Our Leaders

Lane Arthur, Ph.D. Vice President, Information Management

Lane Arthur is vice president, Information Management, with responsibility for all DuPont Pioneer information management functions. He also has oversight for IT in several other DuPont businesses and functions, including Crop Protection, Industrial Biosciences, Nutrition & Health, Corporate Marketing & Sales, and DuPont Information and Computing Technologies. Lane is a member of the Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council and the DuPont Information Technology Senior Leadership Team.

Lane represents DuPont on the High Performance Computing Advisory Board for the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C. He also serves as the Pioneer representative on the board of directors for United Way of Central Iowa, on the board of the Technology Association of Iowa, and is a member of the Iowa Innovation Council Executive Committee.

Lane began his career at Pioneer in 1997 in the Information Management department. From 2000-2005, he served as manager of the Bioinformatics group. Prior to becoming Pioneer CIO, he led the DuPont Information and Computing Technology Group, with responsibility for all data management activities for the global DuPont Science & Technology organization. During his tenure, Lane’s responsibilities have included IT service delivery, computational biology research, software development and support, management of a high performance computing environment, and data center operations and site network infrastructure.

Originally from Warner Robins, Ga., Lane received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Georgia. He holds Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Genetics and Development from Columbia University.

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Jeff Austin Vice President, Strategy Planning

Jeffrey A. Austin is responsible for leading all business and strategic planning processes of the company which includes enterprise portfolio management, enterprise product and trait strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, corporate communications, global brand management, market intelligence, and investor relations. He is a member of the DuPont Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council.

Jeff joined Pioneer in 1990 as a business development manager responsible for researching and negotiating new business ventures. Subsequently, he held several business and financial planning positions, including global planning and budgeting director. After leaving Pioneer in 1996, Jeff spent five years in the information technology industry before returning to Pioneer in 2001. He was named vice president and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2006, responsible for all financial operations of the business. He held this position until he began serving in his current role in 2011.

Jeff currently sits on the Board of Directors for Meals from the Heartland, a philanthropic organization focused on "empowering people to save the starving" based in Des Moines. Jeff was recognized in 2011, by Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), for Excellence in Strategy and Competitive Intelligence.

Jeff lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife and two children.

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Arun Baral Regional Director, Asia Pacific

Arun Baral is regional director, Asia Pacific and is responsible for all business operations in Asia Pacific, a fast growing region for DuPont Pioneer. He coordinates and leads Pioneer's Asia Pacific Leadership Team, including the business units and functions and is now based in Singapore. He is also a member of the Enterprise Leadership Council.

Arun joined Pioneer in 1992 as a controller in Pioneer's joint venture in Africa and since then, has held various roles of increasing responsibilities in Finance, Strategic Marketing and Business for Pioneer's international business based out of Des Moines.

Arun earned his Bachelor degree in accounting at Delhi University and his Master of Business Administration from Drake University, Iowa. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Arun is married and has one son.

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Susan Bunz Vice President, Policy and Outreach

As vice president, Policy and Outreach, Susan Bunz leads DuPont Pioneer's worldwide efforts to listen to, understand and engage customers, governments, non-governmental organizations and universities. Pioneer plays a leading role in DuPont’s vision to create food security around the world, and we must work closely with these key stakeholders to accomplish our shared goals.

Susan is responsible for Pioneer’s Agriculture Development, Industry Relations, Citizenship and Development, Corporate Services, and Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management teams, all of which work closely with our stakeholders. She is also a member of the Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council.

Previously, Susan served as vice president, Pioneer Human Resources and Corporate Services. In that role, she was accountable for all elements of the Human Resources and Corporate Services functions for the Pioneer business.

Susan started her career at Pioneer in 2001 as corporate counsel. In this role, she provided legal counsel for Human Resources; Safety, Health and Environment; Corporate Services; Workers’ Compensation; Detasseling and Seasonal Labor; and Government Affairs.

Susan received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, with a major in communication studies. She received her Juris Doctorate, with honors, from Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa.

She is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association and Missouri State Bar Association and serves on the Waukee School Board. She is also a member of the Drake University Law School Board of Counselors.

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Pamela Chitenhe Regional Director, Africa

Pamela Chitenhe joined DuPont Pioneer in 2011 as Regional director for Africa. She is responsible for all business operations in Africa, a growing region key to world food security. Pam coordinates and leads Pioneer’s Africa Leadership Team, including the business units and functions, and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is also a member of Pioneer’s Enterprise Leadership Council.

