The dog days of summer might be coming to an end, but the agriculture industry is heating up with executive appointments in the July 2025 edition of AgTechNavigator’s Ag Movers & Shakers.
Chemical company Bayer leads this month’s round-up with CEO news, followed by appointments from BioLumic, Micropep, and Emergent Connext.
Bayer extends the appointment of Bill Anderson as CEO
Bayer’s supervisory board gave its CEO, Bill Anderson, a vote of confidence this month, extending his contract by three years, which was supposed to end on March 31, 2026, according to a company press release.
Anderson is “charting the right course” and “initiated a comprehensive turnaround program in an important phase for Bayer,” Norbert Winkeljohann, chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer, said in the release.
Bayer is focusing on several strategic properties, including improving profitability at its crop-science division, containing US legal risk, and operating with a leaner model, the company shared in the release.
Bayer is facing several lawsuits for its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup, which it acquired from its Monsanto acquisition. Bayer filed a petition to the US Supreme Court, following a ruling from a lower court in a St. Louis, Missouri case that awarded a $1.25 million verdict to a plaintiff who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which he said came from Roundup, Reuters reported.
Since the start of Anderson’s CEO tenure, Bayer has given up nearly 45% of its stock value, with a 52-week trading low of 18.87 EUR, compared to a 52-week high of 53.14 EUR, according to stock data accessed on July 29. Bayer stock has slightly rebounded in 2025, increasing 10.43% year-to-date, and trading around the 52-week high of 28.57 EUR, for data accessed on July 29.
BioLumic names COO, adds to scientific advisory group
New Zealand-based agtech company BioLumic appointed ag-tech veteran Greg Levow to the role of chief operating officer (COO) on July 23. Levow has over 20 years of experience in the agriculture and technology industries, previously serving as the COO and CTO for Verblio and co-founder and president of Agronomic Technology.
The appointment comes as the company scales up its seed trait platform called xTraits, with projects set in North and South America, Europe, and New Zealand, the company shared in a press release. BioLumic’s technology uses ultraviolet light to activate gene expressions, which in turn improve plant growth, resilience, and productivity.
“BioLumic’s approach improves field performance for farmers while also advancing sustainability goals. There’s real momentum here, with partners already using xTraits to improve seed performance and farm outcomes. I’m excited to help scale that value globally,” Levow elaborated.
Additionally, Howard-Yana Shapiro, distinguished senior fellow at CIFOR-ICRAF, and Jeremy Hill, chief science and technology officer at Fonterra Co-operative Group, joined the company’s scientific advisory group, as BioLumic shared in a press release from earlier in the month.
The best of the rest: Micropep names CEO, Emergent Connext appoints CFO
Elsewhere in the ag sector, Micropep Technologies nabbed agtech veteran Georg Goeres, former Indigo and Syngenta executive, to head the next stage of the company’s growth, as AgTechNavigator previously reported. Micropep’s AI-powered Krisalix platform is used to discover micropeptides that can be used for crop protection.
Lastly, rural farming internet connectivity provider Emergent Connext appointed Saroosh Ahmed to the role of CFO, according to a LinkedIn post. Ahmed holds over 25 years of financial leadership experience and worked for internet companies like Spectrum and RCN as well as numerous software-as-a-service companies.
Earlier this month, Emergent Connext announced the closure of its seed round, raising $5 million for its mission of connecting rural farmers.
Editor's note
AgTechNavigator is rounding up executive appointments and promotions at the end of each month, skipping months with few appointments. Contact Ryan Daily, Americas editor at AgTechNavigator, at ryan.daily@wrbm.com to share your agriculture-related appointments.
