Darrell Petras Hired as New CAAIN CEO

Jul 13, 2023

Darrell Petras has been appointed the new CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), a July 11 news release said.

“I am excited to be joining such an excellent team. From a personal perspective, this opportunity lines up perfectly with my interests and experience. From an industry perspective, I know CAAIN to be the right organization in the right place at the right time,” Petras said in the release.

Petras is joining CAAIN following his work as vice-president of programs and business development with Edmonton Unlimited, the release said. He has worked as a founder, business owner, and business coach in sectors such as agriculture, energy, both human and animal health, and technology business development.

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Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies