Jul 23, 2020

Biocontrols company AgBiome names new CFO

AgBiome, a company that develops products from the Earth’s microbial communities, announced  July 21 that Gerald Coward has joined the company as its chief financial officer. Gerald will lead the finance team from the company’s headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, effective immediately.

Coward has nearly three decades of experience, holding various finance and strategic leadership roles at companies operating within the food, agriculture, and consumer goods industries. His focus has been on business transformation and capability building in high growth companies. Prior to joining AgBiome, Coward was CFO at the Fresh Food Group, a provider of fresh-cut fruits, vegetables, and home meal replacement solutions in the US and Canada.

Coward has also served as the Business Unit CFO at Driscoll’s of the Americas, led the build of corporate planning and analysis capability at Blue Diamond Growers, and held several finance leadership, strategy, and M&A integration roles at General Mills in the U.S. and internationally. Gerald is a graduate of the Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.

“Gerald brings the financial expertise we are looking for to continue AgBiome’s accelerated growth,” said Scott Uknes, Co-CEO of AgBiome.  “With Gerald on the team, we look forward to advancing our strategic financial path forward to grow our company, expand our product line, and continue to execute on AgBiome’s mission to feed the world responsibly.”

“I have always been drawn to the food and agriculture industries, and how to effectively finance and scale operations that provide our world with sustainable foods,” Coward said. “I was attracted to AgBiome’s unique, collaborative corporate structure that has enabled a company built on science to innovate and grow at a fast clip. I look forward to being part of a strong team that helps to define the future of agtech.”

AgBiome is leading the way in the next agricultural revolution with the most innovative use of the plant microbiome for identifying and developing genetic traits and biological pesticides. AgBiome recently launched their first proprietary product, Howler fungicide, a highly efficacious disease control solution. The company has also forged significant partnerships, including:

• AgBiome formed a strategic partnership with Genective to accelerate commercialization of coleopteran and lepidopteran resistant transgenic traits with unique modes of action.
• AgBiome announced new global R&D collaboration with Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN), to develop nutritional health products for swine.