Mr. Shepard graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S in Economics, emphasis on Finance in 1990. He then went to work for Cargill Investor Services Inc., (“Cargill”) as a trading floor clerk in Chicago, Illinois. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Shepard was a livestock market analyst for Cargill. From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Shepard was a floor manager and broker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) for Cargill. In this capacity he was responsible for daily communication and analysis of cash hog and pork belly markets. During this time he developed wide contacts with market participants including individuals at commercial organizations, professional traders, and commodity funds. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Shepard was a Senior Analyst for Cargill and was involved with over the counter sales. In this capacity he managed off-floor trading desk focused on growing research and over the counter options products.
From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Shepard was a trading manager for Cargill. During this period, Mr. Shepard Managed a 12-person floor operation at the CME for the agricultural trading units responsible for cattle, hog, and dairy complexes. He was also responsible for daily customer contact, analysis, and communication of cash market information and sales responsibilities for the cattle market. He also was able to develop a diverse clientele including index funds, hedge funds, commercial organizations, and professional traders.
In 2005, Mr. Shepard left Cargill and went to work for JBS USA, LLC (“JBS”) in Greeley, Colorado as the Director of Hedging. While at JBS, Mr. Shepard was responsible for the implementation and execution of the hedging programs for forward live animal purchases and forward product sales. He managed all hog and cattle futures positions. He also aided in the creation and implementation of a centralized trading business unit for all corporate risk measurements, reporting, and execution.
In 2008, Mr. Shepard worked in the trading and risk management division of JBS. In this role he developed and executed a dynamic hedging portfolio of futures and options for the beef division, and traded a strategic account geared for alpha exposure within the overall position. During this time he gained strong exposure to using options as a way to minimize risk and gained a strong understanding of long gamma strategies.
On 1/29/2015, after his time with JBS, Mr. Shepard became the trading principal of M & R Capital, LLC. With his rich experience in many channels of the livestock industry Mr. Shepard has been able to develop an expansive knowledge of the livestock market as well as a global network of contacts. As a Listed Principal of M & R Capital, LLC, Mr. Shepard is responsible for supervision and compliance with NFA Rules and other laws and regulations pertinent to all business conducted.