Taranis Board welcomes accomplished Syngenta Executive Vern Hawkins

Taranis, the global leader in AI-powered crop intelligence, announces the appointment of Vern Hawkins to its Board of Directors, effective February 15, 2024. Hawkins, currently serving as Syngenta's President of Crop Protection and Regional Director of North America, brings extensive international agricultural leadership to Taranis.

Taranis is at the forefront of agricultural innovation, creating engagement and transparency between ag retailers and growers to unlock opportunity on every acre. To do so, the company looks to its Board of Directors for the vision and guidance needed to meet the demands of rapid acreage expansion while ensuring the company continues to develop products and services that meet the needs of the entire agricultural value chain, including machinery companies, seed and chemistry manufacturers, ag retailers and their growers. Hawkins' extensive understanding of the crop production sector both domestically and internationally makes him a tremendous asset to the team of industry leaders on Taranis' Board of Directors.

"Taranis' commitment to providing leaf-level insights to ag retailers, co-ops and farmers is a boon the agriculture industry needs to continue advancing farm productivity. They are committed to showing every acre of the farm in a way the industry has never seen before," says Hawkins. "I'm excited to be a voice in guiding this service for the betterment of the agriculture industry and on-farm profitability. Any time you have a market-leading portfolio grounded in strong partnerships, the result is increased opportunity—for the industry, the channel and ultimately, the grower."

A native of Indiana, Hawkins brings more than 35 years of experience, supported by international agricultural leadership and a strong agronomic background to his seat on the Taranis Board of Directors. He has led multiple business sectors for Syngenta and its predecessor, Zeneca/ICI Americas, and was central to the introduction of azoxystrobin, a fungicide solution now used on more than 130 crops grown in more than 100 different countries. 

"The agriculture industry is at a crossroads of data collection and meaningful application that will equate to tremendous customer value," said Zvika Orron, Taranis' Chairman of the Board. "Taranis is scaling its crop intelligence and conservation services across millions of acres, with deep partnerships and new growth engines. Vern is joining at the right time and will be instrumental in harnessing this momentum and driving us forward ."

Taranis CEO Opher Flohr adds his excitement for the future of the company and the appointment of Hawkins, noting that as Taranis continues to grow, the insight of industry thought-leaders such as Hawkins will remain paramount.

"Taranis has made the technological breakthrough with AI and leaf-level resolution that allows our ag retailers and growers to make data-driven crop input and management decisions in season and year over year. Visionary leadership with vast industry experience will be key in the development of additional products and services that solve the problems growers are facing today and tomorrow," Flohr said.