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At DunhamTrimmer LLC, we focus exclusively on the global biological and natural product plant protection and plant health market sector. We are experienced marketing professionals who can bring you information on this growing market–information you can find nowhere else.
Mark Trimmer, Ph.D., President and Founding Partner of DunhamTrimmer, has more than 35 years of experience in research, product development, registration, technical service, and technology licensing in the crop protection industry. Mark led international product development at American Cyanamid and successfully delivered numerous new product registrations. At BASF, he led new technology acquisition for the agriculture division and successfully negotiated development agreements on several new products. Most recently, Mark led R&D efforts at a biological startup company, NutraPark, and successfully developed novel biological PGRs for enhancing fresh-market fruits and vegetables.
In 2006, Mark established Trimmer Consulting, providing new technology assessment, R&D strategy, regulatory, and product-development services to companies in the global agricultural chemical and biological markets. In 2010, Mark and William Dunham founded DunhamTrimmer to meet the need for independent market research on biological products. Mark’s training is in agronomy, plant physiology, and plant pathology and he provides primary technical input on all DunhamTrimmer projects. Mark currently leads the Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Directors as Board Chairman for the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA). Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.
Manel Cervera Comabella is Managing Partner and Chief Commercial Officer for DunhamTrimmer. Manel has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing and sales of biostimulants and value-added fertilizers, with prior roles at Sustainable Agro Solutions as Export Manager and most recently, Biovert, where he served as Vice President and Commercial and Marketing Director.
During his time at Sustainable Agro Solutions, Manel was directly responsible for the international consolidation of the company. With Biovert he continued this role, adding additional key responsibilities in marketing as well as a deeper business involvement in multiple management areas. Both companies had primary markets in Latin America and EMENA, and Manel has traveled numerous times to most countries in these regions. During his time in the industry, he has achieved successful market development in many new countries and increased share in key markets.
Manel earned an MSc degree in Fertilizers and Environment (Autonoma de Madrid) and an MSc in International Business (ESCI Barcelona). Based in Lleida, Spain, he provides DunhamTrimmer with a strong network and experience in the Biostimulant industry and designs commercial strategy for different business units and services provided by DunhamTrimmer. Connect with Manel on Linkedin.
Rick Melnick, DunhamTrimmer Chief Operating officer and a Partner, has nearly 30 years of experience in the global commercial agriculture space with expertise in biocontrol, crop protection, branding and marketing, strategic communications, and project management. Rick joined the ag industry in 1995 as a business editor with Meister Media Worldwide, where he would manage the company’s Crop Protection Handbook/database and ultimately rise to Corporate Editorial Director. Among the earliest members of the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA), Rick was named to its Board of Directors in 2008. In 2013, Rick was elected BPIA’s Chairman of the Board, a position he would hold until 2019. Rick was also a founding member of the international industry association BioProtection Global, serving as its president in 2017.
In 2011, Rick joined Valent BioSciences (VBC) as Director of Branding and Communications and led the company’s corporate and product branding initiatives for the Biorational Crop Protection, Plant Growth Regulator, and Public Health & Forest Health businesses. In 2019, Rick became a partner in DunhamTrimmer and now serves as the lead editor for DunhamTrimmer’s Global Market Reports and 2BMonthly newsletter. He provides a broad base of international experience in marketing, product development and commercialization strategy, and leads the company’s marketing communications business. Connect with Rick on Linkedin.
Vatren Jurin, DunhamTrimmer’s Chief Technology Officer and a Partner, boasts an impressive career spanning over 30 years and focusing on identifying and scaling groundbreaking technology. Specializing in plant nutrition, adjuvant technology, biostimulants, seed treatment, and sustainable crop protectants, his contributions have been pivotal in generating nearly $1 billion in revenue growth for various organizations. Vatren’s expertise covers a wide spectrum, including product development, evaluation, mergers and acquisitions, and international regulatory compliance in the fields of agronomy, horticulture, fertigation, aquatics, and ornamentals.
A respected authority in agricultural innovation, Vatren is a go-to speaker at leading forums globally. He has delivered more than 500 presentations at customer events and training sessions. His insights are often sought after by leading industry publications to shed light on the future directions of agronomy and sustainable agriculture. Vatren holds multiple patents and has co-authored and collaborated on an array of scientific papers, solidifying his standing as an industry thought leader. For networking and collaboration opportunities, connect with Vatren on LinkedIn.
Massimo Toni is the company’s Vice President of Business Development. He is an international executive with senior management experience across diverse industries and geographies, including eight years as CEO of a high-tech company in Japan. Massimo brings more than 40 years of experience in product development, marketing, business development, and general business management. He has been active since 2002 in the field of Biologicals for Agriculture.
Massimo was Director of Geneva-based Intrachem Bio International, a corporation with subsidiaries in Italy, Spain, and Germany, from 2002-2009. In 2009 he established his own consultancy firm, MT Bio Consulting, and cooperated closely with the French Group De Sangosse with the mission of helping build a portfolio of Biocontrol products (now the largest in France) primarily via construction of cooperation agreements. Massimo represented the De Sangosse Group in IBMA France’s Board from 2011-2019. He also been involved in the field of Biostimulants since 2011 on behalf of Agronutrition, a De Sangosse Group subsidiary. He served as Chair of the Public Affairs Steering Group of EBIC, the European Biostimulants Industry Council, for two years, then in November 2018 was elected to the Board of the association. Today he is EBIC Treasurer, representing Agronutrition. Massimo is also a member of the BPIA Meeting Planning committee. Connect with Massimo on Linkedin.
Richard Jones is DunhamTrimmer’s Vice President of Content and Client Engagement. He brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic leadership, communications, marketing, project management, and conference programming with an eye toward the commercial grower. His efforts have focused on advances in commercial agriculture with an emphasis on the use of biologicals in fruit, vegetable, and greenhouse production.
Richard began his career in agriculture with Meister Media Worldwide in 1998 as a writer and editor, and over the next two decades led content strategy and execution for the company’s print, digital, and event properties in the U.S. and worldwide. As Meister’s Corporate Content Director, he led the company’s biologicals content strategy, covering developments in biopesticides, macroorganisms, and biostimulants, and developed programming for Meister Media’s BioSolutions Conference & Expo. He is also active with the Biological Products Industry Alliance, serving as Co-chair of BPIA’s Communications Committee. Richard brings years of expertise in conceptualizing, creating, and delivering content that fulfills the needs of clients and readers across a multitude of platforms. Connect with Richard on LinkedIn.
Ashish Malik has more than 20 years of experience in senior executive roles with agricultural input companies with a focus on biological solutions. His broad global experience includes developing go-to-market strategies, product development and commercialization, business development, licensing and partnering, capital raising, serving as a board director, company exits, and building and leading senior teams. He has worked in both small and large, and public and private companies.
In addition to his role as Senior Industry Associate for DunhamTrimmer, Ashish also serves as President and CEO of AgTech startup Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT). Prior to BVT he was VP of Global Marketing for Biologics at Bayer CropScience, where he was responsible for managing the portfolio of biological assets for the company and advancing the strategy to develop integrated crop solutions. Prior to its acquisition by Bayer, Ashish was Senior VP of Global Marketing at AgraQuest and a member of the company’s Executive Team, responsible for the company’s strategic and tactical marketing activities, regulatory affairs, and product development, and Head of Commercial Operations for the Home Care Division at Syngenta.
He currently serves on the Board of the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA). Connect with Ashish on Linkedin.