A leader in agricultural innovation, Eathington will continue to advance Corteva’s industry-leading pipeline to meet the evolving needs of farmers and consumers worldwide.
Wilmington, Del., – May 5, 2020 – Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) announced today that Sam Eathington, Ph.D., will join the Company as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Reporting to Chief Executive Officer James C. Collins, Jr., Eathington will lead Corteva Agriscience’s Research & Development organization. He will oversee the Company’s efforts to advance its industry-leading portfolio, helping to drive global agricultural innovation for the benefit of farmers, consumers and the planet.
Eathington joins Corteva from The Climate Corporation (part of Bayer Crop Science), where he was Chief Science Officer. He previously spent nearly two decades focused on quantitative traits and molecular breeding at Monsanto. He succeeds Neal Gutterson, Ph.D., who last October announced his plans to retire from the Company in the second half of 2020.
“We are delighted to welcome Sam Eathington to Corteva Agriscience,” Collins said. “For over 25 years, Sam has established himself as a driving force in agricultural innovation, deploying science and technology to solve some of the biggest challenges in agriculture and food production – experience that is especially valuable at this moment in time. Under his leadership, we will build on our strong foundation, continuing to leverage the unparalleled insights from our direct farmer relationships to introduce products and services that enable them to increase production and profitability while enhancing the environmental sustainability of their operations.”
Eathington said, “As a passionate advocate for agricultural advancement with a lifelong love of farming, I am excited to join Corteva Agriscience. I was immediately drawn to this role because of the Company’s dedication to helping farmers maximize the potential of their land and drive progress for generations to come. I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues to introduce innovations that create value for customers, address the evolving expectations of consumers and support the sustainable, long term growth of the business.”
Collins continued, “Neal Gutterson established an R&D organization that is second to none in our industry, and a strong, balanced pipeline of seed, crop protection and digital products. We are deeply grateful for his contributions to Corteva Agriscience and our predecessor companies over the past six years and wish him all the best.” Following the merger of Dow and DuPont in 2017, Gutterson led the integration of the highly complementary capabilities from DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences into a single, unified innovation organization. By 2023, that organization will have enabled the launch of 21 products with combined estimated peak sales of more than $6 Billion, including Enlist™, Qrome™, Pyraxalt™ and Rinskor™. Gutterson will remain in place to assure a smooth transition.
Prior to his role at The Climate Corporation, Eathington spent 17 years in roles of increasing responsibility and seniority in quantitative traits and molecular breeding at Monsanto, including Vice President, Global Plant Breeding. Eathington holds more than 50 patents, patent applications and publications and is an expert contributor to numerous periodicals.
Additionally, Eathington is a sixth-generation Illinois farmer. His family has been farming the same land for more than 150 years. He holds a B.S. in agronomy, an M.S. in soybean breeding and genetics and a Ph.D. in quantitative genetics and maize breeding, all from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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About Corteva Agriscience
Corteva, Inc. is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that provides farmers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry - including a balanced and diverse mix of seed, crop protection and digital solutions focused on maximizing productivity to enhance yield and profitability. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and an industry-leading product and technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Corteva became an independent public company on June 1, 2019 and was previously the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which may be identified by their use of words like “plans,” “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates”, or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Corteva’s strategy for growth, product development, sales estimates, regulatory approval, and market position, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be accurate or realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Corteva’s control. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Corteva’s business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Corteva is unable to currently identify or that Corteva does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Where, in any forward-looking statement, an expectation or belief as to future results or events is expressed, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of Corteva’s management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. Corteva disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in Corteva’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Risk Factors” and supplemented by subsequent Quarterly Reports and Current Reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, respectively.
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05/05/2020
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Media Contact:
Gregg M. Schmidt
+1 302-485-3260
gregg.m.schmidt@corteva.com
Investor Contact:
Megan Britt
+1 302-485-3279
megan.britt@corteva.com