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Jon Benninger is director of business development for Virgo Publishing's Health and Nutrition Division, which produces INSIDER and HSR: Health Supplement Retailer magazines. Virgo Publishing also produces the SupplySide trade shows. Benninger entered the natural products industry in 1990 and has held positions in sales, marketing, public relations, purchasing and management. He is an active member of many associations, including the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). He also serves on the board of directors for Citizens For Health and Medcorps International Foundation, and is the vice president of the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA). He graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S. is associate director/senior scientist and chief of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. His administrative responsibilities include research program planning and assessment, as well as direction of the divisions of biostatistics, comparative biology, scientific computing and nutrition information. His research efforts are focused on the biochemical basis for the role of antioxidant nutrients and their dietary requirements in health promotion and disease prevention during the aging process via their modulation of oxidative stress status. Blumberg is a professor in the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University where he teaches graduate students and trains post-doctoral fellows. Prior to accepting his position at Tufts, he was an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions at Northeastern University and served as head of the Section of Pharmacology and director of the Program in Toxicology, which he founded.

Sebastien Bornet is the purchasing director at Nutraco, the central purchasing organization for Numico. Bornet has an economic background and his past positions include area sales manager for a Swiss trading company, where he handled sales and purchasing between European and North African countries; consultant for a European dairy production company, where he dealt with the ex-republics of the Soviet Union; and private banking for a Brazilian investment group in Rio de Janeiro and London.

Julie Boutaghou is a senior scientist in the sensory evaluation/consumer research department at Land O' Lakes and rtech laboratories, where she has been employed for seven years. Prior to Land O' Lakes, she did sensory evaluation at Hormel Foods in Austin, Minn. for four years; worked in technical service at A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co. in Decatur, Ill., for one year; and did product development at Beatreme Foods (now Kerry Ingredients) in Beloit, Wis. for three years. She received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the North Dakota State University and an master's in food science from University of Minnesota. She has broad experience in designing, conducting and interpreting sensory and consumer research.

Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., is acting president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), one of the dietary supplement industry's leading trade associations. A recognized expert and author, Dickinson has more than 30 years experience in the dietary supplement industry. Her most recent publication is CRN's 2002 edition of The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements, a comprehensive review of the evidence demonstrating the health benefits of core nutritional supplements including multivitamins. In 2002, she was appointed to serve a three-year term on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Advisory Committee. She was appointed by President Clinton to the Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels. Her expertise includes the legal and technical aspects of marketing dietary supplements, including provisions relating to labeling, advertising and good manufacturing practices. She is responsible for analyzing and responding to new regulatory or legislative proposals as well as evaluating new scientific research relating to the safety and benefits of dietary supplements.

Lesley Fair is a senior attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Division of Advertising Practices, where she has represented the FTC in numerous investigations of deceptive advertising. She specializes in the marketing of food, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, dietary supplements and other health-related products both in traditional media and online. A recipient of the Paul Rand Dixon Award for Law Enforcement and the FTC's Award for Outstanding Scholarship, she is a vice-chair of the Consumer Protection Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law. She has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States and is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar. On the adjunct faculty of the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America since 1984, Fair holds the title of Distinguished Lecturer. Fair graduated with high honors from the University of Notre Dame and received a juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.

Heather Granato has 11 years experience in trade publishing in the natural products industry, currently serving as the group editor for Virgo Publishing's Natural Products Division. The division includes the magazines Natural Products Industry INSIDER and HSR: Health Supplement Retailer. She has been a presenter at industry events including SupplySide, Natural Products Expo, the Natural Gourmet Show and NNFA MarketPlace. Her additional publishing experience includes Looking Fit, SunWellness, Country Living's Healthy Living, Delicious! and WomenOf.com. She currently serves as the president-elect for the Phoenix Alumnae chapter of the national women's fraternity Kappa Alpha Theta. Granato graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond, Va., in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Ira Hecht's multi-disciplinary background as a business attorney, certified public accountant and software developer allows him to bring a broad range of value-added expertise to his clients. Hecht provides highly focused and creative advice on the creation, structuring, acquisition, financing, expansion and sale of privately held and publicly traded businesses, negotiation and implementation of sophisticated business transactions, as well as creative asset protection mechanisms. His legal experience has been heavily focused in: captive insurance, computer and internet law, corporate finance and securities, corporate and business law, domestic and international taxation, insurance law and mergers and acquisitions, as well as the protection and licensing of intellectual property. Hecht has assisted several nationally recognized organizations in developing and implementing pure and group captive insurance programs as alternatives to commercial insurance. Hecht advises organizations regarding the optimum captive insurance company ownership structure, as well as the most attractive offshore or domestic domicile for a captive insurance company.

