AT A MOMENT OF CHANGE FOR 
CORTEVA, LEONARDO COSTA TALKS 
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SEED APPLIED 
TECHNOLOGIES, THE PRODUCTS COMING 
THROUGH THE PIPELINE AND THE TEAM 
HE BELIEVES WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. 
BY: MARCEL BRUINS, SEED WORLD EUROPE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
LEADING the 
NEXT CHAPTER
C
orteva has undergone an important transition. 
Following the separation of its seed operating segment 
as Vylor on 1 October 2026, the company is moving 
ahead with a stronger focus on crop protection and nature 
inspired technologies. Changes of this scale inevitably attract 
attention, but inside the company the work with customers, 
the development of new solutions and the building of teams 
continue.
For Leonardo Costa, who leads Corteva's EMEA Seed 
Applied Technologies (SAT) organization, periods of uncer­
tainty bring not only challenges and complexity but also 
unique opportunities to lead, innovate, and drive meaningful 
change. Born and raised in São Carlos, Brazil, Leonardo has 
dedicated the past 13 years of his career to the seed treatment 
industry, building extensive experience across multiple regions 
and companies. Today, he leverages that global perspective 
to help shape the future of seed applied technologies in an 
increasingly dynamic market. 
His career has given Costa a view of the seed treatment 
business from local, global and regional perspectives, experi­
ence that now feeds into his thinking about what comes next. I 
spoke with him about the priorities shaping SAT, the products 
coming through the pipeline, how the business wants to work 
with customers and why, when the conversation turns to the 
future, he keeps coming back to the people behind it.
6  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE  I  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | OCTOBER 2026

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