Plant Response Biotech names Tom Snipes CEO

Plant Response Biotech has named Tom Snipes as its new chief executive officer. The appointment comes as the company expands its presence into the U.S. crop technology market.

"Plant Response has recently made significant progress in Europe," said Tom Snipes, Plant Response CEO. "I'm excited to lead this company as we expand into the U.S. and deliver new and innovative products to help farmers manage stress conditions in the field, including drought tolerance, disease resistance and nutrient utilization."

Snipes brings more than 25 years of experience in agriculture to Plant Response. His career has spanned the agricultural value chain and includes experience in crop protection, primary and specialty nutrients, manufacturing, retail/distribution and business development. He has held leadership positions with United Agri Products, the Cerexagri organization and Diamond R retail. He spent nearly ten years with Koch Industries, most recently as vice president of Business Development and Origination for Koch Agronomic Services. Snipes comes to Plant Response from the Pinnacle Agricultural Organization, an Apollo Global Management holding, where he was Eastern United States Business Unit director. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Plant Response collaborates with leading universities and researchers globally to bring the best product candidates to market. Its approach uses a proprietary platform to thoroughly validate product candidates and their mode of action, combined with large-scale field placement systems to validate performance under real-world growing conditions.

As Plant Response expands into the U.S., it will be conducting 2017 field trials with leading U.S. universities and research organizations for several Plant Response-developed technologies. Trials will focus on NEPTUNION, a novel plant metabolite that promotes plant development under water stress conditions, and Cybelion, an extract derived from fungal cells that induces plant innate immunity, improves plant health and promotes growth.

"These products are great examples of technologies that can bring value to farmers and enhance plants' resistance to biotic and abiotic stress," said Snipes. "I'm fortunate to be part of an organization that's focused on cutting-edge research and bringing solutions to farmers quickly and efficiently."