Jeff Hilton is co-founder and president of Integrated Marketing Group (IMG), a service company providing marketing and branding assistance to clients in the healthy lifestyles industry. Hilton has been recognized by Advertising Age as one of the nation's Top 100 marketers. He has more than 25 years of broad-based business experience, including 12 years spent within the natural healthcare industry. Before founding IMG, Hilton worked with Nutraceutical Corp. as president of its KAL division. Prior to KAL, he served as vice president of marketing at Nature's Way. Over his career, Jeff has played a key role in building many national brands including Continental Airlines, Mrs. Field's Cookies and Major League Baseball.

Harvey Kamil is the president and chief financial officer of NBTY Inc. He is a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant.Kamil is a board member for the Council for Responsible Nutrition and National Nutritional Foods Association, as well as a member of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue.

Jesse Lopez is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Source One Global. Lopez recently founded Source One Global, LLC, which offers totally integrated sales and marketing programs, providing quality health and nutrition solutions tailored to the needs of the health and nutrition industry. Source One is built on the concept of sourcing and delivering safe, efficacious, science-based products and building brands that will help restore consumer confidence. Previously, Lopez served as executive vice president of Natural Health Sciences (NHS), the North American arm of Horphag Research. Prior to NHS, through his sales leadership and thorough understanding of the nutraceuticals market, he successfully led the implementation of strategic marketing initiatives and product launches at Cognis Nutrition and Health that resulted in growth in the most difficult markets.

Michael McGuffin is president of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the national trade association and voice of the herbal supplement industry. Founded in 1983, AHPA is the recognized leader in representing the responsible center of the botanical trade, and is comprised of the finest growers, processors, manufacturers and marketers of herbal products. McGuffin has been active in the herbal industry since 1975, having owned both retail and manufacturing businesses in this field. He is the managing editor of AHPA's Botanical Safety Handbook (1997) and of Herbs of Commerce, Second Edition (2000), of which the first edition was adopted by the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) as federal law. He has represented the herbal industry at state and federal hearings on regulatory issues and as a member of the FDA's Food Advisory Committee Working Group on Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements. He also serves as treasurer of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and as a board member of the United Plant Savers.

Gail Montgomery was named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nutrition 21 in September 2000, having first joined as general manager of Nutrition 21's ingredient business in 1999. Experienced in turnarounds, new business development, management and product innovation, she has held senior executive positions in the health and nutrition products industries for more than twenty years. She served as president and CEO of Diet Workshop, one of the country's first diet franchise networks, and as president of Fresh n' Fit, a health food company, providing gourmet nutritionally balanced meals targeted to weight management. She was founder and president of Health Advantage Consulting, a business-consulting firm serving the physician and diet franchise markets, and owner operator of Personal Profiles, a fitness training facility. Montgomery has a bachelor's degree in english and communications from Rutgers University.

Todd Norton is the president and chief operations officer at Sabinsa Corp. where he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Sabinsa's New Jersey and Utah operations. He began working at Sabinsa in 1994 as vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Sabinsa, Norton spent 15 years with Nature's Herbs (A Twinlab company). He started working in the dietary supplement industry in 1978 operating encapsulation equipment while in high school. Nearly all of his 15 years there were spent in production, quality control and purchasing functions. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration.

