AgroSavfe appoints Patrice Sellès as new CEO and further strengthens leadership team

 

AgroSavfe NV, a rapidly growing and transformative AgTech company developing next generation AGROBODY™-based biocontrols, announces the appointment of Patrice Sellès as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In addition, Luc Maertens has been appointed Chief Operations Officer (COO).

 

Patrice joins AgroSavfe from Syngenta, a leading agriculture company, where he spent more than 17 years in various international executive leadership and scientific positions, as Global Head R&D Strategic Portfolio and Performance, but also as venture investment manager. Patrice held his positions both in Europe and in the US.

 

Building on the proprietary AGROBODY Foundry™ Platform, Luc Maertens will head the full development of the rapidly expanding proprietary product pipeline as Chief Operations Officer. In this position, Luc will lead the coordination and execution of the Company’s programs from product design through to development and regulatory submissions as well as the commercial scale manufacturing.

 

Lieven De Smedt, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented: “Patrice thoroughly understands the Agro Industry dynamics thanks to his 20-year track record in various leadership roles, including portfolio and investment strategy development and execution, and business development. His expertise will be invaluable as we enter an important new phase and are starting to prepare the launch of our first product, expected in 2022.”

 

Patrice Sellès, CEO of AgroSavfe, said: “I am thrilled to have been offered the opportunity to lead AgroSafve at this important stage. Over the past few years, the team has de-risked a unique technology platform and developed a promising pipeline and I am excited to build on this success with our fantastic team in Ghent. I look forward to engaging with our stakeholders and supporting the company in becoming a strong and substantial business for the long term, addressing the many challenges currently facing worldwide agriculture and food production.”