Phytelligence Welcomes New Executive Vice President of Global Sales

Todd Raasch joins Seattle-based startup as the company’s first executive vice president of global sales

Todd Raasch joins Seattle-based startup as the company’s first executive vice president of global sales

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Phytelligence, a leading agricultural biotechnology company that is revolutionizing the way food crops are grown, today announced its first Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Todd Raasch. Raasch will oversee the company’s strategic sales plan to facilitate company growth and grower satisfaction.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005160/en/

Todd Raasch joins Seattle-based startup as the company's first executive vice president of global sa ...

Todd Raasch joins Seattle-based startup as the company’s first executive vice president of global sales. (Photo: Business Wire)

In this new role, Raasch will manage Phytelligence’s expanding sales team, advance sales strategies in each segment, lead competitor analysis and direct implementation of sales policies and practices that align with the needs of growers. Raasch’s hire marks the company’s fifth executive hire within the past year. Other recently announced positions include four global vice presidents of sales who manage the citrus, grape, berry and hops, nut and new crop segments.

Raasch brings more than 20 years of sales experience in the food and consumer packaged goods industries. Prior to joining Phytelligence, he served as the vice president of North American sales at Cooke Aquaculture’s True North Seafood. During the five years he spent as vice president, Raasch was responsible for facilitating more than $950 million in global sales, managing 20 regional sales managers and team members, as well as hiring and overseeing all broker networks. He was also responsible for “top-to-top” relationship management for more than $300 million of sales within North America food retailers including Costco, Kroger, Safeway/Albertsons, Walmart, Sysco and MGM Properties.

“After an extensive search process, we’re pleased to name our very first executive vice president of global sales. With Todd’s leadership we look forward to strengthening our sales strategy and the relationships we’ve fostered with growers,” said Ken Hunt, CEO of Phytelligence. “Todd’s experience in achieving long-term strategic sales goals will be invaluable as we continue to expand and provide growers with the highest quality food crops.”

Raasch, throughout numerous corporate acquisitions, was also a valued member of executive leadership team at Kelley-Clarke Seafood when the company was purchased by Icicle Seafood in 2005, and again in 2016 when Icicle Seafoods was purchased by Cooke Aquaculture. From 1999 to 2013, Raasch held various key strategic roles including general manager of Kelley-Clarke Seafood, director of branded sales and senior director of North American sales for Icicle. During this time, he managed and sold resources directly and through broker networks within the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe to deliver the highest margins and ensure increased revenue.

“With Phytelligence’s growers-first approach, Todd’s expertise in building and retaining successful relationships with both internal and external customers will help scale operations. His extensive North American and international sales expertise will be instrumental in managing our growing sales pipeline around the world,” added Ken Hunt.

“I’m looking forward to building on Phytelligence’s impressive company growth,” said Raasch. “Its disruptive growing process, proprietary techniques and commitment to growers are notable, and I’m eager to work in a new and very exciting segment of the food industry.”

About Phytelligence

Phytelligence is an agricultural biotechnology company that is revolutionizing the way food crops are grown. Utilizing its proprietary growing techniques to provide superior quality crops, Phytelligence enables higher grower profit by increasing speed to harvest and reducing input costs. Phytelligence provides additional value to food crop growers and plant breeders through the application of advanced genetics enabling guaranteed delivery of accurate plants, disease screening, plant repository services, securing of intellectual property, and the ability to co-develop new varieties of food crops. The company has a growing pipeline of biological and compound solutions aimed at improving returns throughout the food crop value chain. Phytelligence was founded by Dr. Amit Dhingra in 2012 out of his Horticulture Genomics and Biotechnology Research laboratory at Washington State University and is headquartered in Seattle with facilities in Pullman, Wash. and Portland, Ore. Learn more at www.phytelligence.com.

Contacts

PR for Phytelligence
Janae Frisch and AnnMarie Henriksson
206-282-4923 ext. 125
phytelligence@communiquepr.com

Source: Phytelligence

MORE ON THIS TOPIC