Marianne O'Shea is a nutrition and technical service manager of Lipid Nutrition Loders Croklaan U.S. Her responsibilities include the operation of clinical studies on Lipid Nutrition products in the U.S., and supporting the sales and marketing teams within the U.S. O'Shea has been with Loders Croklaan since August 2000. She has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from UCD Ireland and a Ph.D. from DCU, Ireland. Her Ph.D. research investigated the mechanisms of action of conjugated linoleic acid and she has several publications in the area.

David Parish, president and CEO of Designed Nutritional Products, is an organic chemist with more than 16 years involvement in the nutritional industry. Prior to running Designed Nutritional, he worked for a Utah corporation researching and producing nutritional ingredients and pharmaceutical intermediates. While there, he was instrumental in significant breakthroughs for the nutritional industry. He maintains an ongoing collaborative effort with the National Cancer Institute and has patents, and patents pending, covering fibromyalgia, irritable bowel, chronic fatigue syndrome, PMS, menopause, depression and the common cold. Considered one of the experts on specialty ingredients, including dietary indoles and germanium sesquioxide, Parish was a guest speaker at the Doctor's Medical Convention on Cancer and Aging in Miami and Seattle and has lectured at industry functions in New Jersey, Nevada, California and Europe.

David Seckman is executive director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), a California-based, 4,000-member organization of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of natural products. Seckman supervises a staff of 22 and oversees a $4 million budget. Seckman joined NNFA in May 2000 after serving as vice president for regulatory affairs for the American Health Care Association (AHCA). During his 11-year tenure at AHCA, Seckman increased both the visibility and credibility of the organization with Congress, federal agencies and related groups. In addition, Seckman also served as interim CEO for the AHCA, directing an $18 million budget and 85-person staff. He played a key role in developing and directing a national public relations and lobbying campaign that resulted in nearly $3 billion in additional funding for his industry. He also initiated several actions to improve upon the effectiveness of both internal and external operations at AHCA.

Minesh Shah's current position is purchasing manager (VMS) for Nutraco, the central purchasing organization for Numico. Previously, he spent more than five years in retail sales where he was a sales floor manager and business development manager. He also performed clinical and administrative duties for two years in the hospital arena. Shah has more than five years of global experience in the nutraceutical industry covering areas of product development, operations and logistics, and business development. He holds a master's degree in health care management and a bachelor's degree in biomedical science, with concentrations in polymer technology, organic chemistry and physiology.

Girish Solanki, industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, has authored several research publications, been quoted widely and is considered to be an expert in the processed food and chemicals industry. In addition, he has been involved in strategic consulting projects for several clients. He is currently involved in projects for the Hewin International service (formerly with John Wiley & Sons) of Frost & Sullivan that conducts specialized techno-market research in the field of oleochemicals, esters and surfactants. This service provides a continuous stream of in-depth analysis and information on the latest developments within the industry. Besides these, Solanki has diverse experience in other areas within the food industry including enzymes, fatty esters, sports nutrition, dietary supplements, medical foods, et cetera. Prior to joining Frost & Sullivan, he was a graduate researcher in the field of food science and technology at Cornell University where he earned his master's degree.

Marc Ullman, partner at Ullman, Shapiro and Ullman, represents clients in matters relating to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) matters, regulatory issues, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proceedings and litigation. His practice includes representation relating to FDA compliance including labels, labeling, claims, good manufacturing practices as well as a number of complex proceedings with the FDA relating to the agency's powers under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 and its ability to seek remedies such as consumer restitution. He has represented clients in proceedings involving the FTC including the negotiation of consent decrees and litigation regarding the adequacy of substantiation of advertising claims. He has appeared/testified on behalf of clients before the FDA's Food Advisory Committee and at the April 2000 hearing concerning the impact of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution on FDA's regulation of health claims concerning diseases.

Chuck Wach, director of materials management at Nature's Sunshine, is responsible for global procurement, operations planning and supply management. He oversees contract manufacturing, strategic sourcing agreements, supplier certification and establishes inventory policies. He is actively involved, in connection with new products, in marketing and research and development. With more than 15 years of broad-base international experience, he has worked in various operations and purchasing functions with leading-industry companies such as Perrier Group of America, Heinz USA and Frito Lay. Wach received his bachelor's degree in business finance from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business.

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