Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: RedSea, the sustainable AgTech business whose pioneering technology enables commercial farming in hot climates globally, announces the appointment of two new divisional heads - Chief Agricultural Officer and Chief Plant Science Officer - reinforcing the company’s strategy to develop world-leading technologies for sustainable agriculture.

Bruno de Oliveira joins as Chief Agricultural Officer after most recently consulting with Silal in Abu Dhabi, an ADQ subsidiary with a broad portfolio of agri-food enterprises, where he held the role of Head of Farms Development. Prior to this, Bruno was Agricultural Director of Fresh Produce at Canal Sugar, an integrated Agro-industrial project and the world’s biggest sugar beet processing plant in Egypt. Bruno has vast experience in managing commercial crops – including a diverse host of fruits and vegetables – across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East - managing major private and government farming businesses as well as nurseries in each region. In his new role at RedSea, Bruno will be responsible for overseeing all global agriculture sites, operations, and expansion as well as ensuring alignment with ESG and sustainability goals in agriculture practices.

Branko Lovic joins as Chief Plant Science Officer following six years at United Genetics USA and its affiliates in Spain. He held several executive roles in different functions across sales, product development, and  supply chain.  Branko has significant experience within agriculture and plant science, having previously held the role of Technology Development Lead at Monsanto – the US agricultural biotechnology company acquired by Bayer in 2016 - and Global Seed Production Manager at Syngenta – one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. Branko will oversee RedSea’s plant science division and further the development of plant genetics to enable salt, heat, and drought tolerant crops.

Ryan Lefers, CEO and co-founder of RedSea, said:

“We are excited to have Branko and Bruno join us – their expertise, experience, and values are well-suited to the ethos of RedSea and our mission to drive sustainable technology solutions that increase crop yield, ensure high-quality food, and help feed the world. As we look to scale and focus on our technology sales this year, Branko and Bruno’s experience in product development and agriculture will prove invaluable. We look forward to seeing our advancements benefit growers – and increase our global reach.”

Through the rigor of science, RedSea offers pioneering, needs-based design of sustainable agriculture technologies for the world’s hottest climates. RedSea’s platform of proprietary technologies spans from the crops’ roots to the roof of the greenhouse and includes: resilient plant science and genetics, sustainable active and passive cooling systems, greenhouse roofs which allow visible light through whilst absorbing the heat, and a data enterprise remote monitoring and control system.

RedSea's technologies are now deployed and being used by growers in seven countries globally. The technologies are also being utilized at RedSea's own facilities enabling high quality produce delivered to major national retailers across Saudi Arabia under the Red Sea Farms brand. RedSea’s impressive portfolio of high-profile partnerships, including building sustainable farm facilities with Red Sea Global and Silal, is only set to increase as the company continues along its trajectory of expansion. RedSea’s goal is to become a world leader in providing sustainable technologies for hot climates, pioneering sustainable solutions to tackle food insecurity.

-Ends-

Further information
Thoburns
Johanna Lawson-Dick
j.lawsondick@thoburns.com

About RedSea

  • RedSea is helping to feed >10 billion people by designing, developing, and delivering the world’s most advanced sustainable hot climate AgTech platform. Our technologies deliver exceptional resource efficiency to allow for year-round production, even in hot climates.
  • RedSea’s technologies are accessible and scalable allowing local communities and commercial growers to increase yield and produce better quality, locally grown, and highly nutritious food. RedSea’s technologies are proven in Saudi Arabia, where the company is now one of the largest and fastest-growing sustainable food producers under the Red Sea Farms produce brand.
  • RedSea is building an indoor farm to sustainably feed guests at The Red Sea Project and be a main supplier to the luxury destination's resort and has partnered with Silal in the UAE to deploy new technologies for sustainable desert farming.

More information can be found at: www.redsea.ag/