LONDON, Feb 18 (Vertical Future) – Ferroni is also a member of the board of the Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan and recently stepped down as Chair of the System Board of CGIAR, the global agriculture and food, land, and water systems research and innovation group.
An agriculture and food systems specialist, Ferroni draws wide-ranging experience from a career in corporate philanthropy, government, and multilateral organizations. He served as an Adjunct Professor in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at McGill University and advises public, private, and social sector partners on farm policy and sustainable productivity growth.
Commenting on his appointment, Ferroni said: “I am excited to take on the role of Chair at this fast-growing, innovative business. Vertical Future’s mission to contribute to global food security through sustainable and scalable farming solutions is one I have pursued for many years of my career. I look forward to working closely alongside Jamie and the whole Vertical Future team to make their vision a reality.”
Between 2007 and 2017, Ferroni was Executive Director of Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, a developer and incubator of scalable solutions for smallholder farmers in low-income countries and emerging markets to raise yield and resource use efficiency, manage risk and improve food security.
Prior to this, he was an Executive Director and board member at the Inter-American Investment Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank where he also served as Deputy Manager of the Sustainable Development Department with responsibility for sector strategies and technical support to the Bank’s Country Departments. He was also a Senior Advisor to the World Bank’s corporate focal point on funder relations, concessional resources, and partnerships.
Earlier in his career, Ferroni worked as a development economist and trade diplomat in foreign economic affairs in his native Switzerland. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.
Jamie Burrows, CEO and Founder of Vertical Future, said: “Marco’s extensive experience of leading and advising organisations dedicated to food security, agricultural science and environmental sustainability will be invaluable to Vertical Future and make him an ideal Chair of the Board as we scale our Company and solutions across the globe. I look forward to working with and learning from him and hope to be able to draw on his knowledge and experience to take the Company to new heights. Together, I believe we can reshape the future of sustainable farming for the benefit of people and the planet.”
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Notes to editors
About Vertical Future
Founded in 2016, Vertical Future is a London-based vertical farming technology and R&D company, with global reach. The Vertical Future team design, manufacture, and build a range of proprietary hardware and software technologies, including an integrated vertical farming system – fully-automated from seed through to harvest. Powered by its proprietary “DIANA” SaaS system that tracks, analyses, and improves the entirety of the growing process and underlying crop science, Vertical Future is building a global network of data-enriched, smart farms.
Vertical Future’s partners, customers, and farms can be found across the UK and as far as Singapore. Growing in a Vertical Future farm means greater efficiency, higher quality crops, less land use, and enhanced water and fertiliser conservation compared to broadacre and glasshouse production methods.
Vertical Future – Pioneering technology, inspiring smarter crop production.
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