Roger Bilen, President
Roger, a founding member of Trade Palms, has served in several ways - vice president, grant searching, loan amortization chart construction, member of loan candidate review committee, and back up secretary. Roger also has served in many church roles - on mission committees, co-superintendent of elementary Sunday school, adult teacher, and helped build 18 Houses for Habitat of Humanity and Fuller Center for Housing. Roger’s 46 year secular career started with 36 years involved with Owens Corning with positions as fiberglass insulation process development engineer including 5 patents. Later, he moved to the corporate engineer of the fiberglass insulation process and covered all plants in USA and Canada, and startup of new plants in Finland, Belgium, England, South Korea, and China. His last 10 years of his career involved private consulting in USA, Canada, South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan.
Dr. Ib Hagsten, Past President
Ib, co-founder of Trade Palms, is President and Technical Director of Hagsten Enterprises International, Inc., an agricultural consulting business with worldwide reach. Ib has nearly fifty years of experience in the agriculture world and over ten years of experience in the consulting business. Ib has made significant contributions to the field of agriculture in North America which include animal welfare and nutrition, farm conservation, and organic farming and processing. He leads workshops and speaks worldwide.
Phil Josephson, Treasurer
Phil, co-founder of Trade Palms, is the Executive Director of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, the social-professional fraternity of agriculture. He has served as Chief Executive since 1975. Phil is an awarded leader and speaker throughout the fraternity world, making outstanding contributions to the Fraternity Executives Association and the North-American Interfraternity Conference. Phil comes to Trade Palms as a respected meeting planner, financial planner, and investment strategist.
Skuli Gudmundsson, Secretary
Skuli, a founding member of Trade Palms, is a native of Iceland who immigrated to the United States in 1965. Before starting his own business, Skuli worked for twenty-two years at TWA, finishing as Director of Ground Safety. Skuli co-founded OCCU-TEC Inc., a Kansas City based full-service consulting firm that provides specialized assistance and training in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, and environmental protection. For the past twenty-four years, he and his staff have been assisting their clients with loss prevention, risk management and OSHA and EPA regulatory issues.