To help drive continued acceleration and growth, Valent BioSciences LLC, the worldwide leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of biorational products, announced the creation of a new Chief Commercial Officer position, as well as other key organizational and reporting changes within the business. All of the changes are effective October 1.
Salman Mir, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Pace International LLC and Mycorrhizal Applications LLC, both subsidiaries of Valent BioSciences, is named chief commercial officer of Valent BioSciences and is being promoted to president of Pace International. He returns to Valent BioSciences, where he served as vice president of Global Marketing and Business Management earlier in his career. Mir was also head of AgroSolutions Division International (Asia Pacific) and general manager Sumitomo Chemical Asia (SCA). He will report to Ted Melnik, Valent BioSciences’ executive vice president and chief operating officer.
In his new role, Mir will strengthen the company’s overall commercial organization and elevate the development and execution of its global Sustainable Solutions platform in partnership with Valent U.S.A. and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. affiliates around the world to generate increased global growth. Mir will relocate to Valent BioSciences’ global Biorational Headquarters in Libertyville from Pace International’s headquarters in Wapato, Washington.
Melnik will continue leading Valent BioSciences, but will now report to Nobuaki Mito, managing executive officer, Health and Crop Sciences Sector, at parent company Sumitomo Chemical Co. Mir’s appointment as chief commercial officer of Valent BioSciences will enable Melnik to devote additional attention to other critical business priorities and initiatives.
In addition, Rodrigo Cifuentes is being appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Pace International, reporting to Mir. A replacement for Cifuentes’ current position as vice president of Global Marketing and Business Development will be named at a later date.
Valent BioSciences’ Public Health and Forest Health businesses based in Libertyville will now report to Mir, while the Mycorrhizal Applications business, headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, will continue to report to him.
“This is an exciting time for our business, as the need for innovative biorational technologies and products has never been greater,” says Melnik. “These changes will strengthen our organization and position us for continued success as an industry leader in sustainable agriculture. I congratulate Salman and Rodrigo on their new assignments, which will help us continue to fulfill our commitment to creating value for our customers around the world in a sustainable manner.”
