Radicle Growth announced that Neal Gutterson is joining Radicle as partner and Chief Technology Officer. Neal brings to Radicle nearly 40 years of Agtech and broad Ag industry experience, and extensive focus on the discovery and development of innovations that create value for farmers.
He will serve as the Chair of Radicle Growth’s newly formed Advisory Board, frame the investment theses, and implement strategies that will drive the investment decisions made by Radicle.
“In addition to having worked at biotech startups and having served as the CTO for a top agriculture company, Neal has also served as a CEO himself which makes him acutely aware of the challenges CEOs face. This is something he and I have in common that helps us to best serve the entrepreneurs we partner with,” says Kirk Haney, CEO and Managing Partner, Radicle Growth. “Neal and I also share an interest in helping early-stage company formation — working with innovators to get on the right strategic path by thinking through the bigger challenges beyond the initial innovation. We have the experience and network to dramatically increase our portfolio’s success. I look forward to working alongside Neal to help develop the next leaders that will shape the Ag and Food Tech industries. We will also continue our work with the Radicle Challenge to find innovators focused on key technology areas from around the world.”
Prior to joining Radicle Growth, Gutterson led R&D efforts, specifically focused on bringing value to farmers through the discovery and development of innovation, at DuPont Pioneer and later Corteva Agriscience where he served as CTO. Before that, he spent 12 years at Mendel Biotechnology in a variety of executive roles from VP R&D to CEO. He served on the Board of Directors for several organizations, including Grassroots BioTechnology, BIO, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
“After working with Kirk nearly 15 years ago, and more recently on a Radicle Challenge at Corteva, I am thrilled to be joining Radicle to link my interests in mentoring and entrepreneurship to help develop talent for a robust entrepreneurial system in Ag,” says Gutterson. “Radicle has pioneered a new model to drive innovation throughout our food system with a specific focus on early-stage companies. I look forward to looking at a number of companies and business models with differentiated value propositions across key areas of focus for the science and technology communities and getting to work on company formation with the entrepreneurs who will transform our food system.”
Currently, Neal is on the System Board of the One CGIAR, the preeminent international agricultural research development organization serving smallholder farmers around the world working to deliver a food-secure future during a climate crisis. Neal holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Yale University and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and is named inventor on more than 30 patents and pending patent applications.
