaching for a few years in a specific course on values-based leadership. And I love that. I love the interaction that was to adult learners who were in jobs and career. Man, we had great discussions and I would get a lot of energy from that. So I think maybe a teacher, my daughter's a teacher and I love seeing her and her work and how it really brings out the best in her. So maybe I'd be a teacher if I wasn't doing this. Great.
Jocelyn Hittle:
I love that answer. And it's part because both my parents were teachers, but you did not know that.
Dan Dye:
I did not.
Jocelyn Hittle:
There you go. So a quick spur of the moment. Question for you. What's a typical breakfast for you and does it include an Art Mills product?
Dan Dye:
Of course, it includes an Art Mills product. I usually, a typical breakfast for me is some, I like kind of a granola cereal with some fruit that's got some grains in it and so forth. But don't judge me on this. But I also really like a pastry every morning for breakfast, whether it's a donut, a croissant or something. I love finding a great coffee shop that also makes some great baked goods. And so I'm a big supporter of our products and like I said, we do things like donuts with Dan and things like that. And the products that we make are so great. And I think they're a really nice little breakfast ad.
Jocelyn Hittle:
I enjoy. There you go. Yeah. I should have known if Donuts with Dan has come up already that maybe every now and then a donut might be
Dan Dye:
Involved every now and then. Yeah.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Okay. So let's transition and talk a little bit about how you got where you are. Maybe you can back us up and give us what has the pathway been in some broad brush strokes?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, I think for me, I feel incredibly blessed. I've had some amazing opportunities throughout my career. I started as a trader buying and selling corn and soybeans and wheat. Worked for Cargill and did that for several years and really started to learn agriculture and the markets and supply and demand, and I love that. I really did. And then I had a chance to actually go up to Canada and be a merchandising manager. So I still involved in the trading, but I was managing a team of people. And that I think just opened a whole new door for me of what I enjoyed, what I thought I could do maybe more effectively and be more productive at than a whole career in trading. And it really shifted the direction of my career. And I went from that into managing an overall business with assets. This was on the grain side of things, so grain elevators, retail, fertilizer businesses, working with farmers and I love that.
And had the opportunity to do that in a region and then eventually be the president of what we called Cargill Ag Horizons, which was a big transformational shift in how Cargill worked with farmers. And being a part of that was, again, a really exciting time and a way we set out this vision of helping farmers prosper. How can we take the resources of a global big company like Cargill and help every one of our local farmers be more successful in risk management and so forth. And then I shifted over to flower milling about 15 years ago and led the business in Cargill, the North American flower milling business called Horizon Milling. And that was, again, I tell people really from day one, moving from grain, which I loved, and working with farmers was great, but to then take it and go to really the product side of it, the food side of it was just, I love this business.
I mean, it's just from day one it was like, man, we're taking, we still have that connection to the farm, but now we're turning it into food and being able to produce these great products and the mills and the facilities, and now even the emerging nutrition expanding upon that. So that was an opportunity then when I was leading the horizon milling business that we ultimately created art at Mills, and that was just almost 10 years ago, about nine and a half years ago. And it's what I've been doing for that last nine and a half years. And I think all those other roles really helped to prepare me. It's different when you leave a big company like Cargill and Art at Mills is a joint venture. So Cargill still owns 44% of art at Mills, along with ConAgra brands, 44% and then CHS 12%. But we're an independent company and it's very different from being there. And it's just been a tremendous experience. It's what brought me here to Denver and the start of Arden Mills. So that's kind of that quick over 40 some years of what I've
Jocelyn Hittle:
Been doing. Sure. We've probably left a few things out.
Dan Dye:
A few very much. Yeah.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Thanks for that overview. I'm curious to hear a little bit about, so you said you didn't grow up on a farm, were you a city kid? What was the transition to that first job where you were doing trading in a commodity that happened to be agricultural? How did that come to pass? And it sounds like it wasn't a natural progression from having grown up on a farm.
Dan Dye:
Yeah, I actually grew up in Chicago, so not on a farm. I was a city kid. My grandfather had a little hobby farm for a few years out down in central Illinois, but my background was more in the city and I went to college in Minnesota at Bethel University, more of a liberal arts education, business economics. The connection really was to Cargill as just a great company. It was a company known with a great reputation, great values and so forth. And a couple people told me about the company, and I had the opportunity my senior year to interview with a senior leader of Cargill that they didn't normally recruit at Bethel. But he came there that year and I had the chance to talk to him, and that opened the door for a full set of interviews. And I just was so impressed with the company and I liked the idea of agriculture, even though I didn't really know what it really meant in terms of the business side of it.
