RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S. — With an eye toward expanding its digital agriculture capabilities, Syngenta has announced the creation of the Global Digital Agriculture Solutions group.

Dan Burdett

Dan Burdett has been named as the global head of Syngenta’s Digital Agriculture Solutions group. He has 20 plus years of industry experience, and will lead the company’s overall digital strategy and implementation in this area.

Burdett was most recently head of customer marketing, where he was instrumental in the 2015 acquisition of Ag Connections and expanding the footprint of AgriEdge Excelsior, a whole-farm management program, to 14 million acres in the United States, Syngenta said.

“At the most basic level, Syngenta’s approach to digital agriculture is driven by growers’ needs and the global needs of ag productivity,” Burdett said. “That’s why we are focusing on technologies and tools that can complement the agronomic and economic depth of a grower’s operation. We are taking a similar approach to bring value to commercial growers, our plant breeders and seed production growers, by aggressively leveraging data analytics. By connecting digital agriculture capabilities to our product lines, our sales teams and our channel partners, we have the opportunity to differentiate ourselves in this active space.”

In validating new concepts and bringing viable technologies to the field, Burdett and his team will collaborate globally across multiple business areas, including R&D, Syngenta Ventures, commercial, and production and supply functions.

“Dan is a great leader to develop a digital capabilities ecosystem, while supporting our growers every step of the way,” said Alexander Tokarz, head of business development for Syngenta. “He has spent his entire career providing value to growers. He understands their needs. Moreover, the agriculture industry is feeling the impact of technology disruption, and Dan and his team are positioned to judiciously harness new tools and concepts by building capabilities internally, and seeking out strategic partners and opportunities.”

Aaron Deardorff

With the introduction of the new Global Digital Agriculture Solutions group, Syngenta also designated Aaron Deardorff as head of the group’s North American sector. The North America digital agriculture team will focus on developing integrated grower offers enabled by AgriEdge Excelsior and the company’s Sustainable Solutions group strategies and initiatives.

“We’re expanding our ability to offer growers more value through the new Digital Agriculture Solutions group,” Deardorff said. “We are piggybacking on the success that both Syngenta and Ag Connections have created with growers for more than 15 years, and taking it to a higher level.”