HILLTOP SECURITIES - Key Persons
Brock Thompson was raised in Miami, TX, where he spent his childhood working alongside his family on their ranch. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. After graduation, Brock was involved in the feedyard industry as an employee and later on as a partner. Brock also worked for Micro Beef Technologies, as an animal health sales representative. Brock has spent the past 19 years working with clients in the agriculture and energy industries, providing marketing recommendations and commodity risk management. Brock has been a Commodity Trading Advisor and has advised clients on manage future programs. Brock remains active in the cattle feeding industry as a cattle feeder.
He is a member of Texas Cattle Feeders Association, where he previously served on the market committee. Brock is the on National Cattlemen's Beef Association's, Tax and Finance Committee, as well as the College of Agricultural Developmental Council for Texas A&M University.
Brock locally serves on the Texas Panhandle Regional Development Council. Brock is married to his Wife Berkley of 20 yrs. They have two boys Ty (19) currently attending Baylor University and Trent (15) a freshman at Amarillo High School. Brock is a multi-engine, instrument rated pilot and enjoys flying in his spare time.
Ed was Responsible for overall Grain Merchandising, Hedging, and Truck & Rail Logistics, as well as being involved in Acquisitions of additional facilities which grew the company from a single grain elevator to over 100 facilities ranking Attebury Grain among the top 5 Grain Storage companies in North America.
Ed recently retired from Attebury Grain and is now part of the team at Tru Trading LLC in Amarillo, Texas as a Commodity Broker and AG Marketing Advisor. Ed, and the Tru Trading group use their collective knowledge assisting farmers and livestock producers in Risk Management and Developing Marketing Plans for profitability and success.
and all that it entails for agribusiness firms is Lauren's main focus. In her position at TRU Trading she focuses on individual client hedge strategies that include futures, options, OTC contracts, cash sales, calendar spreads, and crop insurance. Working to understand total financial risk and best utilize the tools that are available to work with, in a way that benefits each client's unique situation, is her chief goal. Before working as a risk management consultant, she worked as a grain marketing specialist for a large commercial grain company. Her primary interests include the grain and cattle business, markets, economics and trading.
By far Lauren's best experience in the agriculture industry has been working alongside her husband in his growing farming operation. Forage production is the main objective for the couple: growing corn, wheat, and sorghum silage for silage and hay production. Along with their own farms they manage a custom baling and a custom farming business. This experience in production agriculture has helped Lauren gain a deeper understanding of the daily decisions farmers and ranchers make and has added value for her clients. Together they also raise their two daughters: Sadie and Mindi.
Lauren graduated from Texas A&M University in May of 2013 with a Master's degree in Agribusiness, on the heels of having graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics with an emphasis in Food Marketing and Certifications in both Meat Science and International Trade and Agriculture. In addition, Lauren has participated in international agribusiness conferences and tours in China, New Zealand, Australia, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Ross was born in Nazareth TX, and raised on a diversified farming and feedlot operation, as well as working extensively with a local dairy for several years. After graduating from the TCU Ranch Management Program in 2006, he came back home to start his own farming operation.
In addition to owning a corn/cotton/silage focused farming operation in the Southern Panhandle since 2006, Ross has embraced his love of trading, starting from trading commercial cross country grain and freight arbitrage to supplement the farm income, to eventually trading full time for himself in 2012. At this time he also began developing proprietary technical and statistical trading models for individual consulting clients in the energy space to assist them in their trading activities, as well as trading / sales for a startup hedge fund.
In 2016 Ross joined Tru Trading's new consulting venture Tru Vision Ag Consulting as a market strategist, taking his proprietary trading models in futures and options and condensing them into a palatable, producer focused program that emphasizes not only protecting profits on the cash commodities, but enhancing those margins at every chance possible. Ross's main market focus is corn / cotton and energy markets. Between managing client and personal trading positions, his farm and a wife and 7 kids, Ross has no other hobbies (or free time) but does enjoy a good beer and a good baseball game.
In 2012, Will partnered with Brock Thompson to start Tru Trading Co. for their risk management and commodity brokerage business and has since Started Tru Land Realty (farm and ranch real estate brokerage) and Tru Vision Ag Consulting (crop marketing management). All three of these businesses tie together with the relationships we currently service.