Pam has 21 years of experience in agriculture and banking, 12 of which were at the executive director level in the areas of leadership and strategy, governance, credit and financial management. She also has held various financial and managerial roles with seed production companies in Zimbabwe.

Pam earned her Bachelor of Accounting Science and MBA degrees at Thames Valley University in partnership with MilPark Business School in South Africa. She is married and has one daughter.

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Conslato, Laurie Vice President, Finance

Laurie Conslato is vice president of Finance for DuPont Pioneer.

Prior to her current role, Laurie served as Finance integration leader for the Pannar acquisition and as director for DuPont Investor Relations for the Agriculture and Nutrition and Health segments in Johnston, Iowa. She also held various financial leadership positions in the United States and internationally, including European Finance manager for DuPont Performance Coatings Refinish business in Germany, Global Finance manager for Tyvek® and Building Innovations, Global Cash manager in Treasury as well as leading the U.S. manufacturing facilities accounting for DuPont Titanium Technologies in Mississippi. She has been a DuPont employee since 1990.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University in Finance and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is also a Six Sigma Black Belt.

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Jerry Flint, Ph.D.Vice President, Biotech Affairs and Regulatory

Jerry Flint is vice president, Biotech Affairs and Regulatory, with responsibility for global biotech regulatory policy and outreach, biotech registrations and approvals, biotech acceptance, regulatory science and operations, biotech affairs, regulatory product strategy and planning, and stewardship and compliance.

Jerry participates in leading industry associations, including:

- Global Harvest Initiative Board of Directors Chairman
- Biotechnology Industry Organization Food and Agriculture Section Governing Board
- Council for Biotechnology Information Executive Committee
- Crop Life International Plant Biotech Strategy Council
- International Executive Committee of the American Seed Trade Association
- International Seed Federation
- Seed Association of the Americas
- Greater Des Moines YMCA board member

Jerry was named to his current position, vice president of Biotech Affairs and Regulatory, in 2011. He is a member of the DuPont Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council and the Agricultural Biotech Leadership Team. Throughout his career Jerry has enjoyed the challenge of working with growers, scientists, and those within the agriculture industry to bring new technology to growers.

Jerry joined Pioneer in 2010 as senior director, registration and regulatory affairs. In this role he was responsible for developing regulatory processes and policy for agricultural biotechnology products in North America, Europe, Latin American and Africa. Jerry has more than 20 years experience in the industry.

Jerry earned a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from Purdue University. He also has a Master of Science and doctorate in crop science from the University of Kentucky.

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Linda GillespieDirector, Human Resources

Linda Gillespie is the Human Resources director for DuPont Pioneer. In her career with DuPont, she has also been the director of Human Resources for DuPont Canada.

Prior to DuPont, Ms. Gillespie was the Human Resources leader for global corporate functions at Nortel. There, she guided the organization through a period of significant changes by partnering with the business to drive organizational and talent strategies. She joined Nortel in 1996 and held an organizational development role in Singapore for Nortel’s Asia South Pacific region. After returning to Nortel in Canada, she held a number of marketing and business development roles, leading the strategy and marketing efforts for positioning Nortel solutions in the financial services and hospitality industries.

In addition to Singapore, Ms. Gillespie has lived and worked in Japan and England. Born in Ottawa, Canada, she graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce.

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Tim GlennRegional Director, Canada and Latin America

As regional director, Canada and Latin America Regions, Tim Glenn is responsible for leading the businesses along with meeting financial and operational targets. He serves on the DuPont Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council, the Americas Operations Committee and co-leads the Americas Commercial Team. Tim was previously director of Marketing and Sales Effectiveness for Pioneer in North America, with responsibility for product line marketing, product strategy, sales training, agronomy sciences, sales and marketing communications, and marketing research, analysis and economics.

Tim joined Pioneer in 1991 and served in various marketing research and marketing management positions through 1997. He left Pioneer and rejoined the business in 2006 as director of Marketing.

Tim earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University.

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Mike GuminaVice President, Production

As vice president of Production for DuPont Pioneer, Mike Gumina has global responsibility for Production, International Supply Logistics, Quality, Engineering and Sourcing. Mike leads the Capital Management Committee and is a member of the Americas Operations Committee, the Asia, Europe and Africa Leadership Team and serves on the Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council.

