New SSGA team member ready to make an impact

Gary Williams and the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) have found each other at the right moment in time.

“This is a transformative organization,” Williams said.

After a lengthy career across the transportation and specialty grains industries, Williams took a step back from those pursuits during the past few years. But when SSGA and its management organization, Ag Management Solutions (AMS), launched a hiring search for a new director of transportation and regulatory affairs in early 2024, Williams felt the urge to return to an industry he knows best.

“The one thing I wanted to be assured of is, that whatever I did, I wanted to be able to have an impact,” Williams said during a break at the end of his first week on the job at SSGA’s headquarters in Mankato, Minn. “When the opportunity came forward to work with AMS and SSGA, that was something that I got really excited about, because with ag transportation, there are a lot of important crossroads that we’re both moving through and coming up on, so this truly was something that came along that will allow me to have an impact. That was a big ‘check’ for me.”

Eric Wenberg, SSGA’s executive director, said Williams is joining the organization at an ideal moment, as the national association marks its fifth year of operations while anticipating industry trends across the globe.

“With his position, Gary becomes the national leader for those who trade grains and oil seeds in containers,” Wenberg said. “We’re excited to stand behind him to help him improve the industry, and SSGA members and supporting allies should expect to see Gary a lot.”

A native of Ohio who grew up on a beef cattle farm as the son of a vocational agriculture teacher, Williams arrives at SSGA with more than 35 years of experience in the transportation of specialty grains across North America, including managing specialty grains and oilseeds for a three-state co-op.

“That (position) made specialty grains near and dear to my heart, especially on the oilseed side,” he said.

Williams has crossed paths SSGA staff and members in recent years. He’s supported SSGA’s programs and initiatives, most recently as a panelist at the inaugural Identity Preserved International Summit in January 2023 in Hawaii. He said he’s excited to work alongside Wenberg, who also celebrates five years with SSGA in March.

“Eric has a set of experiences and skills in a lot of areas that I can benefit from,” Williams said. “I think we’ll work really well together and complement each other with my experience on the commercial side of putting the seed in the ground to getting it to the destination countries or distributors, and Eric’s background of facilitating trade and ensuring that those barriers are removed. The beauty is that we can both lean on each other.”

In his spare time, Williams is an avid lover of nature and fitness who teaches outdoor education and guides trips with the Mount St. Helens Institute.

“My weekends are spent sharing the ecology, volcanology, geology and the culture of Mount St. Helens,” said Williams, who’s been married to his Australian-born wife, Danielle, for 25 years. “I also participate in a lot of longer-distance trail runs, particularly in the mountains. That’s where I like to spend my time.”

Williams will represent SSGA from his home near Vancouver, Wash. He’ll also work on behalf of AMS’ roster of clients from across the nation.

“I’m in great location, because the Pacific Northwest is such an important outlet for producers in the Midwest,” he said.

Williams will attend his first event since joining SSGA at the organization’s upcoming Transportation Go! Conference in Toledo, Ohio, where he’ll will have a chance to engage with SSGA board members and learn more about the organization’s key priorities in 2024 and beyond.

“SSGA is an example of associations and organizations needing to transform and be relevant,” he said. “I think that’s what you’re seeing with SSGA and why there’s growth and numerous new projects.”