Brad Griffith
Our Team
Brad Griffith
Lead, Commercial Development & Strategy
Brad is a global commercial Life Sciences executive and strategic advisor with a passion for sustainable Agri-Food systems. He has accelerated startups, driven turnarounds, transformed commercial and manufacturing operations, and grown multibillion-dollar P&Ls. Most recently, Brad was Chief Commercial Officer at Overland Park, Kansas-based Compass Minerals where he led the global commercial Plant Nutrition and Salt businesses, global supply chain, and global R&D. Prior to Compass Minerals, Brad spent over 17 years with Monsanto Company. He earned an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ron Zink
Our Team
Ron Zink
Vice President, Product & ESG
Ron is a registered patent attorney and an inventor on several patents. He previously held technology and executive roles at Growers Holdings, John Deere, and Microsoft in the U.S. and Europe. During his 17-year tenure at Microsoft, Ron was COO of European Affairs. While at John Deere, Ron was instrumental in the company’s efforts to embrace mobile technologies and cloud computing. He holds a B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from North Dakota State University and a J.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Law.
Steve Dietze
Our Team
Steve Dietze
Vice President, Strategic Operations
Steve has held several senior management roles at Farmland Industries and Agriliance, and was Vice President of Business Development for EFC Systems. He served as President and CEO of WILFARM, a joint venture between Wilbur-Ellis and Farmland Industries. During his 17-year tenure in the Agribusiness Division at Wilbur-Ellis, Steve held senior roles leading retail geographies, operations, technology, and strategy. Steve began his career with Elanco, the ag division of Eli Lilly.
Wendell Jones
Our Team
Wendell Jones
Chief Financial Officer
Wendell has over 35 years of experience in financial management and accounting across diverse industries, including biotechnology, medical device, and consulting. He worked previously for InFerGere, Maven Labs, and 3CPM Co. Wendell holds an MBA, Finance from Washington University in St Louis and a B.B.A., Accounting from the George Washington University.
Poornima Parameswaran, Ph.D.
Our Team
Poornima Parameswaran, Ph.D.
CEO & President
Poornima, the author of a dozen publications that have been referenced over 1,450 times, has pioneered the use of genomics to address fundamental questions in microbial diseases. Poornima earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University and a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. After completing her Ph.D., Poornima did a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and worked closely with the Broad Institute and the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua.
Dan Vradenburg
Our Team
Dan Vradenburg
Senior Advisor
Dan’s previous roles included a rewarding 37-year career with Wilbur-Ellis, including serving as President of the company’s Agribusiness Division for 16 years. In his time there, Dan oversaw more than 60 acquisitions and sponsored the development of Wilbur-Ellis’ seed technologies business and its farm decision-making software platform AgVerdict. Dan earned a B.S. in Agribusiness from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and completed the Stanford University Business School Executive Program.