Mike joined Pioneer in 1979 as an agronomist at Morton, Ill., and became assistant plant manager there. After managing the Princeton and St. Joseph, Ill., locations, Mike became the director of Supply Planning and Logistics in 1993. He was named vice president of Supply Management in 2002 and the vice president of Production in 2009.

A native of Virginia, Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Seed Trade Association and the Board of Directors for ChildServe. He is a member of the USDA Grains, Feeds, Oilseeds and Planting Seeds Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee.

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Daniel JacobiVice President, AEA and Global Supply Chain

Daniel E. Jacobi is vice president for DuPont Pioneer’s Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa commercial business group. In this role, Dan is accountable for meeting the objectives of Pioneer’s regional and business unit strategic plans, as well as for leading Pioneer’s global supply chain competency.

Dan joined Pioneer in 1997 in its corporate legal department and has had legal responsibility for Pioneer human resources, risk management, real estate management, and the Africa, Southeast Asia and China business groups. In 2001, he was named vice president and chief legal officer for Pioneer. In 2008, Dan was named associate general counsel for DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition, with overall responsibility for the Pioneer Hi-Bred, DuPont Crop Protection, Solae, and DuPont Trademarks legal groups.

Dan grew up in northeast Iowa and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and his juris doctorate degree from Drake University. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association.

In support of the community, Dan currently serves as a Trustee of Drake University. He has been a co-chair of the legal campaign for the United Way of Central Iowa, and an executive sponsor of the Pioneer United Way campaign committee.

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Tim JohnsonDirector, Investor Relations

Tim Johnson is director of Investor Relations. In this role, he develops and executes a comprehensive investor communication strategy focused on high growth opportunities for DuPont Agriculture, Industrial Biosciences and Nutrition & Health segments. He works closely with leaders in strategy planning, new product development, finance, sales and marketing.

Tim joined DuPont Pioneer in 1994 after working for KPMG for four years. Before joining Investor Relations in 2012, he held a variety of leadership roles in Finance at DuPont Pioneer.

He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Iowa State University and later, a master’s in business administration from The University of Iowa.

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Jonathan Lightner, Ph.D.Vice President, Agricultural Biotechnology

At DuPont Pioneer, Dr. Jonathan Lightner is vice president, Agricultural Biotechnology. In this role, Jonathan leads a global team responsible for biotechnology trait discovery, development and deregulation. He is responsible for guiding the DuPont Pioneer industry leading pipeline of biotechnology traits and R&D excellence.

Jonathan joined the company in 2003 to advance Genomics research and technology development before being named senior research director of Trait Characterization and Development (TC&D) for the DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology group in 2008.

Jonathan is an inventor of 26 issued U.S. patents, including Pioneer and DuPont patents on Plenish® high-oleic soybean. He is an inventor on more than 20 pending patent applications and is an author on 18 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Jonathan is a Ph.D. graduate of Washington State University, earned an M.E. degree in systems engineering from Iowa State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science degree from York College of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Society of Plant Biology, the American Chemical Society and the Iowa Farm Bureau.

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Alejandro MunozVice President, Americas and Global Production

Alejandro Munoz is vice president, Americas, which includes the U.S., Canada and Latin America regions, and Global Production. He leads the Americas Operations Committee and is also a member of the DuPont Pioneer Enterprise Leadership Council.

Having worked at Pioneer for more than 30 years, Alejandro has served in a number of positions around the world. He began his career as quality control manager in Latin America in 1981. Two years later, Alejandro became responsible for market development and production for Central America, Andean Pact and the Caribbean.

He was then promoted to operations manager, Pioneer Mexico in 1988, and was appointed general manager of Híbridos Pioneer de México, S.A. de C.V. in 1991. Alejandro was named Pioneer general manager, Argentina in 1999, and promoted to director, Latin America in 2004. In 2005, he moved to Switzerland to serve as Operations director, Europe, and was then promoted to vice president, Europe Operations, in 2006. Prior to his current assignment, Alejandro was vice president and regional director for North America.

Alejandro holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from the National University of Costa Rica. He completed specialization courses in finance and accounting at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Graduate School of Business and in marketing at the University of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Alejandro is married with three children.

