AgriThority appoints Erol Karkan and István Szabó as Regional Managers to serve clients in Europe with new biotechnology developments across the continent.
Karkan and Szabó will lead business development and management for clients in their regions. They will manage product and field development services to test, evaluate and commercialize new technologies in global markets. Karkan will lead projects in Germany, North and West Europe, the Balkans and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Szabó will work with clients in Central Europe.
“AgriThority is experiencing rapid growth in Europe with an increased demand for field development and business development services to commercialize biotechnology and bionutrition solutions,” says Jerry Duff, AgriThority President and Founder. “Erol and István will lead day-to-day initiatives with AgriThority clients in their regions and provide a high level of strategic planning services to accelerate their products to market.”
Karkan has more than 30 years of experience working with pesticides, biological products, fertilizers and surfactants. He is proficient in business strategy and product management from development and product registration to product launch, distribution and sales. His demonstrated skillsets in forecasting, problem solving and budget management have increased product sales and profitability for clients.
Prior to joining AgriThority, Karkan held sales and marketing management positions for FMC and BASF. He earned a Master of Science in agriculture engineering from Ege University in Izmir, Turkey.
Szabó is an accomplished market development manager with a proven history of establishing business in foreign markets. He has more than 20 years of marketing support and project management experience. He has led technical development, market strategy, product launch, portfolio management and budget planning and monitoring for agricultural companies throughout Europe. Szabó is well-versed in the areas of plant protection, nutrient management, soil health and agricultural microbiology. His technical understanding allows for efficient management of research conducted by external sources.
Szabó was previously the market development manager for AGRO.bio Hungary Kft., and technical and development leader for Agrova Kft. He has also held sales and marketing positions with Dow AgroSciences. Szabó earned post graduate degrees in soil engineering and plant protection engineering from Szent István University.
