What I Believe

I believe that the intersection of capital, biology, entrepreneurship, resiliency, and corporate power is where the biggest transformations will happen and the most wealth will be created within our lifetimes.

Capital, used the right way, is still the sharpest lever for shaping an industry and unlocking transformation.

But just investing isn’t enough. To have lasting impact, capital has to be put to work with a strategy that brings the whole ecosystem along.

The Problem I'm Tackling

Too often, innovation, capital, and strategy operate in silos.

Startups build promising solutions, corporates struggle to deploy them at scale, and investors chase returns without truly shaping markets.

The missing piece is orchestration: bringing the right people, ideas, and resources together to transform entire sectors.

I’m focused on bridging this gap - aligning innovation, investment, and strategic leadership to drive outcomes that matter, especially in science-driven sectors like agtech, biotech, energy, built environment, human health, and beyond.

Discover Mark

Select Board & Observer Roles:

• AgroSpheres, Micropep, Niqo Robotics, Premier Crop Systems, Solasta Bio, SP Ventures, Traive Finance.

Strategic Engagements:

• Executive in Residence, North Carolina Biotechnology Center

• Venture Partner, LongLeaf Studios

• Commercialization Council, Plant Science Initiative at NC State University

Education:

• B.S. Meteorology, NC State University

• MBA, concentration in entrepreneurship, NC State University

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

• Graduate coursework in Biotechnology and Business, Harvard 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

Leading Corporate Ventures
& Innovation

• Building or rebooting a CVC.

• Orchestrate investment activity with M&A, strategic partnerships, and innovation in a way that shapes and creates markets.

• Launching/co-creating investment vehicles that bridge startups and corporates for system-level, resilience-aligned innovation.

Create a New Platform

I know ag well, but my expertise can work just as well in biotech, climate, health, energy, and other science-driven arenas. Global reach and international perspective are especially compelling to me, even living internationally. I bring global reach, a multidisciplinary lens, and the drive to shape - not just participate in - industry futures.

My How:

By shaping industry itself: deploying capital to back promising innovations that drive systemic change.

What I Want To Do:

I’m seeking a senior leadership mandate - ideally as Head of Corporate Ventures, Chief Innovation Officer, or Partner / Managing Director of an investment platform.

I want to design and lead initiatives that unite corporate ventures, M&A, internal incubation, and innovation culture across science-based sectors, whether within an established global leader or an ambitious new platform.

For me, it’s about shaping an industry, not just playing in it.

Here’s what it could look like:

My Why:

To build lasting resilience so that our economy can adapt and thrive through the world’s biggest challenges.

Recent Thought Leadership

Interviews

• 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

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

• 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

• “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 Me

Let’s build something bold. Reach out.

I am seeking a senior leadership mandate inside a forward-thinking organization, with select advisory and speaking roles as a complement, not a substitute.