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William S. Niebur, Ph.D.DuPont Vice President – DuPont Pioneer North Asia

William S. Niebur is DuPont vice president – DuPont Pioneer North Asia, with strategic oversight responsibility for China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, which are important markets for Pioneer’s presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Bill began his career at Pioneer in 1983 as a maize research station manager. In 1989, he was named European maize research director and spent nine years in France, Italy and Belgium. He returned to Iowa in 1997 to serve as global maize research director. He was named Pioneer vice president in 2002 and a DuPont vice president in 2005 with responsibility for advancing worldwide crop genetics research and development. He was named vice president and general manager of DuPont Pioneer China in 2010 and DuPont vice president – DuPont Pioneer North Asia in March 2013. He resides in Beijing, China.

Bill has extensive global experience in seed business leadership, plant genetics and biotechnology. In his previous roles, he was instrumental in integrating two new and proprietary technologies, gene shuffling and marker assisted selection, into DuPont plant genetics product development. He has been granted several patents that have led to the commercialization of more than 30 Pioneer® brand products.

Throughout his career in agriculture he has been actively engaged with public/private partnerships such as the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Bill holds bachelor of science and master of science degrees from Iowa State University. He earned his doctorate in plant breeding and cytogenetics from the University of Minnesota.

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Judd O'ConnorVice President and Regional Director, U.S.

Judd O’Connor is vice president and regional director – U.S., overseeing DuPont Pioneer’s seven business units and the functions of Marketing, Production, Supply Chain, Research, Finance and Administration. He serves on the Americas Operations Committee, focused on activities in the one to ten year time frame. Judd co-leads the Americas Commercial Team, which has responsibility for near-term business alignment/goals and 5-year strategic plans.

Prior to his current assignment, he had responsibility for all sales in the U.S. and Canada and also led the Western and Central Business Units. He held positions as regional sales director, area sales manager and was a field sales manager. Before joining Pioneer in 1999, Judd worked in the crop protection industry, focusing on sales, logistics, marketing and sales management.

Judd is a graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in ag economics.

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Jim O'HareDirector, Safety and Risk Management

As the Director of Safety and Risk Management for DuPont Pioneer, Jim has worldwide responsibility for safety, health and environment (SHE) and risk management, including risk financing, insurance, loss control & loss prevention, industrial hygiene and claims management (workers compensation, liability, etc.). He is a member of the Enterprise Leadership Council.

Jim began his career at Pioneer in 1988 with responsibility for risk financing and insurance, subsequently became Director of Healthcare & Risk Financing and then assumed the current role of Director of Safety and Risk Management.

Prior to joining Pioneer, Jim spent 15 years in the telecommunications industry with US West Inc. He received his Bachelor of Science and Education from Wayne State College, in Wayne, Neb.; and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Neb.

Jim is the President of the Iowa Chapter of RIMS (Risk & Insurance Management Society). He also serves on the Board of Advisors to the University of Iowa College of Public Health,  the Board of Directors and Vice Chair for Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, as an Advisor to the Board of Directors for the Iowa/Illinois Safety Council as well as is involved in several other community organizations.

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Jeff RoweRegional Director, Europe

Since June 1, 2011, Jeff Rowe is Regional Director, DuPont Pioneer Europe and is responsible for leading business operations across Europe. He coordinates and leads the Pioneer Europe Management Team, including the business units as well as the functional areas of the business such as sales and marketing, supply chain, production, research, legal, communications, government affairs, human resources, finance and administration.

Prior to this, Jeff was named vice president, Biotech Affairs and Regulatory in 2008, with responsibility for Pioneer product stewardship; biotech and regulatory affairs; regulatory science and compliance; registration; government and industry relations; community investment; and sustainable agriculture and development.

Jeff started his career with Pioneer in 1995 in the Supply Management department. He also gained experience working in Research, Information Management and Regulatory. After completing law school, Jeff joined the Pioneer Legal department in 2001 and served as corporate counsel until 2008.

Jeff received his Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University in agricultural economics and has completed the coursework toward a Master of Science degree in plant molecular biology, also at Iowa State University. Jeff earned his juris doctorate from Drake Law School.

A leader in the agriculture and plant science industry, Jeff serves on numerous agriculture and community boards, including the Global Harvest Initiative and the New Vision for Agriculture Project Board for the World Economic Forum.

Jeff is from a row crop and livestock farm in Illinois where his family has been farming for more than four generations.

