On The Move

Jennifer Zurko

Sakata Ornamentals
Sakata Ornamentals  announced the addition of Ken Harr to its staff as its new Product Technical Manager, focusing on the flower seed and vegetative products offered by Sakata. In his new role, Ken will use his knowledge, experience and expertise of the best cultural practices and protocols for pot crops, annuals and cut flowers to help lead and direct the technical focus for Sakata’s ornamentals portfolio. Ken will work directly with growers across the U.S., in addition to market managers and broker representatives. Prior to joining Sakata, Ken was a technical manager for Goldsmith Seeds. Following the acquisition of Goldsmith by Syngenta, Ken continued for the company as a grower account manager and technical service representative.

ForemostCo
ForemostCo announced that Tobias Smith has joined its team as National Sales Manager. Tobias has a Horticulture Degree from Virginia Tech. After graduating, he worked with Pike Nurseries in Atlanta as a store manager. His career in the green industry continued to develop as he worked in sales for Hines Horticulture in Tennessee and North Carolina. Since 2008, he’s been the Sales Manager at Holmberg Farms in Tampa, where he managed inside and outside sales employees. Working for Holmberg, he created and developed the company website and social media presence.

Marrone Bio Innovations Inc.
Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), a global provider of natural pest management products for the agricultural and water-treatment markets, announced the expansion of its agricultural business with the hiring of three important industry sales and marketing experts with more than 70 years of combined experience across the agricultural and life science industries.

Neal Job joins MBI as the director of U.S. sales for the agriculture division, bringing more than 20 years of sales management experience. Most recently Neal was a key accounts manager with Suterra, where he was responsible for driving sales growth in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California and across the U.S. Before his work with Suterra, he was part of a startup biopesticide company and he also worked with Syngenta. In both positions he drove sales in the San Joaquin Valley and coastal markets of California, helped to implement marketing programs, and managed field and business development projects. His relationships with key accounts across a large geography will be instrumental in MBI’s rapid growth plans.

Rich Fedigan comes to MBI as director of marketing and communications with more than 25 years of marketing experience specializing in the agriculture and turf industries. Rich most recently served as a communications consultant with the Conklin Co., a manufacturer and direct marketer of ag/turf fertilizers located in Kansas City, Missouri. Previously he served as an account supervisor at Walz Tetrick Advertising in Mission, Kansas, where he managed communication budgets and collaborated with clients to translate corporate goals and objectives into a comprehensive strategic plan and to develop performance metrics.

MBI also welcomes Dave Owens, a third-generation Floridian, to manage sales of the company’s crop protection products throughout the state of Florida. Dave joins MBI after 22 years with Bayer and Rhone Poulenc in Florida. Before that Owens worked for Chevron/Valent in Florida as a key accounts manager in the northeastern U.S.

Aldershot Greenhouses
Aldershot Greenhouses Canada announced Lawrence Hopman has joined its sales team. Lawrence brings decades of success in the flower industry, starting out peddling to florists from a bucket truck to building and offering programs for national accounts. GT