So it was really more, Hey, this is a great company. You'll learn a lot. They've got a great program where you come in and you move around quite a bit. I moved eight times in my first 13 years at Cargill, but each of those was some of the greatest learning opportunities I had in different markets and so forth. So it really was coming out of that background of business and economics, which was very applicable from day one. You're thinking about supply and demand and other basic economic things. And so there was application there, but it was in this world of agriculture that really was fun and exciting. But that's how I got there.
Jocelyn Hittle:
It is maybe surprising that so many of the conversations I have with people about their career journeys, almost no one says yes, I knew I wanted to do exactly this when I was young. I think maybe I've had one person, and even with her it was a slightly different version of what she had envisioned being as a kid. So it doesn't surprise me to hear you say that it went in a direction that you didn't necessarily, and I think in some cases it goes in those directions because a door opens that people choose to walk through. Sometimes people are very intentional, they want to make a right turn and they do something very different than what they have been doing. So those transition moments are so important. Are there things about transitions? It sounds like you got to transition a lot really early on, which helped you learn, but is there anything about any of those transitions that you think was particularly impactful?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, I think there were a few different transitions, and some of the ones that were the most difficult ones were also the ones where I learned the most and probably benefited from the most, and in some ways were most rewarding. I think of that shift from being a trader, which I'd done for many years, to being a merchandising manager up in Canada. And I remember some of the other traders at the time on the US side and trading different markets and commodities said, oh, Canada market's so small, why would you want to go up there? And yet, it wasn't about the size of the market, it was more about a leadership opportunity to do something I'd never done before. And that transition from a single more of an individual contributor as a trader to leading a team changed the whole trajectory of my career. And I'm so thankful for that.
And I think that these transitions that we have and that people just starting in their careers will have, I think just being open to those. And I look back and think, man, I benefited from some of those different moves that maybe were tough at the time, but what a great experience that was. Or leading through some real challenging times in the industry. Agriculture and food can be very cyclical. There can be ups, there can be downs, and so you have to work through those and those create different kinds of transitions that you have to manage and lead through. But I just encourage people to embrace the transitions. I don't think you want to transition for transition's sake. Some people want to change jobs or go to something new. I stayed very committed. I was at Cargill for 33 years. I mean, I thought I would retire there. That's pretty committed. That was pretty committed, and I loved it, and I thought I would finish there. But this change then this transition to art at Mills, it was kind of scary. It was new, it was different after all that time. But man, it's been the most rewarding and just an incredible, both personal and professional opportunity with an amazing team of people that I've got to work with doing the kind of work we get to do that we've been talking about today.
Jocelyn Hittle:
You've mentioned that you've had some people that you rely on for conversations during Covid, for example, you had a network of folks that you relied on. Thinking back over the arc of this journey, are there particular people that you relied on? Mentors, teachers, anyone who's particularly influential?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think my dad was one. He passed away a couple years ago, but boy, he was so influential for me just on some of the basics of caring and loving people and treating people the right way. And he wasn't a businessman, he was actually a pastor, but I just learned so much from him that I apply in the business world. He just was a blessing to me and I'm so thankful for him. And he was true a mentor, I can think of a university professor that really helped me. He helped me think differently about work and what it was like to work for a big company. And I kind of wanted to work for a big company. I didn't really know what field or anything. And I mentioned earlier about Cargill ending up where I landed, but he said he helped me see I could make a contribution in the business world, and I wasn't sure what that would look like, but he helped me kind of see that and see that man, maybe that would be a good place.
And then the senior leader at Cargill that I initially interviewed with, he stayed invested with me and was available my entire career. And to this day even he's been retired for many, many years. He's in his nineties. I sent texts back with him just a few weeks ago. Connecting in. And those kinds of influencers are so important, and I think we just really benefit from others, but recognize them, thank them and appreciate them because they're really a key to who we are and they really will invest in you and should give all of us the impetus to invest in others and to be available to others that are on this journey maybe much earlier in their careers or trying to figure some things out.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Yeah, absolutely. That multi-generational piece is so critical. So along a similar line, if you were talking to a 15-year-old right now, is there some particular advice you'd give them?