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Paul E. SchicklerDuPont Pioneer President

Paul E. Schickler is president of DuPont Pioneer, the advanced seed genetics business of DuPont. In this role, which he has held since 2007, he has continued to expand Pioneer’s global business by remaining focused on innovation that improves local productivity and profitability of farmers in more than 90 countries. Since joining Pioneer in 1974, Schickler has served in a variety of finance and administrative leadership roles throughout the business, including vice president of International Operations from 1999 to 2007. He currently serves on the DuPont Committee on Agricultural Innovation and Productivity in the 21st Century and the DuPont Agriculture Decision Board, and he is a member of the DuPont Operating Team.

Schickler is a graduate of Drake University, where he received Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in business administration. He currently serves on The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Board of Directors; The Chicago Council’s Global Agricultural Development Initiative Advisory Group; the Grand View University Board of Directors; and Iowa Business Council. A strong contributor to the community, Schickler is an active supporter of United Way, The World Food Prize Foundation, Meals from the Heartland, and the Farm Journal Legacy Project.

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Nita SeelingerDirector, Executive Plans and Business Planning

Nita Seelinger is director, Executive Plans. In this role, Nita directs the decisionmaking processes for DuPont Pioneer leadership. She is responsible for identifying critical issues, guiding the Pioneer leadership through effective decisionmaking and ensuring resolution through consistent implementation and accountability. She serves as proxy for the president of Pioneer across the organization and with DuPont's corporate leadership.

Since joining DuPont in 1995, she has held various executive-level positions, successfully leading teams to develop and implement a wide array of corporate programs and strategic initiatives, including the acquisition of Pioneer. Before joining Pioneer, Nita held positions in DuPont's Agriculture & Nutrition and Electronics & Communications businesses, and in Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions.

Prior to joining DuPont, Nita was a leader in the high–technology industry and held sales & services management and executive account management positions within Digital Equipment Corporation.

Nita has her Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

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John Soper, Ph.D.Vice President, Crop Genetics Research & Development

Dr. John Soper is vice president, Crop Genetics Research & Development, with responsibility for advancing worldwide crop genetics research strategies to drive increased productivity and create new value for seed and agricultural value chain customers through advanced plant genetics.

John began his career at DuPont Pioneer in 1987 as a soybean breeder in Minnesota and in 1994 was named regional soybean research director for the northern United States and Canada. In 1995 John was named director of sunflower research with responsibility for oversight of Pioneer’s sorghum, rice, millet, and alfalfa research added in 1999. John led Pioneer’s soybean product development efforts as its director beginning in 2001. He was named senior research director of soybean product development in 2008, a position he held until assuming his current role in 2010.

John serves as a representative on the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology and the Council for a Sustainable Agricultural Workforce. He also serves as Chairman of the Grand View University Languages Curriculum Advisory Committee.

John holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned his doctorate in agronomy and plant breeding from North Dakota State University.

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Subbarao, K.V.Regional Director, South Asia

KV Subbarao is regional director, South Asia Region, and has strategic oversight responsibility for the India, Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam business units. Subbarao leads the DuPont Pioneer South Asia leadership team and is also a member of Pioneer's Enterprise Leadership Council.

Subbarao joined DuPont Pioneer in 2001 as production operations manager and was appointed as India country manager in 2004. He has over 20 years of agriculture industry experience and is also currently the president of the National Seed Association of India, which has 250 member companies.

Earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and Master of Science degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Banaras Hindu University in India, Subbarao completed his Doctorate in Life Sciences from the University of Hyderabad in India. He also has a Graduate Diploma of Management, (Technology Management) from APESMA – Deakin University in in Australia.

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Steve WaiteDirector, Global Supply Chain

Steve Waite is global Supply Chain director for DuPont Pioneer. In this role, Steve has responsibility for ensuring best practices and business improvement principles are applied across Pioneer’s worldwide supply chain. He is a member of the global commercial business leadership team for Asia Pacific, China, Europe and Africa.

Steve started his career at Pioneer in 1984 with the corporate controller group. During his service at Pioneer, Steve has held several leadership roles including: North America Sales Services director; Information Management director – Operations; North America Sales and Marketing Operations director; vice president, Information Management; and PROaccess integration lead.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and MBA from the University of Iowa.

Steve served on the board of the Technology Association of Iowa and has been an active member of the Johnston Community School Foundation board of directors and United Way throughout his career.

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Tracy WillitsDirector, DuPont Pioneer Communications

Biography and photo available soon.

Marv WilsonDirector, Agricultural Biotechnology Business Operations

Biography and photo available soon.