AgTech NEXT
Past Speakers
Past AgTech NEXT Speakers
Our speaker lineup was selected for their track record of innovative thinking and impactful decision making. We strived to create a holistic agenda that balanced perspectives from thought leaders, farmers, small businesses, tech entrepreneurs, and investors.
Speaker Profiles
2021 Speakers
Pooja Bhatnagar-Mathur, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist & Precision Genetics Lead, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Louisa Burwood-Taylor
Head of Media & Research, AgFunder
Robert Cardillo
President, The Cardillo Group
Joe Cornelius, Ph.D.
CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations
Andy Dearing
Geospatial Entrepreneur & President, Spatial STL Advisors
Mike DeCamp
President & CEO, CoverCress,
Natalie DiNicola
Chief of Staff, Benson Hill
Ingrid Fung
InvestorDirector of Enterprise Operations and Strategy, GreenLight
Rose Suniso Maxwell Gidado, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Agricultural Biotechnology Department at NABDA under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja
Phillip J. Haynie III
Owner; President, Haynie Farms; National Black Growers Council
Greg Heckman
CEO, Bunge
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D.
Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service; Acting Undersecretary, Research, Education, and Economics; Acting Chief Scientist, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture
Donald MacKenzie, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Institute for International Crop Improvement, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Brett Morris
Managing Director, Cavallo Ventures
Jennifer Morris
CEO, The Nature Conservancy
Suhas Narayanaswamy
Vice President , Lew & Clark AgriFood
Megan Nunes
Founder & CEO, Bountiful
Joseph Opoku Gakpo
Journalist, Joy FM and Joy News TV, Ghana
Orlando Saez
CEO & Co-Founder, Aker Technologies
Catherine Taracha, Ph.D.
Head, Crop Biotechnology, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization
Jeremy Williams, Ph.D.
Head of The Climate Corporation and Digital Farming, Bayer Crop Science
Sara Wyant
President, Agri-Pulse Communications
Speaker Profiles
2020 Speakers
Sam Fiorello
Chair of the External Advisory Board and CEO, Cortex Innovation Community
Adam Bergman
Managing Director, Clean Energy Transition Group & Global Head of AgTech Investment, Citi,
Patrick Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
CEO & Founder, Impossible Foods
Han Chen
Chief Executive Officer, Zeakal, Inc.
Chris Chinn
Director, Missouri Department of Agriculture
Arlene Cotie
Innovations Lead, Bayer Crop Science
Matt Crisp
President & CEO, Benson Hill
Mary Dimou
VC, Canopy Rivers
Robb Fraley, Ph.D.
Former CTO, Monsanto
Scott Barnard Fullen
Owner, Mid-South Family Farms
Ingrid Fung
InvestorDirector of Enterprise Operations and Strategy, GreenLight
Richard Gerphardt
President & CEO, Gephardt Government Affairs
Jacqueline Heard
Venture Partner, Anterra Capital
Brendan Johnson
Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Jake Joraanstad
Co-Founder & CEO, Bushel
Claire Kinlaw, Ph.D., MBA
Chief Scientific Officer, Zea Biosciences
Sanjeev Krishnan
Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, S2G
Thomas D. Overbay, DVM
Managing Director, Covenant Animal Health Partners
Larry Page, Ph.D.
Principal , Lew & Clark AgriFood
Jobst von Petersdorff
Business Venture, KWS Group
Dan Phillips
Managing Director, Cultivian Sandbox
Orlando Saez
CEO & Co-Founder, Aker Technologies
Mary Shelman
Founder, Mary Shelman Group
Naveen Sikka
CEO, TerViva
Dave Stangis
Founder & CEO, 21C IMPACT
Colin Steen
Managing Director and Head of Operations, Syngenta Ventures
Renée Vassilos
Agriculture Innovation Director, The Nature Conservancy
David Wheelock
Group Vice President and Deputy Director, Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Tony White
Founder & CEO, Tony's Family Farms
