Sun World appoints AI expert to board of directors – Produce Blue Book

BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. (May 21, 2024) – Sun World International LLC today announced an important addition to their board of directors. Dr. Elliott Grant, CEO at Mineral, is the most recent member to join the Sun World board.

Mineral is an independent Alphabet company working to unlock a more productive food system by applying the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and perception to help make agriculture more sustainable.

Elliott is an almost singular thought leader, as he has spent his career acquiring deep knowledge in two specialties: agriculture and artificial intelligence. He recognized the potency of aligning these sectors long before others did and is acknowledged as one of the leading voices in agriculture for the integration of data, emerging technologies and AI deployment.

Elliott has two decades of innovation and company-building experience in agriculture and food supply chains and he sits on the board of directors of the International Fresh Produce Association.?He was the CEO of ShopWell, a pioneering personalized nutrition company; the founding CEO of HarvestMark, a leader in food traceability; and he was previously vice chair of the Produce Marketing Association.

Elliott earned a Ph.D. in engineering from Cambridge University and has authored more than 30 U.S. patents covering innovations in ag robotics, crop phenotyping, cryptography and satellite remote sensing.?In his spare time, Elliott invented the PTI VoiceCode, which he opted to open source, and it has become an acknowledged industry standard.

“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Elliott for over 20 years,” said David Marguleas, Sun World’s CEO. “I don’t know anyone else who comes close to matching Elliott’s stature at the intersection of ag and tech. Not to mention that he is the quintessential left brain-right brain person who brings integrity and good humor to everything he undertakes. Elliott’s expertise in both sustainable ag and the application of emerging tech makes him an invaluable voice at Sun World as these are our dual priorities. Elliott joining our board has long been a goal of mine, and our entire team is grateful for his involvement.”

Sun World is known for applying a high degree of discernment and discipline to everything they do, and crafting a board of extraordinarily gifted individuals is no exception. The company’s board includes CEO Marguleas as well as Bridgepoint Group PLC Directors Hector Perez and Rupprecht Pranckh.

Elliott joins Sun World’s independent directors Ann Veneman and Sebastian Langbehn. Ann Veneman is a former United States secretary of agriculture and the former executive director of UNICEF. Sebastian Langbehn spent his career in leadership positions for Monsanto and served as the company’s vice president of global vegetable seeds.

About Sun World
Sun World International is a global fruit variety development and licensing company, propelled by emerging technologies and rooted since its inception in the principles of sustainability. The company pioneered seedless grape varietal development and it’s licensing, and formalized their fruit genetics program a half century ago. Today, Sun World’s table grape breeding program is one of the largest and longest running in the world with 50,000+ acres planted in 15 countries and 300+ plant patents held across a robust genetics platform. The company specializes in table grape and stone fruit varieties and is further developing programs in cherries, mandarins and mangoes.

Headquartered in California, Sun World has 2,700+ licensees and offices in North and South America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and South Africa. In 2023, Sun World launched a marketing campaign for its now-iconic AUTUMNCRISP® seedless green grapes. This effort, the largest-ever for a branded grape, is designed to drive demand and increase revenue for Sun World’s international network of licensees.