Leadership Team

Founder – Mr. Kevin Maher

Mr. Maher, the founder of GlobalVetLINK and a member of the Board of Managers, has a 30-year history involving animal production, animal health, information systems and related animal health technologies. 

The vision of the company was realized during Mr. Maher’s work with electronic identification systems in Europe, in addition to experience gained as director of Pig Improvement Company’s (PIC) Swine Information Division. In the role of providing information services to swine producers across North America, South America and the U.K., and with the Internet becoming more available throughout rural America, he saw an opportunity to “fix” a paper based, antiquated regulatory process with real-time, web-based technology; hence the formation of GlobalVetLINK. 

Mr. Maher served on the National Institute of Agriculture board of directors for six years. He has also served on the United States Animal Health Association, Livestock Identification Committee since 2002, and is currently the vice chairman of that committee. From 2005 through 2009, Mr. Maher served on the Biosciences Committee for the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Since 2010 Mr. Maher has served on the Iowa Innovation Council. 

Mr. Maher holds a BS in Animal Science from Iowa State University.

Chief Executive Officer – Mr. Clifford Smith

Mr. Smith began serving as an advisor to GlobalVetLINK in 2009 and was appointed CEO in January 2011. He is the Founder and Principal of Arvo Partners, a strategic and financial consulting firm that assists private investors with identifying, recommending, implementing and managing strategic objectives that enhance value within the private companies they own. 

As President and CEO of Bench Dog, Mr. Smith successfully led this specialty tool company out of financial insolvency. He has over 10 years of venture capital experience working with and raising equity capital for start-up and early-stage companies. Mr. Smith previously served as President for RAIN Source Capital where he was responsible for developing, marketing, and managing a series of investment funds that provide seed and growth capital for emerging companies. Mr. Smith also worked as a consultant assisting in a management turnaround of a publically traded specialty software company in the geosciences market. 

Mr. Smith holds a BA in management from Hamline University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management.

Board of Managers

Conrad Schmidt, DVM

Dr. Schmidt graduated from the University Of Minnesota, College Of Veterinary Medicine. For 30 years he was an owner and staff member of a large veterinary practice specializing in production animal medicine. Dr Schmidt has received various honors from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, and state associations, for his leadership position in the animal production industry. 

As a partner in the Veterinary Medical Center PA of Worthington Minnesota, he served as the President of Oxford Veterinary Laboratories as well as Senior staff member for the clinic. Dr Schmidt served as a Vice President of UpJohn Animal Health, as well as Pharmacia. In 1987 Dr. Schmidt was recognized by the State of Minnesota as the entrepreneur of the year. 

Currently Dr. Schmidt is President of C.B. Schmidt and Associates LLC., a company that is engaged in developing leading edge technologies that enhance the animal production industry. Dr. Schmidt’s primary areas of expertise are in animal nutrition and food animal diagnostics, food safety; swine herd health and production, foreign animal disease, as well as animal identification and movement.

 Conrad Peter Schmidt

Conrad P. Schmidt is the Global Research Officer of the Corporate Executive Board (CEB; Nasdaq: EXBD). In this role, Conrad is responsible for strategic oversight of CEB’s global research activities across all divisions and business groups as well as direct oversight of the firm’s office in India (Delhi).

Conrad joined CEB in 1998. His work has focused on using advanced analytic techniques to solve complex business problems in areas such as decision making, global leadership, talent management, sales force productivity, employee productivity, employment branding, and business metrics. Across his tenure at CEB, Conrad founded the firm’s first professional services business (CLC-Genesee and SEC-Solutions), managed the firm’s first centralized team for data collection, analysis and reporting, and served as Chief Research Officer of the Corporate Leadership Council (CLC). Conrad is a member of CEB’s Corporate Strategy Council and its Global Leadership Group. He chairs the firm’s “Idea Council” and is a faculty member of the firm’s global academy.

Prior to joining the Corporate Executive Board, Conrad was a Doctoral Fellow at RAND, a not for profit research and development corporation located in Santa Monica, CA. Conrad holds a Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from the RAND Graduate School (1997), where he received the Goldhammer Award for outstanding public policy dissertation research. In addition, Conrad received an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and BA degrees in Economics and Political Science with honors from the University of Minnesota.

Craig Elliot

Mr. Elliott began serving on the GlobalVetLINK Board of Directors in 2008. He has more than two decades of sales and technology experience, holding senior positions with Apple Computer and as the founding CEO of the networking and communications product company, Packeteer. As President and CEO of Packeteer, Mr. Elliott raised more than $20 million dollars in venture capital funding, oversaw the creation of a new market segment in networking, the development of an award-winning product line, and the hiring of more than 200 employees worldwide. He took the company public in 1999, raising an additional $66 million dollars. Packeteer remained a profitable, publicly traded company until its recent sale to Blue Coat. Mr. Elliott retired as CEO in April 2002. Recently, Mr. Elliott founded a new company, Pertino Networks, where he is the CEO.

Previously, Mr. Elliott spent 10 years at Apple, in a variety of sales and marketing positions focusing on networking and communications. He was International General Manager of Internet and Online Services for Apple during some of their first forays into consumer online and Internet products and launched online services in 80 countries in 7 different languages. During this time, Mr. Elliott also co-wrote an introductory college textbook on computer science that was adopted by over 150 universities including Stanford and Michigan, a best-selling book on home automation technology and most recently two children’s books about automobile racing written in conjunction with NASCAR.

Mr. Elliott grew up in a small town in Iowa, and started his career on the farm. He holds a BS from Iowa State University in Animal Science and a minor in Microbiology.

Commercial Management Team

National Sales Manager – Mr. Brian Steffen
Integration Channel Manager – Mrs. Jill Wagner
Product Manager – Mrs. Heather Van Lin
Associate Product Manager – Mrs. Kaylen Henry