Gordon Lane
President/Chief Operating Officer
Joined Briess June 2002
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Milwaukee.
Profile: Broad background in the beverage, food and agricultural industries, including operations, sales, and research and development.

Robert O'Connell
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Joined Briess January 2006
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree, St. Mary's University, Winona, Minnesota.
Profile: More than 40 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development for food and beverage companies in the manufacturing, distribution, consumer packaged goods and industrial ingredient industries.

Rich Ellis
Division Manager - East
Joined Briess June 2010
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in fermentation science from UC-Davis.
Profile: A 15-year veteran of the brewing industrywith experience in production and sales, Rich previously worked as Technical Sales Manager at Gusmer Enterprises. Prior to that he was an award winning brewer while Director of Brewing at Sudwerk Brewery, Davis, and Brewmaster at Sudwerk Brewery and Grill, Sacramento.

Penny Pickart
Division Manager - Central
Joined Briess September 1996
Education: Course work at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin. Completed Siebel Institute brewing course.
Profile: Extensive experience with specialty malts including beer sensory, recipe formulation, troubleshooting brewhouse performance and evaluating operations to identify effective, cost efficient solutions. GABF and WBC competition judge.

David Richter
Division Manager - West
Joined Briess July 2006
Education: Associate Degree from Northern Virginia Community College. Studied at George Mason University, Virginia, Siebel Institute, Institute and Guild of Brewing and University of California-Davis.
Profile: More than 12 years experience as an award-winning brewer and director of brewing operations for HOPS Brewery prior to joining Briess. Awards include gold, silver and bronze medals at the GABF, WBC and Florida and Colorado competitions.

David Kuske
Director of Malting Operations
Joined Briess April 1995
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences with a Minor in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Profile: David has 22+ years experience in the malting industry and has held positions as Quality Control Lab Manager, Production Supervisor, Quality Assurance Manager, Plant Manager and Director of Malting Operations. He is experienced in lab methods and operations, malting R&D and new product development, malt and beer sensory evaluation, barley purchasing and management of the malting and roasting processes. David is a regular speaker on the subject of specialty malts at the MBAA Brewing & Malting Short Course, NCI / ASBC Barley and Malt course at NDSU and the Siebel Institute Brewing and Malting course.

Bob Hansen
Technical Services/Quality Manager
Joined Briess May 2001
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree with a double major in Biochemistry and Applied Math and Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Attended Siebel Institute courses.
Profile: Prior to joining Briess, Bob was a brewing consultant and brewer and consultant for Water Street Brewery, Milwaukee. At Briess, Bob commissioned a 500bbl brewhouse in the new Briess Extract Plant, and established a new Pilot Brewery. In addition to extensive R&D, Bob also provides technical support and recipe formulation assistance to customers. Frequent presenter to brewing and food industry groups.

Dan Bies
Technical Services Rep, Pilot Brewery
Joined Briess November 2007
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Attended brewing courses at Seibel Institute and microbiology courses at Silliker Laboratories.
Profile: Prior to joining Briess Dan gained experience as a chemist and lab leader in several industries. At Briess Dan is responsible for performing malt analysis, microbiological testing, brewing and conducting R&D projects including new product development and process improvement.

Judie Giebel
Technical Services Rep, Food & Bakery
Joined Briess July 1987
Education: Judie is an AIB Certified Ingredient Service Provider and an AIB Certified Baker (American Institute of Baking).
Profile: Extensive experience with the malting and food ingredients divisions at Briess. Has indepth knowledge of production processes and capabilities, production scheduling, raw materials, quality control procedures, ingredient applications and new product development. Hands-on pilot brewing and applications development experience.

Betsy Roberts
Technical Services Rep
Joined Briess June 2009
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree with a double major in Biochemistry and Food Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison
Profile: Experience in both the malting and food industries. Prior to joining Briess Betsy was a
Quality Supervisor for the J.M. Smucker Company. She started her career in the malting industry, gaining experience in production and quality analysis at Anheuser-Busch and the USDA Cereal Crops Research Unit Barley and Malt Division. At Briess Betsy is involved in R&D projects including new product development and process improvement.

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