Our Team — Your Site Title

Steve Polski

Chief Executive Officer

Steve Polski brings over 38 years of experience driving supply chain efficiency and developing profitable, sustainable revenue streams. A former Cargill executive, he worked globally to strengthen resilience in high-profile commodity markets. As Co-Founder and CEO of Live Better Beef, LLC, Steve led the strategy and plant design for Sustainable Beef, LLC — a Walmart-backed venture in North Platte, Nebraska. His leadership reflects a commitment to sustainable innovation and building value across the agriculture industry.

Todd Churchill

Chief Financial Officer

Todd Churchill is a pioneering rancher and social entrepreneur who founded Thousand Hills Cattle Company, one of the first national grass-fed beef brands. He currently serves as Co-Founder and CFO of Standard Soil and as a Consulting CFO and Ag Industry Leader at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), where he supports large ag and food businesses nationwide. Through his firm, CFO Insights LLC, he has served as part-time CFO to over 90 startups in sustainable agriculture and food. Todd also co-founded the Grassfed Exchange, advancing regenerative grassland practices. He and his family actively ranch across Minnesota, Illinois, and Oklahoma.

Russ Conser

Chief Technology Officer

Russ Conser, a mechanical engineer from Iowa State University, spent 30 years with Shell advancing from global upstream operations to corporate strategy and technology innovation. He led Shell’s global “GameChanger” program, pioneering early-stage energy innovations and gaining foresight into the renewable energy transition. After retiring in 2013, he co-founded and now leads Standard Soil, a company scaling regenerative agriculture. Russ also serves as CTO of PermanentFarming, converting agricultural waste into biogas, power, and soil fertility products. In addition, he is a Venture Partner at Ecosphere Ventures, supporting transformative climate and sustainability technologies.

Bill Rubis

Chief Construction Officer

Bill Rubis serves as the Chief Construction Officer for PermanentFarming, bringing over 30 years of experience in corporate strategy, sales leadership, and agricultural facility construction. With more than 18 years in the cattle production sector and over 500 slatted-floor covered barns built, Bill is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading general contractors in beef-cattle facility design. His career spans agricultural importing, wholesaling, logistics, and hands-on ranching operations, giving him a practical, producer-focused approach. Bill’s projects are known for their durability, efficiency, and industry-best practices, and he continues to partner closely with clients to improve safety, productivity, and long-term performance across the beef supply chain.

William Hale

Executive Vice President, Strategy

William Hale is a seasoned executive with more than 22 years of experience in corporate strategy, global operations, and leadership transformation across agriculture, food, and aviation. As Founder of Active Compass, he provides fractional strategy and operations guidance, along with executive coaching for organizations of all sizes. Formerly Chief of Global Operations for Cargill’s Corporate Strategy & Development function, he led a global team driving strategic execution and engagement across four continents. William is known for aligning strategy with execution, fostering values-based cultures, and mentoring future leaders through community and board service.

Dr. Michael Schuppenhauer

Executive Vice President, Engineering

Dr. Michael R. Schuppenhauer is a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, and cleantech executive with over 25 years of experience spanning renewable energy, biogas, biosciences, corporate finance, and strategic communications. He holds a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Hamburg and a Ph.D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), and was a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley. Michael built his first anaerobic digester in 1987 and has led U.S. biogas and biofuels development since 2006, including serving as CEO & President of Farmatic Inc.'s U.S. operations. From 2018 through 2025, he was an Affiliate and Principal Investigator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, securing $10.5 million in federal grants through two U.S. DOE ARPA-E Awards. Earlier in his career, he worked with McKinsey & Company, Hambrecht & Quist (now JP Morgan), and Fleishman-Hillard, where he advised governments, executed major M&A transactions, raised nearly $100 million across two IPOs, and established two venture funds.