David B. Braden.

For a class in business school, Dave Braden read a passage in a self-help book by Wayne Dyer, and says that the powerful notion about attitudes, moods and reactions being completely within one's own control has stayed with him. It reads: "Success has nothing to do with wealth or status, and everything to do with one's decision to be happy."

Goes by: Dave

Title: Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

Company: Cargill Inc., agricultural trading and processing

Born: Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 22, 1952

Spouse: Ann, for 31 years

Children: Alex, 27; Julia, 23

Education: BA, Anthropology, Miami University, 1974; MBA, Colgate Darden School (Univ. of Virginia), 1978

Career Summary: Federal National Mortgage Association, Washington, D.C., 1974-76, mortgage specialist, getting my first exposure to business, bureaucracy and present-value analysis; Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., Financial Analyst, 1978-81; Financial Officer, 1981-93; Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer, 1993-present.

FEI Chapter: Twin Cities Chapter, since 1995; have chaired the Membership Retention Committee, served as Treasurer, then President. Also FEI Midwest Area Director and Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) Vice Chair.

Leisure: Running, reading, playing blues and folk guitar, cabin "puttering."

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Stress Management: I run at least four times a week, which is a great stress reducer. I try to maximize "office productivity" and minimize work brought home.

Time Management: I arrive at work early, and during the day I ensure ownership of tasks is well understood by owners, to keep things moving. When tempted to procrastinate, I ask myself, "What more will I know tomorrow about this than I know now?" If the answer is "Nothing," I act.

Favorite Book: A book with a lasting impact on me is Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. Although it's not without controversy, the book helps illuminate issues about the tremendous inequities in standards of living around the world. Far from the credit those of us in economically-developed nations like to give ourselves, we learn that the vagaries of geography have been overwhelming historical determinants of how we live today.

If I could, I'd spend one hour with: If my wife is reading this, the answer is "You, honey!" Otherwise, I might choose Thomas Jefferson, both to be in the presence of such brilliance and to try to grasp the thinking behind the incredible democracy he and others crafted. I would want to know his thoughts on where our country is today against the ideals so eloquently expressed over 200 years ago.

Who is your hero? "Hero" might be the wrong word, but my father would come closest. A man with modest beginnings, who spent his career as a university professor, administrator and president, he instilled in his children a love of learning and language and senses of both humor and humility. He was a man for whom former students would happily open their homes during his global travels decades after they had shared a classroom.

Favorite Job: My current job--which explains my unusually long tenure. I am challenged and energized by the growth of Cargill, now with revenues of $75 billion and with 142,000 employees, the second largest privately held U.S. company. The strategic move to a "solutions-based" company away from largely agricultural commodity trading and processing is both wrenching and exciting. Helping manage the financial challenges--in the midst of smart, creative, dedicated colleagues--is a joy.

One of my most memorable deals was the establishment and financing of Cargill's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the early 1990s. For its 125 years of existence, Cargill had maintained very close ownership and a secretive approach to financial information disclosure. The $730 million debt issue was the largest ever, and helped launch Cargill into a new era of public contact, especially as we increasingly compete with public companies in the financial marketplace.

If you could change something, what would it be? In this space in the June 2006 issue of Financial Executive, Oni Chukwu said: "The inequity in the distribution of global resources." I couldn't agree more. To help so much of the world's population overcome the initial barriers of poverty, disease, illiteracy (and, yes, geography) so that they can participate in regional or global economies should be a goal for us all. The Gates Foundation has it right!

Email: [e-mail]

--Edited by Ellen M. Heffes