Neil R. Widlak is currently the Director of Product Service and Development for ADM Cocoa in North America. Neil started his exploration into the wonderful world of fat crystallization after receiving his B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and working for Kraft Foods as a scientist in Kraft’s shortening and margarine research labs. Neil earned a Master’s in Food Science from the University of Illinois and Masters in Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, while continuing to work at Kraft. During this time Neil became active in the AOCS, serving as a board member for the North Central Section, Edible Applications Division and as a Member at Large, AOCS Governing Board. Neil chaired numerous AOCS symposia on crystallization of lipids for annual meetings, in addition to chairing three AOCS international conferences on the physical properties of fats and oils in 1997, 2000 and 2009. Neil received the AOCS Fellow Award in 2011.