Apr 26, 2023
Leadership transition planned in July for Valent BioSciences LLC

Valent BioSciences LLC will soon see a change in leadership with the planned retirement of Ted Melnik, president and CEO.

Melnik, who joined Valent in 2013 as chief operating officer and was promoted to his current position in 2022, plans to retire in July. Salman Mir, executive vice president and COO, has been named Melnik’s successor.

During his 10-year tenure at Valent, Melnik oversaw company growth through acquisitions of businesses including Mycorrhizal Applications, Kyowa Hakko Bio Co. Ltd., the Canadian forestry business of AEF Global Inc., and FBSciences Holdings Inc., according to a news release.

Melnik
Mir

Based in Libertyville, Illinois, Valent develops environmentally compatible technologies and products for agriculture, public health and forest health. In agriculture, Valent creates and supplies biorational products used in sustainable systems including environmentally compatible bioinsecticides, insecticides, plant growth regulators nematicides and larvicides.

Mir joined Valent BioSciences in 2012 as vice president of global marketing and business management, where he was responsible for leading the company’s global marketing and commercial activities.

In 2016, Mir moved to Sumitomo Chemical’s AgroSolutions Division International for an overseas assignment. During his tenure there, he was head of AgroSolutions Division International (Asia Pacific) and general manager of Sumitomo Chemical Asia. He returned to the U.S. in 2019 to Valent subsidiary Pace International LLC in Wapato, Washington.

In early 2021, Mir began leading the Global Sustainable Solutions Business Unit team in partnership with Sumitomo Chemical affiliates around the world. He also assumed Valent’s new position of chief commercial officer. He was promoted to executive vice president and COO in 2022.

Mir holds an undergraduate veterinary sciences degree from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.

“I want to thank Ted for his many invaluable contributions to the organization during the past 10 years,” Nobuaki Mito, representative director and senior managing executive officer of Sumitomo Chemical Co., said in the release. “Not only has he elevated Valent BioSciences’ global industry leadership position, he has left his imprint on the company in numerous areas — from acquisitions, investments in new facilities and the launch of new products to the many different people he taught and mentored. Although Ted will be greatly missed, he has established a strong business foundation for continued growth and success.”


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