Cory Christensen Email & Phone Number

Johnston, Ia, Us

Johnston, Iowa, United States

Primary accountability for development and maintenance of product goals that guide strategic R&D investment using core and novel technologies, such as genome editing (CRISPR), to create new products. Single point of accountability for the successful delivery of new products or technologies from portfolio.

Johnston, Iowa

Accountable for discovery phase trait development programs in corn.o Developed, documented, and implemented strategic framework for trait development prioritization including pest prioritization, trait efficacy maps, parts library and product configuration models to support the advancement of trait products to the commercialization pipeline.o Facilitated effort to define next generation of above ground trait product configurations.o Provided business guidance and oversight to R&D teams and made discovery-phase investment recommendations as part of annual planning cycle. o Represented the Seed Business Platform on the trait discovery phase technical oversight team. o Leading Corteva’s effort to define the business opportunity relating to short stature corn and to develop and deliver the product concept.Accountable for investment strategy using genome editing technology to develop products across crops.o Cultivated network to source and validate new business incubation (NBI) concepts. Served as pillar leader within NBI portfolio to shepherd ideas through process including developing the business case.o Led portfolio investment strategy across genome editing technology including adjustments to reach affordability targets set by senior leadership.o Incubated several projects, which have graduated to the core business and are starting to deliver impact.o Led annual genome editing strategy updates with executive leadership.o Provided ongoing coordination of external advocacy efforts across internal departments. o As a team member, I have been a major influencer of our new business incubation operating model. Designed and led implementation of innovation consultant concept to upgrade skills and effectiveness of project teams. Led implementation and update to key innovation tools (Maturity Matrix and Portfolio Navigator business case template).

Johnston, Iowa

• Accountable for investment strategy in CRISPR trait programs. Led effort to rationalize portfolio investment and deliver strategic focus.• Defined 3 areas of strategy for CRISPR (traits, technology and public acceptance), established or refurbished teams in each area; evaluated and documented global strategy for Corteva.• Helped shape nascent Transformational (Innovation) Portfolio as a member of investment board, project review team and pillar leader. Trained initiative leaders and partnered with governance leader and portfolio leader to implement operational model. Leading effort to upgrade project valuation methodology.• Led effort to apply lean startup principles to individual CRISPR trait projects – refining business value models and developing learning plans based on most impactful assumptions.

Indiana

• Accountable for strategic direction and operational excellence of dicot transformation facility at the Purdue Research Foundation campus including molecular biology, tissue culture, media and greenhouse functions. • Ensured Dicot Team is fully enabled to deliver on event production goals that support current product development and capability development goals to deliver next generation transformation technologies. • Fostered career development and staff engagement through regular one-on-one interactions, participation on the People Development Team and mentoring inside and outside my direct reporting structure. • Shaped strategy on precision transformation technology (ExZactTM) capability to align with product development goals.• Led Discovery Assessment Team with multi-function representation (Regulatory, Breeding, Crop Protection Field, Trait Managers, Discovery, Legal and Business) for phased product development project. Recognized for exemplary project management and leadership characteristics.• Demonstrated influence on early discovery phase research projects through participation in the Trait Enablement Steering Team.• Synthesized new strategic thinking, provided visual models for new concepts and demonstrated broad organizational understanding through high engagement in the Trait Development Cycle Time Reduction team (R&D level initiative) • Influenced the direction of Information Technology and Data Analysis through participation on a Steering Team and direct interactions with IT Staff. Contributed significantly to bridging understanding between data scientists and biotechnology research staff and developing strategic perspective to guide the development of improved data systems across R&D.

Portland, Oregon Area

- Led team of scientist and technician level researchers in a discovery program to develop agronomically valuable traits in row crops.- Led team to develop robust phenotyping capability including: greenhouse automation, assay platforms, measurement tools and data capture. - Collaborated with IT to develop and deploy department-level data aggregation, visualization and reporting tools.- Contributed to agronomic trait development strategy through participation in the Agronomic Traits Steering Team.- Engaged direct reports in developing plans to grow their careers and supporting their efforts through coaching and enlightened leadership. Recognized for strong people leadership skills.

Thousand Oaks, California

- Led a multi-departmental team to coordinate the launch of the Blade Energy Crops brand.- Managed multiple external product development collaborations including with international partners in Europe and Asia to develop and trial new varieties of switchgrass and Miscanthus.- Provided leadership on a company-wide level to transition R&D activities from a platform research focus to a product development focus. Developed the role of product management in the commercial enterprise.- Coordinated the launch of Blade’s first switchgrass products including: negotiating licensing agreements, organizing our variety evaluation network, planting of seed production acres, writing product descriptions, writing a grower guide, contributing to marketing collateral and developing a pricing strategy.- Developed and promulgated product specifications and a product portfolio to guide internal product development projects.- Supported sales, marketing and business development efforts by participating in business-to-business meetings, trade shows, customer support and inquiries.

Thousand Oaks, California

See description for Director of Product Management

Thousand Oaks, California

- Developed and guided research projects in support of developing transgenic drought and cold tolerance traits as a PI and heat tolerance, flowering time and biomass yield traits as a manager. Improved quality and quantity of lead genes being identified.- Provided lateral leadership to my PI colleagues to improve the quality of work being performed and to present results of our collective efforts to management and external collaborators.- Acknowledged as a thought leader and point-person within the traits group for coordination with legal, IT and computational biology groups.- Designed and developed a database to capture all assay data, conduct statistical analysis, store analyzed results, and communicate with other databases to provide a comprehensive view of all data pertaining to lead gene discovery.

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

- Responsible for achieving project deliverables for multiple Icoria contracts.- Coordinated development of high-throughput phenotyping capability for Maize. Conducted business development activities (research plan, project cost, and correspondence) for potential clients. - Recognized and worked to realize the full potential of Icoria’s LIMS database system for project management. Experienced in working with relational databases.- Implemented a new assay concept for the identification of lethal genes leading to the development of new herbicide targets. Evaluated literature to determine whether potential target genes were suitable for high-throughput herbicide activity assays. - Project leader for the development of an Arabidopsis phenotype taxonomy that contains over four thousand unique phenotypic descriptions.- Project leader for the PhenoScreen program wherein academic researchers submit mutagenized seed lines for analysis on Icoria’s phenotypic profiling assays.- Designed and implemented a tutorial program for junior scientists that covered various topics in plant biology and the agricultural biotechnology industry.

Salt Lake City, Utah

- Characterized female gametophyte development in Arabidopsis using confocal laser scanning microscopy. - Established procedures to identify and characterize 44 mutants with defects in female gametophyte development or function. - Designed a database to track data pertaining to mutants. - Implemented new techniques that were used to identify 22 genes disrupted by insertional mutagenesis. - Conducted genetic and molecular experiments to characterize the function of 2 genes required for nuclear membrane fusion and synergid cell death. - Trained and supervised 7 undergraduate students.- Served as a teaching assistant for 6 undergraduate courses.