The Greig Farm Market was founded in 1975 and specializes in local produce, local products and fresh baked pies and donuts. During the growing season they offer their own fruits and vegetables, fresh picked daily, as well as produce from neighboring farms. They also carry work by local craftspeople including locally spun wool hats and scarves, woven baskets and handmade pottery.
Norman Greig graduated Cornell University's College of Agricutre and Life Sciences in 1973.
Elizabeth Ryan developed a passion for agriculture from earlier generations and is CEO of Breezy Hill Orchard.
Developed for and sold to thousands of New Yorkers in the Union Square Green Market, their products include apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, and the value-added products that come from these fruits. The most significant of these value-added products is draft cider, for which the company aggressively raised private equity to launch a national product.
Elizabeth Ryan is a graduate of Cornell University.
Mike Pratico, Jr., graduated from Cornell University with Honors in 1998. Prior to graduating from Cornell, Pratico along with two other partners formed Davanita Design, LLC, an e-strategy and implementation consulting firm. At Davanita, Pratico was responsible for many of the business operational needs including new business development, human resources, finance, and legal. Most notably, Pratico oversaw a capital infusion and the later sale of the company to Avatar Technology, Inc. in 2000.
Francis Farwell, founder of WinterSilks Inc., a Middleton, Wis., mail-order apparel company, planned to sell his business from the start. Based on that decision, he built the business accordingly. Instead of plowing all his earnings into growth, he made sure the company maintained a sizable free cash flow, making it more attractive to potential buyers. In 1990, Farwell sold out, pocketing several million dollars.
Carushka Jarecka is founder of Carushka Bodywear. When she started her own company in 1978, at the age of 25, with only $3,000, Carushka knew that to be a success in the competitive fashion industry, she would need to create a niche that reflected how women feel about themselves. "My greatest strength as a business woman is originality. Our corporate slogan, 'Expect the Unexpected' is what I always want to provide the customers with."
Carushka Jarecka earned a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 1973, as well as a couture diploma from the Trippon School of Design.
Karen Davies is a Commercial Loan Officer with Crestar (which was acquired by SunTrust right before the interview).
Julie McPeek has over eighteen years experience in Sales and Marketing at Procter & Gamble, covering a wide array of product categories and retailing venues. Her expertise is in forming long-term partnerships with clients, identifying critical business issues, and designing appropriate business solutions to address those issues. Specializing in executive-level management relationships, Julie has personally sold to CEOs and executive officers of many of the companies comprising the Fortune 500.
Julie McPeek received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
David McElroy has been the Vice President of Operations and Business Development for Verdia since its formation in March 2002. In addition, McElroy is an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Plant Breeding at Cornell University.
McElroy formerly served as Vice President of Research and Development for Maxygen's agricultural business. Prior to joining Maxygen, McElroy was Product Development Manager at Dekalb Genetics Corporation, where he managed the development and commercial introduction of transgenic corn products with insect and herbicide resistance.
McElroy was a Fulbright Scholar to Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1991. He completed an Advanced Management Program at London Business School in 2000 and an Executive Program in Management and Technology at MIT Sloan School of Management in 1999.
Field Failing is the Founder of Fields Good Chicken. Field Failing has an undergraduate degree and MBA from Cornell University.