Chicago-based R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, announced today that the firm has expanded its commitment to its agri-tech offering for the commercial grain industry, originally known as AutoHedge and now rebranded as Hrvyst. Spearheading the strategic initiative full time will be long-time RJO executive Kirk Bonniwell, who had been in charge of the Commercial Grains and OTC Markets divisions.
RJO Chairman and CEO Gerald Corcoran said: “We believe Hrvyst is positioned to revolutionize the agriculture industry by enabling grain operators to achieve significant economies of scale and superior streamlining of their business. This innovative technology platform helps our clients modernize ag commerce and build a productive bridge to farmers. I’ve asked Kirk to focus exclusively on the initiative going forward, with the expectation that the offering will grow and serve an important role in the industry.”
Bonniwell said: “Following our early success with select clients, we will continue to build on our hedge management platform while expanding the Hrvyst ecosystem to deliver – in new and exciting ways – a range of products and services to the market.”
Hrvyst enables users to manage their grain risk in real time, enterprise-wide, automatically converting cash grain movement into futures hedging orders. Conceived and developed internally by the RJO Commercial Agricultural team, Hrvyst automates what has historically been a human process, improving communication, accountability and hedging precision for large grain elevator companies and cooperatives, commercial producers and commercial agricultural operations.
