About Alt-Meat

Editorial

Lisa M. Keefe

Editor
Lisa M. Keefe joined Meatingplace as editor in 2008 and has since led the editorial team to 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards and numerous other editorial honors. She also authors The Center of My Plate blog on meatingplace.com, where she offers commentary on the news and issues of the day affecting the meat and poultry industry. Before joining Meatingplace, she held key editorial positions at the American Marketing Association, Crain’s Chicago Business, Forbes and the Orlando Sentinel. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. 

Melissa Sue Sorrells

Managing Editor
Melissa Sue Sorrells is managing editor for Alt-Meat in all its forms, and senior editor for Meatingplace. In her previous professional lives, Melissa wrote and edited award-winning service features for women’s magazines, worked on community building efforts at Hearst and created award-winning marketing materials and experiences for small liberal arts colleges.

Contributing Editors:

Ed Finkel, Annemarie Mannion, Cynthia McVey, Chris Scott

Design and Production

Brittney Hackbart

Associate Art Director
Brittney Hackbart is an award-winning designer who has spent nearly a decade in the B2B publishing industry, refining her skills. As Associate Art Director she is involved in both print and website design for all MTG brands. In her free time, this design aficionado and outdoor enthusiast enjoys rock climbing.

Steve Vanden Heuvel

Vice President/Creative Director
Steve is an award-winning creative director and 20-year veteran of B2B publishing, a film enthusiast and connoisseur of the craft beer variety. He's responsible for creative direction on all of MTG's properties and user interfaces for all of MTG’s web products.

Karen Ruesch

Production Manager
Karen Ruesch has more than 25 years worth of production experience for business-to-business publications. “I am very happy to work with the award winning editorial and design teams for Meatingplace and CarneTec, as well as the publishing, sales and marketing teams." In her spare time, Karen is an artist and photographer, enjoys travel, and spends time in the woods with her rescue lab/corgi.

Sales and Marketing

Bill Kinross

VP, Group Publisher
As Vice President, Group Publisher, Bill leads the Alt-Meat, CarneTec and Meatingplace brands. Now in his 14th year of leadership, Kinross and his team continue to be at the forefront of the processing industry with high engagement content and innovative multimedia advertising platforms. “We help ensure that the industry leaders continue to lead, that up-and- comers can break through the clutter to be recognized and that new entries can be noticed by our audience."

Laurie Hachmeister

VP/Corporate Marketing
As Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Laurie Hachmeister oversees efforts to elevate the company’s brands through integrated marketing programs, face-to-face events and custom publishing. With Laurie’s more-than 25 years of marketing and branding expertise, Meatingplace and its sister brands have experienced a myriad of sales and event successes.

Sales:

Jeff Sutley

Senior Account Executive
Jeff Sutley brings over 14 years of experience working with clients to effectively deliver their important news and messaging to industry buyers. “Working closely with companies and understanding their marketing priorities provides the foundation to effectively position the right message, in front of the best audience, at the most opportune time” said Sutley. He is excited to join the MTG Media Group team and looks forward to working hand-in-hand with suppliers to help tell their full professional story to potential buyers.

John McMillan

Account Executive
John McMillan has spent 15 years in marketing and advertising, including work in print, television, and on the agency side of the business. He also started his own marketing business. McMillan takes pride in his responsiveness to client inquiries and requests. “I love working with clients to find creative ways to solve problems with different marketing avenues and developing long-term plans to grow their business,” he said. “Working the last year and half within the food industry I really found my passion for the industry and people that work in it,” John recently joined the team at MTG Media Group and is excited to work with customers to help them get the best results.
 

Karen Moriarty

Account Executive
Karen Moriarty has spent more than 15 years connecting suppliers who are passionate about serving the meat industry with Meatingplace and CarneTec. “Helping them get their product in front of processors is the most satisfying part of the job,” said Moriarty. She listens carefully to client objectives and provides clear options based on those objectives. She believes that a salesperson really needs to care for customers to be successful. “The industry feels like family,” added Moriarty. “I love working with people who are passionate about what they do.

Corporate Management  

Mark Lefens

President
With more than 35 years immersed in the meat and poultry industries, Mark Lefens has personally visited hundreds of packing and processing plants around the world. Seeing a need for more targeted meat and poultry industry publications, in January of 1993, he founded Marketing & Technology Group. He is a recognized authority on industry trends and issues by packers, processors and suppliers. Lefens holds a B.S. in Economics from Utah State University.