In this episode Pam Marrone, a serial entrepreneur, having founded, built and sold two biopesticide companies, joins us. She is currently the CEO and founder of Marrone Bio Innovations Inc, a Nasdaq listed company at the forefront of the drive towards sustainable agriculture.  This purpose drove my work at Syngenta, and is central to that of Terramera, the Vancouver-based agtech company that I am on the Board of.

In our discussion we cover: 

• The arc of Pam's fascinating career.  She shares her unique perspective, developed over four decades in the industry and some of the ups and downs that characterise every entrepreneurial journey
• How agriculture is being shaped and transformed by digital technologies such as drones, sensors, robotics and big data
• What it takes to be a paradigm breaker and intrapreneur in an industry like agribusiness, characterised by long product lifecycles, an increasingly challenging regulatory environment, and industry consolidation

Key takeaways and learnings include:

• Valuable insights for intrapreneurs, irrespective of industry, on to how to drive change from within a large company
• How important it is for an entrepreneur and business builder to create a strong and sustainable culture, with a focus on hiring slowly and firing fast
• The disruptions underway in agriculture and the impact these can have on us all