-- Successful Agribusiness Leader Provides Technology Integration and Product Commercialization Expertise--
DAVIS, Calif. (August 30, 2006) – Arcadia Biosciences, an agricultural technology company focused on products that benefit the environment and human health, today announced that is has appointed Mark Wong to its board of directors.
Mr. Wong has more than 30 years of agribusiness experience with a specialty in technology integration and product commercialization. He is CEO and founder of Renewable Agricultural Energy, Inc., a fuel ethanol provider. Prior to Renewable Agricultural Energy, Mr. Wong was CEO and founder of Emergent Genetics, Inc., which owned and operated multiple international seed companies. Under his leadership, the company integrated Monsanto's technology into the company's seed lines and increased earnings five-fold in seven years. Emergent Genetics achieved the world's second largest market share in cotton seed, and was sold to the Monsanto Company in 2006. Prior to Emergent Genetics, Mr. Wong was CEO of Agracetus Corporation, a subsidiary of W.R. Grace & Company, which developed and commercialized key technologies for integration of value-added genes into soybeans and other crops. Agracetus was eventually purchased by the Monsanto Company. Prior to Agracetus, Mr. Wong was COO of Agrigenetics Corporation, a corn, sorghum and soybean seed business that was sold to Lubrizol Corporation.
In addition to his present duties at Renewable Agricultural Energy, Mr. Wong is partner at the investment and consulting firm Big Stone Partners. He is serving (and has served) as a board director on three of the world's 50 largest agricultural seed companies. Mr. Wong earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Finance.
"Mr. Wong has a strong track record of building and capturing value in technology-based agricultural businesses," said Eric Rey, president and CEO of Arcadia. "His experience will significantly benefit Arcadia as it continues to mature and makes the transition from developing to commercializing technology."
"Arcadia is one of the leading independent research companies with a large proprietary collection of useful genes," said Wong. "Because of the company's unique mission, successful commercialization of Arcadia technologies will also have a significant positive impact on the environment and human health."
Arcadia has achieved numerous successes advancing technologies that benefit both the environment and human health. The company has demonstrated technology that dramatically reduces nitrogen fertilizer requirements for agricultural crops, which will benefit growers by reducing fertilizer input costs, and benefit the environment through the reduced application of nitrogen fertilizer. The company has also demonstrated technologies that enable salt and drought tolerance in plants. The company has enriched GLA in safflower oil to commercially significant levels and achieved key milestones in the development of longer-lasting fresh lettuce and tomato under a $2.9 million contract from the Department of Defense. New agricultural products based on these technologies will be available over the next several years, with GLA safflower oil to be available first in 2008.
About Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Based in Davis, Calif., with additional facilities in Seattle, Wash. and Phoenix, Ariz., Arcadia Biosciences is an agricultural biotechnology company focused on the development of agricultural products that improve the environment and enhance human health. For more information visit www.arcadiabio.com.
