CARY, North Carolina - UPL announced today that Adrian Percy is joining the company as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Crop Protection Business.
Adrian previously served as Head of Research and Development for the Crop Science division of Bayer, where he held responsibility for internal and open innovation activities in the areas of crop protection chemistry, biologicals, seeds, and traits. During his 16-year tenure at Bayer, he also led crop protection development activities in North America and regulatory affairs across the entire Crop Science division. He has also held numerous positions in the human and environmental safety departments of Rhone Poulenc, Aventis Crop Science and Bayer in France, Germany and the United States.
After leaving Bayer at the beginning of this year, he has built a consultancy business in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, USA, in which he acts as a Board Member and/or Advisor to a number of early stage companies in the agricultural technology space. He has also been serving as the Chief Technology Officer of Finistere Ventures LLC, an established investment firm in the agri-food sector. Adrian holds a Ph.D. from University of Birmingham.
"We are excited that Adrian Percy will be joining us as UPL's new Chief Technology Officer," said Jai Shroff, UPL's Global CEO. "Adrian brings with him a wealth of industry experience that will help UPL to further accelerate our rate of innovation and growth, to continue to develop our portfolio of R&D projects. UPL believes firmly that sustainability in agriculture is the key growth driver for the future of food systems."
"Adrian is an excellent addition to the UPL team. With him we will continue to translate our OpenAg vision into great R&D projects that address sustainability challenges and leverage breakthrough technologies such as biologically based crop protection products and artificial intelligence," said Diego Lopez Casanello, Chief Operating Officer for UPL.
Percy remarked: "I am extremely excited to be joining UPL at this transitional point in the development of the company. We have a unique opportunity to leverage the exciting advances in science and technology that are currently occurring within the agricultural sector to the benefit of growers across the globe."
In complement to his duties at UPL, Adrian will continue to serve on the boards of several companies in the agricultural sector as well as assume a Venture Partner role at Finistere Ventures LLC.
Source : Cision