Rockingham, Va. – Shenandoah Growers, Inc., the nation’s most commercially advanced indoor agriculture company leveraging its biology and technology platform, national customer network and distribution channels to deliver USDA certified organic herbs and leafy greens to more than 18,000 retailers nationwide, today announced that Dr. Tessa Pocock, has joined the company as Chief Science Officer, following the transition of Robert Hoffman, to CSO Emiritus, effective immediately. Pocock will report to Shenandoah Growers Chief Technology Officer Ulf Jönsson and serve on the company’s Executive Leadership Team.
With superior unit economics, capital efficiency, market reach and product offerings, Shenandoah Growers – already the nation’s leading supplier of fresh herbs – is poised to break a long-standing market compromise by delivering affordable USDA certified organic produce, grown indoors and in soil, at scale.
Pocock brings decades of experience in plant lighting and physiological research as well as indoor agricultural management to Shenandoah Growers. She has held a variety of roles in academia and in the controlled environment agriculture sector, most recently as director of lighting optimization at Plenty. Pocock holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Stress Biology and Master’s degrees in Plant Biochemistry from Western University (formerly, The University of Western Ontario).
“Tessa is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost lighting and plant biology experts. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to our proven management team of biologists, technologists and operators,” said Shenandoh Growers President, Philip Karp. “As Shenandoah Growers enters our next phase of transformational growth, Tessa will bring an invaluable perspective, expertise and vision on plant driven intelligent grow systems to ensure we are well-positioned to capitalize on unmet market demand for sustainable, organic, accessible and organic herbs and produce.”
Pocock and Shenandoah Growers Chief Technology Officer Ulf Jönsson, an agronomy and horticulture technology expert, have set an ambitious research, development and implementation agenda for Shenandoah Growers. Priorities include continuing to refine plant intelligent lighting algorithms and technology to further reduce unit costs and boost energy efficiency; commericalizing new crops to reach underserved markets; and continuing to optimize and expand the company’s IP portfolio including its proprietary closed loop nutrient regeneration technology, which enables efficient, low-cost and organic nitrogen for plants. This proprietary technology is key to unlocking the company’s ability to deliver organic, indoor-grown produce at scale.
“I am excited to join Shenandoah Growers’ Executive Leadership Team at such a pivotal moment for the company,” said Pocock. “I was attracted to the company’s ‘biology first, technology to scale’ mentality, and look forward to working closely with the team to continue to optimize our industry-leading indoor organic farms, world class R&D and data driven lighting programs; all aligned with the approach of bringing nature indoors.”
The company recently announced another strategic hire, Cameron Geiger as Chief Operating Officer. Geiger brings decades of senior experience in technology and end-to-end supply chain roles to the Shenandoah Growers Executive Leadership Team.
About Shenandoah Growers, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Shenandoah Growers is the leading grower and marketer of fresh organic culinary herbs in the United States, providing sustainable, USDA certified organic, regionally grown produce to retailers coast-to-coast. The Rockingham, Virginia-based company has developed the nation’s largest commercial indoor organic growing systems and continues to redefine how to bring fresh, organic, and sustainably farmed produce to market – operating across a nationally integrated platform of farms, production, and logistics facilities. For more information, please visit www.shenandoahgrowers.com.
Under the THAT’S TASTY® BRAND, Shenandoah Growers provides USDA organic, non-GMO, regionally grown, and sustainably farmed fresh culinary herbs and greens. Launched in 2017, the THAT’S TASTY BRAND offers consumers ways to add Pure Organic Flavor™ to their everyday cooking by offering a full line of products including living organic herb plants, fresh cut herbs, herb purees, lettuces and microgreens. www.thatstasty.com.
