Marrone Bio Innovations expands its ag team with three new hires

Three sales and marketing experts with more than 70 years of combined experience across the agricultural and life science industries have been hired at Marrone Bio Innovations, the Davis-based company announces.

MBI is a leading global provider of natural pest management products for the agricultural and water treatment markets.

Neal Job joins MBI as the director of U.S. sales for the agriculture division, bringing more than 20 years of sales management experience. Most recently, Job was a key accounts manager with Suterra in Bakersfield, where he was responsible for driving sales growth in the southern San Joaquin Valley and across the United States. In this role, he delivered significant revenue growth and ran pheromone trap and sampling programs covering several thousand acres.

Before his work with Suterra, Job was part of a startup biopesticide company and he also worked with Syngenta. In both positions, he drove sales in the San Joaquin Valley and coastal markets of California, helped to implement marketing programs and managed field and business development projects.

Job graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness marketing.

Rich Fedigan brings to BMI more than 25 years of marketing experience specializing in the agriculture and turf industries. Fedigan most recently served as a communications consultant with the Conklin Co., a manufacturer and direct marketer of ag/turf fertilizers in Kansas City, Mo. In this role he initiated a strategic plan for public relations, created sales field training, wrote marketing materials and assisted with the branding process.

Previously, he served as an account supervisor at Walz Tetrick Advertising in Mission, Kan., where he managed communication budgets and collaborated with clients to translate corporate goals and objectives into a comprehensive strategic plan and to develop performance metrics. Fedigan earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Buffalo, and also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics.

Dave Owens will manage sales of MBI’s crop protection products throughout Florida. Owens joins MBI after 22 years with Bayer and Rhone Poulenc in Florida. Before that, Owens worked for Chevron/Valent in Florida and as a key accounts manager in the northeastern United States.

Owens holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

“MBI is thrilled to add such high-quality, experienced talent as Neal, Dave and Rich to our agricultural team,” said Hector Absi, senior vice president of commercial operations. “Their extensive knowledge of our market and ability to successfully drive sales and establish a brand across the agricultural markets is critical as we strive to meet growers’ increasingly complex pest and crop management requirements.”