MEDFORD, Mass., January 9, 2013 — Agrivida, Inc. announced today the appointment of Barbara H. Wells, Ph.D., as Vice President, Global Strategy. Dr. Wells will be a member of Agrivida's senior management team responsible for planning and implementing the company's global commercial development and scientific collaboration activities with an initial focus on Latin America.
Dr. Wells joins Agrivida from ArborGen, Inc., a global forestry tree seedling, tree breeding and biotechnology business, where she served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, ArborGen became the leading commercial developer of tree seedling products for the forestry industry. Dr. Wells serves as a director at Metabolix, Inc. and as Director and Chair of the Food and Agriculture Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Dr. Wells has developed and implemented strategic plans for biotechnology portfolios in the global forestry and agriculture sectors totaling over $600 million. She has also led successful acquisitions and joint ventures in the United States. Latin America, New Zealand and Australia.
"Dr. Wells is an accomplished industry veteran with a distinctive record of success in global agriculture and industrial bioprocessing," said Mark Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Agrivida. "She has a unique understanding of today's global industrial agriculture landscape and brings her outstanding portfolio of commercial partnerships and business development tools to Agrivida. We are fortunate to have her on our team."
Prior to her tenure at ArborGen, Dr. Wells served as Vice President in charge of growth initiatives and investments in Latin America for Emergent Genetics, an agriculture investment firm. Previously, Dr. Wells spent 18 years at Monsanto, where she worked as co-managing director of Monsanto Brazil and prior to her tenure in Brazil, she led the team that was responsible for the development and commercial launch of Roundup Ready Soybeans; the first biotechnology-based seed product ever to be commercialized.
Dr. Wells holds a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture with honors, and Master of Science in Plant Pathology, from the University of Arizona. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Agronomy from Oregon State University. Having lived and worked in several Latin American countries, Dr. Wells is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
About Agrivida
Agrivida, Inc., headquartered in Medford, Massachusetts, is the commercial leader in developing high-performance industrial enzymes and engineered crops for optimized production of biofuels, bio-based chemicals, and animal feed products. The company has entered into research and development agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), ARPA–E, the USDA, and other partner companies. With expertise in protein engineering, molecular biology, plant biotechnology, agronomy, and chemical engineering, Agrivida is leading the industry in the development of innovative, sustainable crops and processes to meet energy needs and protect the environment.