When I joined Agronomix in June 2008, the company was 18 years old.
At the time, I wasn’t thinking about company history. I was focused on learning.
Although I brought experience in accountancy and business administration from roles in the UK, Australia, and Canada, Agronomix introduced me to an entirely new world. Plant breeding, crop research, genetics, statistics, software development, customer support, and the seed industry all had their own language, challenges, and opportunities. There was a lot to learn.
Looking back, I often felt like the youngster in the room. I was surrounded by people with deep expertise and decades of experience. Rather than seeing that as intimidating, I came to view it as an opportunity.
One of my favourite sayings is that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you need a new room. Agronomix gave me access to many brilliant people.
Recently, I realised something that surprised me. Agronomix is now 36 years old. I have spent 18 years with the company, meaning I have been part of almost exactly half of its history. I have also spent nine years as President, leading the company for a quarter of its existence.
Those numbers caused me to reflect on a lesson that became increasingly important throughout my career: businesses are not built by one person. They are stewarded by generations of people who contribute, challenge, improve, and eventually pass the responsibility to others.
Learning Through Questions
One of the strengths I brought to Agronomix was a business mindset. I understood finance, operations, and organizational growth. While I had much to learn about plant breeding, I knew how to ask questions. Many of those questions began with a simple phrase:
“What if we tried this?”
Sometimes the answer from Dieter was immediate:
“We’ve tried that.”
His years of experience had already taught him many lessons, but occasionally I would respond with another question.
“Okay, but have you tried it this way?”
Those conversations became a regular feature of our working relationship. Not because either of us believed we had all the answers, but because we both believed there was always room to learn and improve. Sometimes the old way remained the best way. Sometimes a fresh perspective revealed a new opportunity. Innovation often begins with curiosity, and curiosity begins with questions.
Iron Sharpens Iron
One of the greatest privileges of my career was the relationship I developed with Dr. Dieter Mulitze.
I first met Dieter in 2005 while living in Brisbane, Australia. Long before I joined Agronomix, he was already sharing stories about the company, agriculture, and the industry he cared so deeply about. Over the years our relationship evolved from founder and employee to mentor and mentee, colleague and friend.
I am a firm believer in the principle that iron sharpens iron. In Dieter, I found someone who could be my corresponding iron.
For more than sixteen years, we challenged each other’s thinking. He brought expertise in plant breeding, software innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. I brought perspectives shaped by business, finance, strategy, and a willingness to question assumptions.
We did not always agree.
Some of our best conversations started from opposite viewpoints. Yet many of the decisions that shaped Agronomix emerged from those discussions. Looking back, I consider those conversations one of the greatest gifts of my professional life.
After the acquisition by Cultura Technologies, Dieter would occasionally joke, “I used to be his boss, now he’s mine.” It always made us both smile. Behind the humour was a mutual respect that had been built over many years of working together, learning from one another, and pursuing the same goal: helping Agronomix succeed.
Stewardship Matters
Founders deserve enormous credit for creating something from nothing. But every successful organisation eventually reaches a point where its future depends on more than its founder. The strongest organisations survive because people choose to become stewards.
Stewardship means preserving what matters while having the courage to improve what can be better. It means respecting the past without becoming trapped by it. It means investing in people, developing future leaders, and preparing the organization for opportunities you may never personally see.
During my time at Agronomix, I had the privilege of helping guide the business through significant change. We expanded internationally, launched Genovix, welcomed new team members, strengthened relationships with customers, and joined the Cultura and Volaris families.
Through every change, the mission remained remarkably consistent: helping plant breeders and researchers do their work more effectively.
That purpose is bigger than any individual.
Looking Ahead
As I reflect on almost eighteen years with Agronomix, I feel gratitude more than anything else.
Gratitude for the opportunities.
Gratitude for the friendships.
Gratitude for the customers who trusted us.
Gratitude for the team members whose dedication made every success possible.
Most of all, gratitude for having the opportunity to play a part in a story that began long before I arrived and will continue long after I have gone.
The future of Agronomix will be shaped by new ideas, new leaders, new challenges, and new opportunities.
That is exactly how it should be.
Strong organizations endure because people are willing to build upon the work of those who came before them.
I have spent half of Agronomix’s history with the company and a quarter of its history leading it.
Those numbers matter less than the lesson they taught me.
Leadership is temporary.
Stewardship is what endures.