Dan Dye:
Yeah, I think back to 15, it's an important age, isn't it? It's so kind of impactful. You're in this teen years and you're starting to think about other things in life. But I think a couple things. One, don't underestimate yourself. I think a 15-year-old has a lot to offer. They have a lot ahead of them. They're unique and be valued and think for who you are. I think we live in a world that there's a lot of comparison. I had another mentor that often used to say, comparison kills. We try to compare and we're always disappointed then, or we wish we were something else, but celebrate who you are. I think social media, it makes it even harder. It's just so many different influences, but I think that's really important and build your character now. I think it's never too early to do the right thing, to be honest, to be trustworthy, take note of what you like, even build your own self-awareness and what you're good at and what you have passion around because you're really starting to develop and you're going to learn so much about yourself in this window of time. So be in tune with that. And the more you can kind of focus on that, the better. You're going to be prepared for that next step. And I think you enjoy things more even that way.
Jocelyn Hittle:
What about a 25-year-old? What advice would give them and then follow up as yourself at 25?
Dan Dye:
Well, I think you're at a different stage in life. So some people might be have started a career or they might still be in school or trying to wrap things up. So 25, again, one of those kind of pivotal moments. I think to me, advice as I've learned, and I can look back now, it's more important to do things like really care for other people, treat people with respect, be patient. I think I remember early in my career with Cargill, I knew a lot of folks and they were always trying to figure out what the next job was going to be, or should they leave the company and go work somewhere else they could make more money. And I think my advice is be patient, learn all you can. Every job you're in is going to be a learning opportunity. Even if you don't maybe like that job for the rest of your life or you don't have a bad boss, learn from that and understand about yourself.
I think always do your best work. I think there's basic things like showing up, trying hard, having a good attitude. Those are probably good for 15, 25 year olds or 60 some year olds. But again, having values and purpose, I think at that age, it's an important time to really think about what's most important to you because you're going to make decisions and choices that will have an impact. And this value of trust and reliability and sincerity and competency, all those things that tie into building trust. My advice would be focus in on those things and those will serve you well.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Absolutely. Trust is much easier to build and retain than it is to repair. Right? No doubt. Yeah. So as we wrap up a second spur of the moment, question for you. Do you have a movie or a show that you think you have watched the most times
Dan Dye:
When
Jocelyn Hittle:
You go back to? Are you a repeat watcher of anything? I'm
Dan Dye:
Not much of a repeat watcher. I will occasionally repeat. I think one I remember watching a few times, it was with different people or whatever it was. Finding Forrester. I liked that movie. It was kind of a, you got to be a little older to remember it, but I remember watching that and then watching it with a couple others. Another one was Hoop Dreams. I remember watching that several times with in different settings and so forth, and I really enjoyed that.
Jocelyn Hittle:
I love it. So inspirational. That one is a great one, I think, even if you're not a basketball fan.
Dan Dye:
Absolutely.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So last quick question for you. Where can people find more information about your work? I'm assuming Ardent Mills, your website, your social media channels. Yeah,
Dan Dye:
Absolutely. So all of those, our website is probably the best place. You can see things about our career opportunities about who we are, our values, all of those things that kind of tell you a little bit where our facilities are. We have 35 flower mills around the us, Canada and Puerto Rico, 10 specialty facilities. So that kind of data and information about exactly where those plants are and so forth. And again, the kinds of jobs. And again, we have social media and different avenues to try to tell our story. And so if you get out there, I think those are the things that you can find certainly online. And we're just, if you're here in Denver, we're right downtown and we love to tell our story. And really, it's a fun industry. It's a great business. We have two mills right here in Denver, one in Commerce City, one right in Rhino. And we love this area and we love being part of Food and Ag.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Thank you so much. And thank you so much for your support of CSU Spur. We do have, of course, the Ardent Mills teaching in Culinary Kitchen here as well. And so if you're near Spur, you can come and connect with Ardent Mills here as well through our teaching in Culinary Kitchen where it's all glass, you can watch people cook in anytime. So
Dan Dye:
Absolutely. And we're so proud to be a part of that and thankful for the partnership that we share with CSU.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Must too. Thank you so much. Well, thanks so much, Dan. I really appreciate you spending some time with us here today and really enjoyed our conversation.
Dan Dye:
Thanks, Jocelyn. Appreciate the opportunity. And again, thanks for all that you do.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Thank you.
Jocelyn Hittle:
The CSU Spur of the Moment Podcast is produced by Kevin Samuelson, and our theme music is by Kesa. Please visit the show notes for links mentioned in this episode. We hope you'll join us in two weeks for the next episode. Until then, be well.