PowerPollen today announced Paul E. Schickler has been appointed chairman of its board of directors, following a unanimous vote. Schickler succeeds John Bedbrook, who served as chairman since the formation of the board in 2016.
“In a relatively short period of time, PowerPollen has successfully scaled its pollination technology to help advance modern seed production. As we enter a new phase of our growth strategy, we are honored to access Paul’s unique experience and insight into the global agriculture market to help us deliver benefits directly to seed producers and farmers that only on-demand pollination can offer,” said Todd Krone, co-founder and CEO of PowerPollen.
From 2007 to 2017, Schickler was president of DuPont Pioneer, now Corteva. In this role, he continued to expand Pioneer’s global business by advancing innovation that improves the overall productivity and profitability of farmers throughout the world. Schickler joined Pioneer in 1974 and served in a variety of finance, commercial and administrative leadership roles, including vice president of international operations from 1999 to 2007. He recently founded III Ag to provide consulting services to ag tech companies in the fields of biologics, analytics, sensing, grain composition modification, and international expansion.
“Scientific advancements in agriculture have accelerated in recent years, especially in biotechnology, biologicals and precision technologies. PowerPollen is the first to create an entirely new way to deliver input and output traits to sustainably increase yield by mechanizing pollination,” said Schickler. “The impact this technology can have across the agriculture industry, and for farmers directly, is incredible. I look forward to working with the board and leadership team to achieve PowerPollen’s mission.”
In the past two years, PowerPollen has entered into a series of research and commercial agreements with industry leaders, including Bayer, BASF and Corteva, to leverage its pollination technology to improve pollination efficiency and productivity. In addition, the company continues to expand its technology beyond the U.S. to key agricultural markets, including Europe and South America.
