Viggo Steffensen to join Verisem

Viggo Steffensen, a seed industry veteran, was named Senior Head of Sales for Verisem B.V. (“Verisem” or the “Company”), a Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC portfolio company. Mr. Steffensen brings a successful background to a highly-experienced Verisem senior management team and is set to help the Company deliver its next phase of growth.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Viggo. With his broad experience and commercial drive, Viggo will lead the commercial aspects of the ambitious growth strategy of Verisem in Europe, Middle East and Africa” said Philippe Rousseau, Verisem’s CEO.

Viggo most recently led the commercial operations of Strube D&S GmbH, a leading sugar beet, cereal and sunflower breeding and vegetable distribution company. Prior to that role, Viggo was commercially responsible for the vegetable seed sales to over 70 countries at Vikima Seed A/S, a Danish seed company.

“I am extremely proud to join the highly professional senior management team at Verisem,” he said. “The Company is very unique in its seed expertise which makes it a leader in seed production and its dedication to the values that make seed businesses thrive. I look forward to joining Verisem, a business with such a compelling history and even brighter future.”

Verisem, through its operating subsidiaries, produces a wide range of high-quality vegetable seeds.

About Verisem

Verisem is a leading global producer, packer and distributor of specialty vegetable seeds for the professional, semi-professional and hobby garden markets around the world, and a contract supplier to a diverse set of global seed companies. The company maintains production expertise across an expansive variety of more than 90 different crops and more than 2,000 different varieties including beans, cabbage, carrots, chicory, coriander, onions, peas and radishes. Verisem today has operations in the Netherlands, France, Italy and the United States and offers production services for customers located in more than 90 countries worldwide. Learn more at www.verisemseeds.com

About Paine Schwartz Partners

A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm’s investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. The firm currently invests through its $893 million Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund IV, which is solely dedicated to food and agribusiness investing. For further information, see www.paineschwartz.com.