 Roland Peerenboom
Managing Director
Enza Zaden BV
The Netherlands
How does your work in the seed industry benefit from
what you learned in your earlier professional life?
"When I
joined the seed industry 7 years ago, I found it a very
closed type of industry. Very few people with a
non-horticultural or agricultural education, background,
or professional experience where active in this
industry. But, because of the changing market conditions
in the major markets ( USA, Western Europe ) that is :
further concentration of growers ( fewer but bigger and
not only producing the vegetables but also adding other
values like traceability, quality assurance, packing and
logistics ) influence of large traders, wholesalers and
retailers, and the segmentation in the various species,
the seed industry has to look further "downstream" on
what is happening there and translating that back in new
products. There was a very much grower focus, but grower
in the traditional sense as a producer of vegetables.
The seed
industry is a very product-oriented industry, and in my
view rightly so, but it needs more impulses from outside
to create new ideas. Other industries are most of the
time already more open to these type of issues, and that
is perhaps the added value that newcomers from other
industries can bring to the seedindustry."
Conversely, do you believe that other industries could
benefit from some of the things you have learned as a
seed industry executive?
"Focus on
product innovation and longer term product and strategic
planning are very strong and necessary elements of any
seed company. This creates the right atmosphere to
ensure the continuity and prosperity of the company.
In view of the fact that the different disciplines
within a seed company are so dependent on each other,
the communication and information systems within the
company should also be on a very high level ."
Roland
Peerenboom can be reached at
R.Peerenboom@enzazaden.nl
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