Thousand Oaks, California
July 21, 2008
 Energy
crop company Ceres, Inc.
announced today that seed industry veteran Michael Stephenson
will lead its supply and delivery chain as Vice President of
Operations. He will also oversee the company’s agronomy teams.
The new management position was added to support the
agricultural technology company’s expanding commercial
activities. Ceres is developing new crops for next-generation
biofuels and biopower, and earlier this year announced that it
was ramping up seed supplies of its first products, which will
be marketed under its Blade Energy Crops brand.
“Mike’s know-how and decades of operational experience will be a
valuable asset as we build the infrastructure we need to be the
leading seed and traits supplier to farmers, biorefineries and
biopower companies,” said Ceres chief executive Richard
Hamilton.
Stephenson said that he welcomed working in this new growth
market. “Dedicated energy crops represent the biggest thing to
happen to the seed industry since biotechnology and I’m pleased
to be a part of company with such a well-regarded R&D team,” he
said.
“Ceres is applying the latest technology to crops, like
high-biomass sorghum, miscanthus and switchgrass, that have not
seen a lot of innovation. This is occurring on the plant
breeding side of the business in the form of improved cultivars,
and on the seed production and conditioning side of the business
in the form of greater seed quality and performance. I’m
confident that we can make rapid improvements in both areas,”
added Stephenson.
Prior to joining Ceres, Stephenson was General Manager for one
of the brands of AgReliant Genetics, the fourth largest field
seed company in the United States. He also served as the
President of Great Lakes Hybrids prior to its merger into
AgReliant. In addition to his commercial experience, he has
chaired the American Seed Trade Association’s corn and sorghum
division, and served as President of the Soybean Research
Foundation, among others.
Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer of high-yielding energy
crops that can be planted as feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol
production and biopower. Its development efforts cover
switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and short-rotation
woody crops. The plant breeding and biotechnology company
markets its seed products under its Blade Energy Crops brand.
Ceres holds one of the world’s largest proprietary collections
of fully sequenced plant genes. The privately held company also
licenses its technology and traits to other organizations. |
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