Throughout a long and distinguished business and publishing career, Karlgaard has championed innovation and thinking outside the box. A serial entrepreneur himself, Karlgaard contributes a regular column, “Innovation Rules,” to Forbes, in which he covers economic and technology trends, business transformations, and conversations with leading CEO’s. His best-selling book, Life 2.0, is an exploration of the transformative potential of modern technology, which empowers both individuals and communities to build success in unconventional, and often more personally fulfilling, ways. “In today’s global competitive environment, Rich Karlgaard’s focus on innovation and transformation is a perfect fit for US producers and agribusinesses,” said USGC Chairman Dr. Wendell Shauman. “The world is changing, fast. The global middle class is exploding in size, global food demand is surging, and new opportunities arise continuously. Thinking about change is something we need to do.” The Council’s annual meeting will be held July 30-August 1 in Vancouver, Wash. Among the key issues for discussion will be the need for increased US production, transportation, storage, and shipping capacity to serve rapidly growing markets in East Asia. The Pacific Northwest ports are second only to the Mississippi River system as an export channel for US feed grains. With the emergence of China in the last two years as the fastest growing export market in the world for U.S. agricultural products, infrastructure improvements to the Pacific Northwest will become increasingly vital.