As of January 1, 2021 Sam Eathington, Ph.D., has stepped into the role of chief technology officer and senior vice president at Corteva. He succeeds Neal Gutterson, Ph.D., who retired from the Company at the end of 2020.
“We are excited to have Sam take over as the leader of our R&D organization,” Chief Executive Officer James C. Collins, Jr., said in a news release . “Sam has a long history of driving commercially successful scientific innovation and his insights and experience will be a tremendous advantage for Corteva. With Sam’s leadership and expertise, we will continue to launch transformative solutions that meet the evolving needs of consumers and empower farmers to produce more, building on the success of recent key product launches while further diversifying our portfolio across crops and geographies. At the same time, we will continue to advance the efficiency and productivity of our R&D operations and deliver greater value for our shareholders.”
The company says Eathington holds more than 50 patents, patent applications and is an expert contributor to numerous periodicals. Before joining Corteva, he was most recently Chief Science Officer with The Climate Corporation, a division of Bayer Crop Science. Eathington’s biography includes being a sixth-generation Illinois farmer. He earned a B.S. in agronomy, an M.S. in soybean breeding and genetics and a Ph.D. in quantitative genetics and maize breeding, all from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
“Corteva’s vast portfolio of products and services and deep relationships throughout the agriculture community reflects its commitment to helping farmers thrive and build for the future,” Eathington said in a news release. “Corteva has established significant momentum with a robust pipeline of patented and differentiated products, award-winning technology and leadership in sustainable chemistry.
He also said, “I am excited to be joining this talented team of scientists at Corteva as we continue to develop technology that positively impacts farmers’ livelihoods and advances environmental sustainability and agricultural resiliency throughout the global food system, while driving accelerated competitive advantages and long-term growth for the business.”
