VP Business Development

Position Summary: As Vice President, Business Development, you will lead growth through strategic distribution partnerships (Nutrien and Simplot), opening new channels to market with seed, crop protection and fertilizer companies and supporting corporate development initiatives. You’ll identify and execute opportunities that deliver profitable growth while exploring adjacent markets such as turf & ornamental and contributing to Verdesian’s AI efforts.

Essential Responsibilities

• Build and lead a high-impact business development team that delivers a commercial pipeline aligned to company growth priorities.
• Source, evaluate, negotiate, and close strategic agreements (distribution, private label, co-development, and alliances) that expand market access and improve value capture.
• Develop investment cases and commercial models (market sizing, valuation, risks) and communicate recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Establish operating rhythms and performance metrics for key partners, ensuring strong execution and measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate cross-functionally (Sales, Marketing, R&D, Finance, Operations) to bring new offerings to market and support successful launches.
• Own alliance management by building and scaling long-term relationships with distributors, retailers, seed companies, and technology providers to drive adoption and pull-through.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 15+ years of progressive commercial leadership with significant experience in business development, partnerships, licensing, and/or corporate development; agriculture inputs, biologicals, crop nutrition, or adjacent B2B markets strongly preferred.
• Proven track record closing complex strategic deals (distribution, co-development, licensing, and acquisitions), including negotiation of commercial terms and partner governance.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills, including market/competitive assessment, pricing/positioning, valuation, and financial modeling.
• Executive presence and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional leaders and present to senior stakeholders.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and a commitment to ethical business practices.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk; and stoop or kneel. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to ten pounds, occasionally lift and/or move up to twenty pounds, and rarely lift and/or move more than twenty-five pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.