Select Clients
Key Strategic Management Team
Commercial Organizations
Robert J. Ludwig,
Principal, The Hale Group
Mr. Ludwig’s thirty-five year
consulting career has focused on a
broad variety of subjects within the
food and agribusiness industries. His
consulting experience includes the
total supply chain from agricultural
inputs to consumer trends. He is well known for
his work in strategic planning, new opportunity
assessment, market analysis, and financial analysis.
Throughout his career, Mr. Ludwig has led many
projects for commercial companies and industry
associations. Mr. Ludwig grew up on a dairy farm
in Pennsylvania. He received his A.B. degree from
Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania and his M.S.
degree from the University of New Hampshire.
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Burger King Corporation • Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Campbell Soup Company • Monsanto Agricultural Company
Coca-Cola Company
• Nestlé U.S.A.
Cracker Barrel, Inc. • Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
Deere & Company
• Pioneer Hi-Bred
Del Monte Corporation
• Sunkist Growers, Inc.
Dunkin’ Donuts
• Syngenta Seeds, Inc.
Hershey Foods Corporation • Tyson Foods, Inc.
J.M. Smucker Company • Unilever / Best Foods
Kraft Foods, Inc.
• Wendy’s International
Kroger Company
Government Agencies
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Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Missouri Department of Agriculture
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Industry Associations
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Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
American Meat Institute American Soybean Association
California Table Grape Commission
California Tree Fruit Agreement
Grocery Manufacturers of America International Foodservice Manufacturers Association
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Chicken Council National Corn Growers Association
National Pork Producers Council
United Soybean Board
U.S.A. Poultry & Egg Export Council
U.S. Grains Council
U.S. Meat Export Federation
Contact Information
The Hale Group, Ltd.
8 Cherry Street
Danvers, MA 01923
Phone: 800-229-4253
E-mail: rludwig@halegroup.com
Web Site: www.halegroup.com
Strategic International Alliance
of Marketing Professionals, LLC.
46786 Snow Hill Way, Suite 200
Potomac Falls, VA 20165
Phone: 703-444-5330
E-mail: siam_prof@yahoo.com
Additional strategic partners may include:
• Economic Consultants Group, LLC
• LSC International, Inc.
• Townsend Management, LLC
Kent D. Sisson,
President, SIAM Professionals, LLC.
Mr. Sisson is the owner and
President of SIAM Professionals.
Serving 27 years with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
from 1981-2008, he has extensive
experience in managing and implementing USDA’s
food and agricultural market development, promotion,
credit, capacity building and food assistance
programs, most notably when he served from
2002-2005 as the Assistant Deputy Administrator
for Commodity & Marketing Programs. Mr. Sisson
served eight years in Indonesia and Malaysia and
has traveled throughout the world developing an
extensive network of trade contacts with foreign
food importers, distributors, wholesalers, major
supermarket chains, as well as foreign-based FAS
Cooperator representatives, especially throughout
Asia and in Canada. Mr. Sisson has an M.S. in
Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois
and a B.S. in Agricultural Mechanization from the
University of Idaho. He is fluent in Indonesian.
The Hale Group, Ltd.
and
Strategic International Alliance
of Marketing Professionals, LLC.
Announce a Global
Consulting Partnership
Hale
Group
The
A Global Partnership
Consulting Experience
Our Expertise
The Hale Group, Ltd. (THG) and Strategic International
Alliance of Marketing Professionals, LLC. (SIAM) have
created a partnership to combine THG’s knowledge
of the commercial food industry and SIAM’s
expertise in international market development and
FAS programs.
Our range of current and past assignments includes:
The Hale Group
• Developing multi-year product and channel
growth strategies
The Hale Group is a strategic management consulting
organization dedicated to serving clients in the food
system. The focus of THG’s efforts is:
The combined skill sets of both successful organizations
provide clients with in-depth knowledge of the
domestic and international markets across the entire
food industry.
Combining the complementary resources and
expertise of THG with those of SIAM will provide
clients with:
• Expertise in export promotion
• Program evaluation
• Relationships with a broad collection of U.S. and International Industry Experts
– Ag Trade Associations
– Government Agencies
– Farmers
– Manufacturers
– Brokers
– Distributors
– Food Service Operators
– Retailers
• Evaluating brand equity based on market
participant perceptions
• Assessment of performance measurements
• Identifying and assessing potential foreign
business partners in trade, marketing and
investment
Providing Broad Expertise across the
Global Food System
Ag
Input
Ag Production
Livestock/Crop
1st Stage
Processing
Food
Manufacturing
Global
Consumer
Strategic International Alliance of Marketing
Professionals
SIAM Professionals is the U.S.-based headquarters of a
network of food and agricultural marketing organizations
located throughout the world, and particularly in Asia.
The underlying philosophy of SIAM’s efforts is:
• To provide a wide array of strategic marketing,
management, and investment projects for U.S. nonprofit agricultural trade organizations and private
food and agriculture companies worldwide
• To provide assistance in preparing and implementing
marketing plans, program evaluations, and proposals
for FAS market development and technical assistance
programs
Although THG and SIAM
have substantial “in-house”
expertise covering a wide
array of food business and
marketing needs of its clients,
we also maintain strategic
alliances with a number
of companies that allow us to pull together teams of
professionals that are custom fit to meet almost any
challenge. This includes:
• Complex quantitative modeling and analysis
• Management and administration of non-profit
Distribution
Retailers
marketplace and industry structure as a framework
for management decision making
the competitive position of clients through sound
analysis, planning and implementation
• Market research
• Innovative market approaches tailored to
address each unique product and market
combination
• To provide an integrated view of the changing
• To improve business performance and strengthen
• Member satisfaction surveys
• Identifying and assessing international
agribusiness investment opportunities
• Experience in global agriculture and international cultures
• Knowledge of the Foreign Agricultural Service
(FAS) programs
• Comprehensive industry strategic planning
• Value-added product introductions
Client Benefits
• Understanding of the food and agribusiness industries
• Multi-year strategic planning for associations
Foodservice
agriculture trade associations, and implementation
of their market development and technical assistance
programs
• Technical assessment and strategic planning for
biotech and seed companies