CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chromatin, Inc., a leading provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, announced today that Robert B. Shapiro has joined its Board of Directors.
Shapiro brings deep experience in leading and advising agriculture and entrepreneurial companies. He previously served as the Chairman and CEO of Monsanto Company and, as a co-founder and managing director of Sandbox Industries, has helped create and grow several companies.
“As Chromatin expands its sorghum business, we will benefit tremendously from Bob’s management experience in growing innovative agriculture companies,” said Daphne Preuss, Chromatin’s CEO. “We are very pleased he has decided to join our Board of Directors.”
Shapiro was previously President of Monsanto’s Agriculture Group, Chairman and CEO of The NutraSweet Company, and President of the NutraSweet Group of G. D. Searle & Co., where he served as Vice President and General Counsel. Upon the merger of Monsanto with Pharmacia & Upjohn, he served as Chairman of the newly-formed Pharmacia Corporation.
“Chromatin has identified an important opportunity in sorghum,” said Shapiro. “I am impressed with the advances the company has made, and I look forward to working with the team as they implement their growth strategy.”
In addition to Chromatin, Shapiro serves on the boards of Theranos, Inc., Sapphire Energy, Inc., Intrexon Corporation, and Elevance Renewable Sciences. He previously served on the boards of the New York Stock Exchange (later NYSE Euronext), Citigroup, Inc., Rockwell International, Silicon Graphics, Inc., Agraquest, and Sequus Pharmaceuticals. Shapiro has also served on the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and on the White House Domestic Policy Review of Industrial Innovation, and served in government as Special Assistant to the General Counsel and the Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He is a 1959 graduate of Harvard College, holds a JD from Columbia University School of Law, and has practiced law in New York City.
About Chromatin, Inc.
Chromatin, Inc. develops sorghum for both traditional agriculture and applications in renewable energy. It provides high quality sorghum seeds to growers and producers who are attracted to the crop’s rapid maturation, tolerance to heat, cold and drought and high yields. Chromatin has optimized its product portfolio to create sorghum feedstocks that serve as ideal renewable resources for emerging bio-based industries such as liquid transportation fuels, chemicals, materials and biopower. Today, Chromatin’s products are sold in the U.S. and in more than 20 countries, where its sorghum seed is planted on over 4 million acres. For additional information, please visit www.chromatininc.com.