Innovation in Agriculture: Biotechnology, Genetics, Genomics & Beyond

Cherry Emerson Lecture

Steve Padgette is currently Vice President, R&D Investment Strategy, Global Strategy Group, Monsanto Company. 

After obtaining his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Steve joined Monsanto in 1984, focusing on the development of enzymes and genes to confer glyphosate-tolerance to crop plants.   Steve is co-inventor of the gene which confers the Roundup Ready^® (RR) trait, the most widely-used biotechnology trait in agriculture, and led the FDA and USDA regulatory science safety studies for RR soybean, cotton and canola.  Following several years of research in plant metabolic engineering and co-leadership of the Soybean Business Team, Steve assumed the role of Vice President, Biotechnology in 1998.  During Steve’s tenure, Monsanto Biotechnology strengthened its industry-leading position in the discovery, development and commercialization of crop biotechnology traits.  Steve assumed his current role in Monsanto’s Global Strategy Group in 2011 and has responsibility for technology-rich growth opportunities and Monsanto’s corporate venture capital program, including the Monsanto – Atlas Venture Seed Fund Alliance in Cambridge, MA.  Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of RaNA Therapeutics, Inc., and he serves as Chair of the External Advisory Board, Georgia Institute of Technology Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.  Steve received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in 2007 and is a Monsanto Distinguished Science Fellow.  Steve and his family reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

For more information contact Prof. Sheldon May (404-894-4052); Mr. Matthew Kennedy; or Ms. Candace Fleischer.