Dr. Peter Innes – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Peter Innes was appointed President of Becker Underwood in 2002 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2006. Dr. Innes began his career in Cambridge, England at the Plant Breeding Institute in 1979, and later joined Agricultural Genetics Company (AGC) in 1984. He became Managing Director of MicroBio Limited in 1991 and was appointed to the AGC Board of Directors in 1993, becoming Group Managing Director in 1996. Dr. Innes joined the Becker Underwood Board of Directors in 2000, following the acquisition of MicroBio by Becker Underwood. Dr. Innes holds a PhD. in the Biological Sciences from Imperial College in London.
Steve Wood – Chief Financial Officer
Steve Wood joined Becker Underwood in 2006 as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Wood started his career at Ernst & Young in 1980 where he worked until 1989 as an audit senior manager. Mr. Wood then worked from 1989 to 2003 at Maytag Corporation, a global appliance manufacturer headquartered in Newton, Iowa, where he served in various roles, including most recently the Chief Financial Officer. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Wood was the Corporate Controller for Metaldyne, a global supplier to the automotive industry, in Plymouth, Michigan. Mr. Wood earned a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy (BSA) from the University of Illinois – Urbana in 1980 and earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) title the same year.
Paul Holliday – Chief Strategist
Paul Holliday joined Becker Underwood in 2006 as the head of the U.S. and Canada Inoculants product line. In 2012, he assumed responsibility as the Chief Strategist for the organization. Prior to joining Becker Underwood, Mr. Holliday worked as U.S. Business Operations Product Manager at Bayer CropScience in Research Triangle Park, NC. Mr. Holliday also worked as a Product Manager at Gustafson in Plano, TX, before joining Bayer CropScience. Mr. Holliday started his career at DEKALB Ag Research, Inc., (later becoming DEKALB Genetics Corp.) where he worked for 29 years, beginning as a Corporate Farm Foreman. Mr. Holliday advanced through many sales and marketing management positions, eventually assuming the role of Director, Brand Products Marketing Team. Mr. Holliday earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Northern Illinois University.
Fernando Lopez – Global Business Development Lead
Fernando Lopez joined Becker Underwood in late 2009 to lead Global Strategic Marketing, and selected Corporate Development projects. In 2012 he assumed the responsibility of Global Business Development Lead for the organization. Mr. Lopez has 18 years of global experience in the specialty chemical, agriculture, pharmaceutical, and marketing services industries, most recently at BASF where he was responsible for Biologicals Strategy and Insecticides Strategy implementation within Global Strategic Marketing. Prior to that Mr. Lopez was Division Vice President, Market Strategy for Maritz. Mr. Lopez spent more than 10 years with Monsanto in various countries and functions (sales, marketing, planning, M&A). Mr. Lopez holds an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird in Glendale, AZ, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
Eda Reinot – Global Head of Research and Development
Ms. Reinot joined Becker Underwood as a chemist in 1995. Currently, she oversees all research and product development, product reformulation, advanced technical processes, and is indirectly responsible for ISO certifications at the company. Prior to working at Becker Underwood, she spent seven years at the Institute of Physics in the Estonian Academy of Sciences as a chemist responsible for the crystal growth laboratory in the spectroscopy sector. Ms. Reinot received her Bachelor of Science and teaching license in Physical Chemistry at Tartu State University in Estonia in 1985, and subsequently an MBA from Iowa State University in 2005.
Brent Lester – Chief Operating Officer, Colorbiotics
Mr. Lester is Chief Operating Officer for Colorbiotics, having worked for Becker Underwood his entire career. Brent was an intern with Becker Underwood and joined the Company fulltime in 1993 upon graduation from Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Ag Business.
Carlos Salvador – Managing Director, Argentina
Mr. Salvador started his career with BASF and later worked for Hoechst as Central American market manager. He also worked with AgrEvo, a joint venture between Hoechst and Schering, where he worked in veterinary science and nutrition. Hoechst merged with Rhône-Poulenc in 1999 to form Aventis, and Mr. Salvador became General Director, Aventis Crop Science for Argentina. Following his position with Aventis, Mr. Salvador was President of Crop Life South America and then took his position with Becker Underwood. Mr. Salvador has an agronomy degree from National University of Buenos Aires. Mr. Salvador also completed a two-year Diploma in Biology at Germany’s Institut für Unkrautforschung der Biologisches Bundesanstalt fúr Land und Forstwirtschraft (BBA) Braunschweig in 1974.
Philippe Clement – Managing Director, EMEA
Mr. Clement joined the Company in 2002 as Manager of the Seed Technology division in Europe, after serving as a consultant for Becker Underwood in 2001. In 2006, Mr. Clement became Managing Director responsible for Becker Underwood activities in Europe. Overall, Mr. Clement has 23 years of experience in the seed industry in marketing and product development. He received a certificate from Saintes University in the west of France.
Richard Waterworth – Managing Director, Asia Pacific
Mr. Waterworth joined Becker Underwood in 2004 following the acquisition of the Australian business. Mr. Waterworth began his career working for New Zealand’s first publicly listed farming operation. He then joined Rhone-Poulenc Chemical in 1987 as Sales Manager. Following promotions as Brand Manager, Business Team Manager and Business Manager for Australia, New Zealand and Asia, he became Managing Director for NuTurf (a division of NuFarm) in Australia. Mr. Waterworth earned a degree from King’s College in Auckland, New Zealand in 1972.
Arsenio de La Torre – Managing Director, Brazil
Mr. de la Torre joined Becker Underwood in November 2004 as Country Manager for Chile. In April 2007, he was appointed as General Manager of Becker Underwood’s Brazilian subsidiary, Nitral Urbana, while also retaining responsibility for Chile. Mr. de la Torre began his career in Santiago, Chile as a consultant in fresh fruit production. He later worked for Tattersall in Chile as New Product Manager. Mr. de la Torre joined Abbott Laboratories in 1990 as Country Manager for Chile, transferring to Brazil as Country Manager in 1991. In 1995 he returned to Chile as General Director, Mercosur. Following Sumitomo’s acquisition of Abbott in 2000, his responsibilities were expanded to include the integration of all South American businesses. Mr. de la Torre graduated as an Ag Engineer from Universidad Catolica de Chile in 1975.
Aaron Horn – Global Information Technology Manager
Mr. Horn started his career at Becker Underwood in March of 2001 as a Help Desk Intern while he studied at Iowa State University and earned his degrees in Management Information Systems and Entrepreneurial Studies. Upon graduation, Mr. Horn took a fulltime position with the company as an IT Analyst and was appointed Information Technology Manager in 2006. Mr. Horn currently oversees the global Information Technology and Business Intelligence departments at Becker Underwood.
Chris Feiden – Global Head of Operations & Supply Chain
Chris Feiden joined Becker Underwood in 2002 when Becker Underwood acquired Urbana Laboratories and a 50% stake in Nitral Urbana, where he was working as Administrative President of Nitral Urbana in Curitiba, Brasil. Prior to this, Mr. Feiden held many roles in the accounting field with Research Seeds & Urbana Labs. In 2003, Mr. Feiden assumed the role of Global Purchasing Manager for Becker Underwood, operating out of the Ames, IA office. He transferred into Operations in 2005, becoming the Plant Manager for the St Joseph, MO facility and was promoted to be the Head of Operations for the facility in 2007. In 2009, he became the Head of Operations for both the St Joseph, MO & Caldwell, ID facilities. I 2012 Mr. Feiden has assumed responsbility as the Global Head of Operations and Supply Chain. Mr. Feiden earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting in 1997.