David Fischhoff biography

Dr. David A. Fischhoff Ph.D. serves as Independent Director of the Company. He has 35 years of experience in agricultural research and development (“R&D”) across a broad range of technologies, product development and business development in areas including biotechnology, plant breeding, genomics, precision agriculture and data science. In addition to R&D leadership, he has expertise in new technology identification, assessment and acquisition; technology licensing; establishment and management of research collaborations; and intellectual property management and defense. Dr. Fischhoff retired in 2016 after a 33-year career with Monsanto Company and currently serves as an independent consultant and advisor. He currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of AgBiome, Inc., and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of CiBO Technologies. With Monsanto, he most recently served from 2014 to 2016 as Chief Scientist of The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto that develops and provides digital agriculture products and services for farmers. At The Climate Corporation, he led R&D teams in data science, field research and new measurement technologies. Prior to this, from 2002 to 2014, he was Vice President for Technology Strategy and Development at Monsanto with responsibilities for scientific strategy, identification of new growth opportunities, assessment and acquisition of new technologies, and oversight of Monsanto’s research portfolio. Dr. Fischhoff is internationally recognized as a founder of agricultural biotechnology. He was responsible for the development of insect resistant transgenic crops (i.e., Bt crops), which today are a primary tool for insect control in corn, cotton and soybean in multiple countries. Dr. Fischhoff received a S.B. degree in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University.