Advanced Agrilytics Appoints Kay Kuenker as Chief Executive Officer

HUNTINGTON, Ind., March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Agrilytics, a Paine Schwartz Partners portfolio company and an agronomics services business with advanced precision analytics capabilities, has appointed Kay Kuenker as Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Kuenker succeeds Dr. Kess Berg, Co-Founder, who will remain with the Company continuing to serve as Chief Technical Officer.

Ms. Kuenker is a seasoned agricultural industry executive with more than 33 years of experience in the sector in roles spanning R&D, innovation, product line and business unit leadership. She brings to Advanced Agrilytics extensive commercial experience and strong financial acumen, having led international business units with large geographical reach.  After nearly 30 years with Dow AgroSciences, nine of which she spent as a member of the Corporate Management Team, Ms. Kuenker most recently served as Executive Vice President of Strategy for Cibus, a biotech company focusing on gene editing in agriculture.

"It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the Advanced Agrilytics team," said Ms. Kuenker. "I am passionate about building and growing ag-focused businesses and have succeeded in doing so throughout my career by collaborating with my colleagues, leveraging science and embracing change. This is an exciting time for Advanced Agrilytics, as its efforts to expand have positioned the company for exponential growth. I look forward to working closely with Kess and the other members of the team to capture the significant opportunities ahead."

"I am proud of our accomplishments at Advanced Agrilytics," said Dr. Berg.  "During the initial five years, Advanced Agrilytics focused primarily on developing our digital portfolio and methodology as well as extensively evaluating each product.  Over past year, in particular, we have achieved substantial growth, increasing our staff threefold, covering 50% more acres and expanding Ag Ingenuity Partners B2B accounts. Now is the opportune time to bring in our next CEO, and Kay's extensive leadership and industry experience will be instrumental in guidance for our future growth.  I look forward to devoting more time to what I am most passionate about – working directly with customers and developing new products. I thank the entire team for their support and dedication, and am excited to work alongside them as we continue developing our company."

"Since our investment in the Company, Advanced Agrilytics has performed exceptionally well. This success has strengthened our conviction in the potential opportunities ahead in this sector of the agribusiness value chain," said Kevin Schwartz, CEO of Paine Schwartz Partners. "We are confident that Kay is the right person to lead the Company forward, working closely with the Advanced Agrilytics Founders and all employees to drive the business forward in delivering cutting-edge innovations to our valued customers. We acknowledge Kess' major contributions to the Company and look forward to a continuation of the success he has catalyzed as Founding CEO."

About Advanced Agrilytics 
Advanced Agrilytics is a team of agronomists and scientists enabled by advanced precision analytic capabilities, helping growers interpret and utilize their field data to influence their yields. With precise data the Advanced Agrilytics team works directly with growers in their fields to understand each input, practice and the attributes of every acre throughout the season resulting in higher yields. This high-touch approach ground-truths prescriptions, agronomic advice, and results. For further information, please see www.advancedagrilytics.com.

About Paine Schwartz Partners  
A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm's investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain, and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. For further information, please see www.paineschwartz.com.

Contacts: 
Andy Brimmer / Aaron Palash 
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 
+1 212-355-4449

SOURCE Paine Schwartz Partners