In this episode Pam Marrone, a serial entrepreneur, having founded, built and sold two biopesticide companies, joins us. She is currently the CEO and founder of Marrone Bio Innovations Inc, a Nasdaq listed company at the forefront of the drive towards sustainable agriculture. This purpose drove my work at Syngenta, and is central to that of Terramera, the Vancouver-based agtech company that I am on the Board of.
In our discussion we cover:
The arc of Pam's fascinating career. She shares her unique perspective, developed over four decades in the industry and some of the ups and downs that characterise every entrepreneurial journey How agriculture is being shaped and transformed by digital technologies such as drones, sensors, robotics and big data What it takes to be a paradigm breaker and intrapreneur in an industry like agribusiness, characterised by long product lifecycles, an increasingly challenging regulatory environment, and industry consolidationKey takeaways and learnings include:
Valuable insights for intrapreneurs, irrespective of industry, on to how to drive change from within a large company How important it is for an entrepreneur and business builder to create a strong and sustainable culture, with a focus on hiring slowly and firing fast The disruptions underway in agriculture and the impact these can have on us all