What Happened?
Davis, CA-based Marrone Bio Innovations has Promoted Alison Stewart as Chief Technology Officer
About the Company
The world population is soaring and consumers are increasingly concerned about the environment, their health, food safety, and ongoing access to clean water. Now, more than ever, our world needs effective, sustainable pest management solutions that are safe for people and protect our natural resources. At Marrone Bio Innovations we understand these challenges and are dedicated to delivering high-performing, bio-based solutions that address these daunting global issues. As experts at discovering, developing, and commercializing naturally derived technologies, we have created an industry-leading platform of pest management and plant health products that are used in agricultural, turf and ornamental, and water treatment applications. Our solutions help customers around the globe control pests, improve plant health, and increase crop yields while reducing the environmental pesticide load, decreasing chemical residues on food, and fighting the development of pest resistance. Continuous innovation is at our core and has enabled us not only to commercialize multiple product lines, but also to generate a deep pipeline of advanced and early-stage products that include nematicides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and plant health candidates. In addition, we have developed a robust patent portfolio and have amassed a library of more than 18,000 microorganisms and hundreds of plant extracts that have been screened for pipeline candidates. We are proud to be industry pioneers and are committed to promoting a better tomorrow with bio-based pest management and plant health solutions that are effective, efficient, and environmentally responsible.
About the Person
Alison Stewart was promoted to Sr. Vice President of R&D and Chief Technical Officer. Her responsibilities in this newly added position include the management of all the company's R&D personnel and operations. She will also continue to lead the technology in-licensing and intellectual property activities of MBI. Dr. Stewart joined MBI as its first Chief Science Officer in April 2013 from Lincoln University in New Zealand. Prior to joining MBI, Dr. Alison Stewart was the Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology in the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand. She led the Plant Disease Biocontrol Research Group that focused on developing microbe-based management systems, in particular, the use of beneficial Trichoderma strains for control of plant diseases. Her work concentrated on the beneficial strains of Trichoderma that resulted in four commercial products for the control of onion white rot, Sclerotinia lettuce drop and Botrytis diseases of grapes and tomatoes. In addition, Dr. Stewart served as the University’s Director of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, one of only seven NZ government funded centres of research excellence that focused on the transfer of technology discovered in New Zealand out into commercial enterprises to enhance New Zealand agriculture and farmers’ livelihoods. She retains the title of Professor Emeritus at Lincoln University. Dr. Stewart has published more than 300 refereed journal articles, books and conference papers and contributed to many professional societies, committees and advisory panels in the areas of plant biosecurity, biodiversity and bioprotection. Alison was elected a Fellow of the NZ Institute for Agricultural and Horticultural Science in 2006 and a Fellow of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society in 2010. In 2009, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in recognition of her services to biology, in particular plant pathology. In 2012, she was named the ‘Most Inspiring Individual’ at the NZ Innovators Awards sponsored by Bayer Crop Science. Dr. Stewart earned her Ph.D. in plant-microbe interactions at of the University of Stirling and her B.Sc. at the University of Glasgow.
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