Adam Bolton
Oakdale,MN
Summary
Plant Sciences professional with a 10+ years of expertise in plant breeding, product development, portfolio management, and license negotiation. Creative problem-solver adept at integrating scientific principles, marketing, and sales knowledge to deliver products to market in a timely and cost-effective manner. Experienced in team management with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Technology Licensing Manager
University of Minnesota
06.2022 - Current
- Leads the global commercialization, marketing efforts, and portfolio management for all University of Minnesota (UMN) plant species, including but not limited to, apples, grapes, soybeans, camelina, and pennycress
- Engages with key partners to ensure successful trialing and marketing of new varieties
- Leads complex licensing negotiations for UMN technologies and plant varieties
- Determines the value propositions for early-stage plant and gene editing technologies
- Serves as the account manager and point of contact for licenses
- Tracks licensing revenue, deal terms and compliance, and forecasts future revenue
- Leads cross-functional teams in a complext matrix of University functions including Faculty Researchers, Contracts, Finance, Venture Center, Office of General Counsel, and Corporate Engagement.
Owner/Head of Business Development
Minne Mushrooms
07.2020 - 01.2023
- Built and developed a functional gourmet mushroom farm
- Developed sales leads and drove customer relations throughout the greater Twin Cities area
- Successfully increased sales throughout the Pandemic and beyond
- Developed and maintained budgets and P&L reports.
Breeding Trial Specialist /Product Development Specialist
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds
04.2019 - 07.2022
- Responsible for designing experiments and variety evaluation withing the sweetcorn, greenbean, cucurbit, and brassica R&D pipelines by utilizing data analytics and high-throughput phenotyping technologies
- Developed a deep understanding of the crop portfolio, market trends, and product lifecycle management
- Launched new products into the market to address portfolio gaps
- Fostered communication between R&D teams, the commercial sales organization, and the seed production group
- Supported the commercial sales unit in the launch of new product introductions by delivering marketing materials and engaging in customer events as the technical expert
- Established and maintained relationships with key strategic partners
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison
01.2015 - 01.2019
- Research project investigating the physiological and genetic basis of salinity and heat tolerance in diverse carrot populations using GWAS, RNAseq, novel phenotyping, and Ionomic analysis
- Strived to understand the physiological mechanisms of salinity tolerance that will aid in the development of new tolerant varieties
- Developed novel method for hydroponic carrot production
- Collaborated internationally with researchers in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, and Germany
- Worked within the USDA carrot breeding program to develop new products that contribute to industry breeding programs
- Developed strong statistics, experimental design, and data analysis experience with R.
Field Corn Product Development Intern
Du Pont Pioneer
06.2014 - 12.2014
- Planned, implemented, and presented a research project on plant and ear height data collection while collecting quality data on multiple important phenotypic traits for hybrid advancement
- Worked with members of the sales team and late-stage trialing group to understand target product profiles.
Pepper Breeding Research Intern
Seminis Monsanto
01.2014 - 06.2014
- Aided Breeders with taking key phenotypic data on physiological traits and helped to make selections in both the field and greenhouse
- Collected data on trials with members of the sales organization.
Education
Ph.D. - Plant Breeding And Plant Genetics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI05.2019
Bachelor of Science - Horticulture
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI12.2013
Skills
Leadership: exhibits strong skills in managing and leading teams with complex organizational structures
Communication: demonstrates strong communication skills to convey complex information effectively across groups
Collaboration: adept at collaborating across various complex internal and external organizations
Product Development: strong experience with portfolio management, new product introductions, developing value propositions, lifecycle management, and market development
Interpersonal Skills: accomplished at developing and maintaining positive relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds
Plant Science Acumen: deep understanding of genetics, physiology, pathology, experimental design, statistics, trialing, and analytics
Financial Management: demonstrated experience in managing budgets, P&L reports, and anticipating financial outcomes of investment decisions
Drive: excels both independently and within a collaborative setting
Publications
- Wild Carrot Diversity for New Sources of Abiotic Stress Tolerance to Strengthen Vegetable Breeding in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Philipp W. Simon, William R. Rolling, Douglas Senalik, Adam L. Bolton, M.A. Rahim, A.T.M. Majharul Mannan, Ferdouse Islam, A. Ali, A. Nijabat, Naima Human Naveed, Rameez Hussain, Adeel Ijaz Shah, Crop Sci., 2021
- Genome-Assisted Improvement Strategies for Climate Resilient Carrots, Adam L. Bolton, Magdalena Klimek-Chodacka, Emily Martin-Millar, Dariusz Grzebelus, and Philipp Simon, Genomic Designing of Climate Smart Vegetable Crops, 2020
- Cell Membrane Stability and Relative Cell Injury in Response to Heat Stress During Early and Late Seedling Stages of Diverse Carrot [Daucus carota (L.)] Germplasm, Aneela Nijabat, Adam L. Bolton, Muhammad Mahmood-ur-Rehman, Adeel Ijaz Shah, Rameez Hussain, Naima Huma Naveed, Aamir Ali, and Philipp W. Simon, HortScience, 2020
- Variation for Heat Tolerance During Seed Germination in Diverse Carrot [Daucus carota (L.)] Germplasm, Adam L. Bolton, Aneela Nijabat, Muhammad Mahmood-ur-Rehman, Naima Huma Naveed, A.T.M Majharul Mannnan, Aamir Ali, Mohamed A. Rahim, and Philipp W. Simon, HortScience, 2019
- Variation for Salinity Tolerance During Seed Germination in Diverse Carrot [Daucus carota (L.)] Germplasm, Adam L. Bolton and Philipp W. Simon, HortScience, 2019
- Influence of Heat Stress on Physiological Response and Yield Potential of Promising Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes, Aneela Nijabat, Adam L. Bolton, Muhammad Mahmood-ur-Rehman, Faizah Altaf, Farhan Hussain, Naima Huma Naveed, Philipp W. Simon, and Amir Ali, Plant Signal Behav., In Review
Timeline
Technology Licensing Manager
University of Minnesota
06.2022 - Current
Owner/Head of Business Development
Minne Mushrooms
07.2020 - 01.2023
Breeding Trial Specialist /Product Development Specialist
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds
04.2019 - 07.2022
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison
01.2015 - 01.2019
Field Corn Product Development Intern
Du Pont Pioneer
06.2014 - 12.2014
Pepper Breeding Research Intern
Seminis Monsanto
01.2014 - 06.2014
Ph.D. - Plant Breeding And Plant Genetics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bachelor of Science - Horticulture
University of Wisconsin-Madison