What I Believe

The next decade won’t be defined by any single technology.

It will be defined by systems-level builders, people who can link innovation, capital, data, biology, and industrial infrastructure into something that compounds.

Capital is powerful, but capital alone doesn’t reshape industries. Transformation happens when capital is paired with strategy, orchestration, and the ability to pull an entire ecosystem forward.

My work sits at that intersection: where ideas become institutions, where innovation becomes resilience, and where markets become bendable.

The Problem I'm Tackling

Innovation, strategy, and capital are still trapped in silos.

Startups move fast but struggle to scale.
Corporates have reach but lack agility.
Investors chase returns without shaping the underlying system.

What’s missing is orchestration — connecting the right founders, corporate engines, institutional investors, and strategic pathways into a coherent flywheel.

My work focuses on solving that gap: pulling science-driven industries forward — agriculture, biotech, climate, energy, industrials, digital infrastructure, finance, and human health.

These are the sectors where markets are rigid, timelines are long, technology is complex. It's also where the right orchestration unlocks outsized impact.

Discovering Mark

Select Board & Observer Roles:

• AgroSpheres (US), Micropep (France), Niqo Robotics (India), Premier Crop Systems (US), Solasta Bio (UK), SP Ventures (Brazil), Traive Finance (Brazil).

Strategic Engagements:

• Executive in Residence, North Carolina Biotechnology Center

• Commercialization Board, Plant Science Initiative at NC State University

• Venture Partner, LongLeaf Studios

• Reviewer, NCInnovation Grants Program

Education:

• MBA, concentration in entrepreneurship, NC State University

• Graduate Certificate, Entrepreneurship & Technology Commercialization, NC State University

• Graduate coursework in Biotechnology and Business, Harvard University

• B.S. Meteorology, NC State University

I’ve built startups, funded innovation, sat on boards, and navigated global corporate complexity. All of that gives me a unique vantage point for building the next wave of integrated innovation platforms, in ag and well beyond. I hope I’ve left a mark, but I’m not done.

See full list of experience on LinkedIn.

Career Highlights:

• Corporate Venture Capital Leadership: Built two and scaled a third global CVC programs, allocated over $75m in venture capital, catalyzed $250m+ in follow-on funding, and backed startups that are now industry shapers in biologicals, AI, robotics, and more. Led teams across North America, Europe, LATAM, and APAC; served as board member and advisor to companies from Seed to Series D across five continents. 8 exits to date.

• Corporate Strategy & M&A: Drove high-value M&A strategies and enterprise-wide transformations for science-based organizations. Recognized for designing and executing bold strategies and building elite teams.

• Startup & Entrepreneurial Leadership: Co-founded and led startups in climate tech, scaling to profitability and capturing significant market share.

• Academic & Scientific Rigor: Former academic climate scientist, securing research grants, publishing peer-reviewed work, and building decision support products used globally.

What I Want to do Next

I’m focused on roles where I can shape the next wave of innovation, not just invest in it.

My north star is simple:
Create and bend markets that drive resilience.

How I do it:
Allocating capital, orchestrating venture pipelines, leading M&A, and building innovation engines inside complex organizations.

Where this leads:

• Head of Corporate Venture Capital / VP Innovation at a science-driven company

• General Partner or Operating Partner at a climate, bio, or industrial-tech fund

• Commercialization and ecosystem leadership at a top-tier research university

• Builder of new capital models and cross-industry platforms

Industries:
Climate, energy, bio, ag/food, industrials, digital infrastructure, finance, and human health.

Recent Thought Leadership

Interviews

• Featured in "10 practical tips for agri-tech start-ups in 2025" by Agri-TechE, September 5, 2025. link
  

• Guest on the Caplander Podcast, August 25, 2025. link
  

• Guest on the Modern Acre, episode 418, July 29, 2025. link
  

• Appeared on the Charles Aris webinar - Seeding the future of Agtech, June 4, 2025. link
  

• Featured in Software is Feeding the World, the strategic role of corporate VC, March 19, 2025. link

Speaking (inquire about speaking availability)

• Speaker in "Inside the Boardroom: What Works, What Breaks in Corporate Venture Capital," hosted by Trampoline VC, September 29, 2025.
  

• Panelist at NY Climate Week, "Cultivating Alignment: Scaling Solutions to Reduce Fertilizer Emissions" hosted by PACT, Vere Initiatives, and the McKnight Foundation, September 24, 2025. link
  

• Panelist and Moderator at the Santa Fe Business Forum, Rosario, Argentina, September 2-3, 2025. link
  

• Speech at the 9th Microbiome AgBioTech Summit, Raleigh, NC, "Fast Capital, Slow Science: Why We’re Starving the Next AgBio Revolution," August 26, 2026.
  

• Panelist in a Congressional Briefing about AgTech, hosted by Congresswoman Budzinski (D-IL) and the House Committee on Agriculture, Washington DC, June 25, 2025. link
  

• Spoke at the Bonny Doon Insights Forum, Santa Cruz, “Why CVCs fail,” May 14, 2025. link
  

• Panelist at the Agri-Venture Forum, Toronto, Corporate Strategics in AgTech, May 8, 2025.
  

• Keynote speaker, Africa Agri-Tech Conference, “Funding 2040 and Beyond,” Pretoria, South Africa, March 20, 2025. link

Writing

• "AgTech is Dead. Long Live the System." AgfunderNews, November 5, 2025. link
  

• "When rebuilding the bridge, founders and funders can’t afford the ‘slow maybe’", AgfunderNews, September 22, 2025. link
  

• "Five ways startup investment can bend markets," Global Corporate Venturing, September 19, 2025. link
  

• “The Quiet Trends Reshaping Ag and Food,” AgFunderNews, June 23, 2025. link
  

• “AgTech x AGI: The Convergence That Changes Everything,” AgTechNavigator, June 16, 2025. link
  

• “The end of Corporate Venture Capital as we know it,” Global Corporate Venturing, June 11, 2025. link
  

• "How to unlock trillion-dollar opportunities in agrifood and climate,” AgFunderNews, March 12, 2025. link
  

• “Why agtech needs new capital models… and investors who can keep up,” AgFunderNews, January 7, 2025. link

Get in Touch with Mark

Want me to consult for you?

Want me to speak at your conference?

Want to discuss fit for a role?

Reach out.