We believe that creating the future the world wants requires changing how the world grows. That’s why Enko® discovers and develops novel products for farmers to protect their crops from pests and disease. Our discovery platform, ENKOMPASS™, uses DNA-encoded libraries, AI, Structure-Based Design, and Machine Learning to find and select the right treatments for the right targets faster and more effectively than traditional R&D methods. By providing farmers with new tools to grow their crops successfully and sustainably, we hope to open the door for increased adoption of other data-driven and emerging technologies in agriculture.
Led by a team of proven scientists, entrepreneurs, and industry veterans, Enko’s innovative science, agile design, and discovery of new modes of action is producing next-generation crop protection solutions that will overcome critical challenges facing the industry.
The need for urgent action in global agriculture has never been more compelling. Not only can we do better, but the time has come when we simply must.
Rapid global population growth and increasing consumption places huge demands on farmers and the planet.
We must grow more safely and sustainably, adapting to the effects of climate change while also mitigating them. This is key to providing safe, healthy and affordable food to a growing population.
Balancing the competing pressures and demands of the global food and fiber system is a major task that demands meaningful action.
The lack of innovation in agriculture over the last 30 years has left growers across the world to tackle today’s challenges with yesterday’s solutions.
Their tools to grow their crops effectively and sustainably have failed to keep up with their needs.
Until now.
For the first time in a long time, real change is on the horizon.
Enko sits at the forefront of an exciting new movement in the agricultural space. We are here to provide new tools that help farmers grow successfully and sustainably.
On a mission to change how the world grows, Enko sought inspiration from outside our comfort zone.
The idea was simple: apply proven drug discovery and development approaches from the pharmaceutical industry to agriculture. The results have been exceptional.
Our discovery platform, ENKOMPASS™, uses DNA-encoded libraries, AI and Machine Learning, and Structure-Based Design to find and select the right treatments for the right targets, faster and more effectively.
These superior discovery capabilities have removed guesswork from the process, drastically reducing development cycles and taking novel products from conception to reality in record time.
From the rice fields of Asia to the greenhouses of Canada, Enko’s groundbreaking plant health technology brings new tools to help farmers grow successfully and sustainably.
Rigorous field testing and regulatory trials have shown how, compared to all available options, Enko’s products are more effective at securing a higher quality and quantity of crops across a more diverse range of habitats.
When farmers have a more effective product, they can use less of it. That means easier application and benefits for both people and the planet.
Armed with new tools to grow their crops more successfully and sustainably, individual farmers can become part of a collective solution that shapes the future of global agriculture.
Enko’s pioneering approach aims to bring earth-friendly crop protection to farmers everywhere.
We intend to set new industry standards in safety, sustainability and environmental impact.
By providing farmers with new tools to grow their crops successfully and sustainably, we hope to open the door for increased adoption of other data-driven and emerging technologies in agriculture.
Our goal is not just to create something better, but to play a part in something bigger.
Enko helps farmers and growers of all shapes and sizes to be successful and sustainable with pioneering plant health technology focused on people and planet.
Watch our video to understand the science.
Enko discovers and develops novel products for farmers to protect their crops from pests and disease. All that we do is inspired by the belief that we can improve the agricultural industry and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable system that can increase crop yields and improve access to food around the world.
We believe that in order to create the future the world wants, we need to change the way the world grows. Our goal is not just to create something better, but to play a part in something bigger.
Natalie Arden joined Enko Chem, Inc. January 2024. She brings over 20 years of experience partnering with leaders on strategic people topics in a variety of industries, including Life Sciences, Tech, Healthcare and Academia. She most recently was at Eppendorf Group, leading the Americas HR team and partnering with local and global business executives as the region grew from 300 to nearly 1000 employees. Her areas of expertise are strategic HR leadership, organizational design and optimization, building high-performing teams, and developing scalable programs and processes.
Natalie holds a BS in Business Management as well as certifications in Strategic Business Partnering, Workforce Planning, Talent Acquisition, and Six Sigma Green Belt.
Tony Klemm is CEO of Enko Chem, Inc. He joined the company in March 2025 and brings over 30 years of experience in agriculture to the role. Prior to Enko, Tony led the global strategy for licensing and development across the Seeds portfolio at Corteva Agrisciences. In this role, he focused on defining and executing global crop strategies and identifying and executing strategic business opportunities for seed. Prior to Corteva Tony joined the heritage company of Corteva, Dow AgroSciences, in 1994 as a sales representative. He worked extensively in Dow’s agriculture science business in several commercial capacities throughout North America and Asia including supply chain, marketing, and country management. Prior to that role, he held positions as the Global Portfolio Leader for Corn, Cotton, and the Enlist™ Weed Control System where he led development efforts coordinating the commercialization of Enlist traits across the seeds, traits, and ag chemical business platforms. He is a former board member of Crop Life International and the National FFA Foundation Sponsor’s Board and holds an Executive MBA in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University.
Stephanie M. Liva, Ph.D., JD, joined Enko Chem, Inc. as general counsel in August 2022. She has been advising biotechnology companies of all sizes for over 20 years including Monsanto (now Bayer) from 2005-2013. Since then, she has held roles at start-ups and small biotechnology companies in agriculture and human therapeutics.
Stephanie received her BS and Ph.D. from UCLA and her JD from Boston University.
Tom Meade, Ph.D. joined Enko Chem, Inc. as Chief Science Officer soon after its founding in 2017. He has over 30 years of experience working in the agriculture industry with a focus on the discovery of novel crop protection chemistries and traits. Tom began his career at Mycogen discovering insect resistance traits and broadened his scientific and leadership responsibilities to include insecticide discovery when Mycogen was acquired by Dow.
Through leadership positions in both crop protection chemistry and traits Tom has broad experience in the discovery and development process. Prior to Enko he was the global leader for Traits Discovery at Dow AgroSciences.
Tom is an author on 14 peer reviewed papers and 1 book chapter. He is an inventor on 27 granted, U.S. patents. He received a B.S. in Entomology from U.C. Davis and an MS and Ph.D. in Entomology from U.C. Riverside.
Peter Stchur, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President of Portfolio at Enko Chem, Inc. Peter joined Enko in 2019. Previously he was director of chemistry for a leading contract research organization for over two years. From 2003-2016, Peter served in several R&D leadership roles with the DuPont Company's Crop Protection and Specialty Chemicals businesses.
He received his BS degree from Wilkes University and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.
David M. Wurzer, CPA has served as CFO of Enko Chem, Inc. since July 2022. From 2009-2022, David was employed by Connecticut Innovations, the State of Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm, where he served in various positions including chief investment officer and senior managing director. From 1997-2008, he was executive vice president and CFO at CuraGen Corporation in New Haven, Connecticut.
He received his BBA from the University of Notre Dame, and started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Marijn Dekkers is Chairman of Novalis Capitol Partners which he founded in 2017. He is a board member of several Novalis LifeSciences portfolio companies. Marijn is the former CEO of Bayer AG in Leverkusen, Germany (2010-2016), and the former CEO of ThermoFisher Scientific (2002-2009) in Waltham, MA, USA. He was also Chairman of Unilever (2016-2020) in London, UK.
Marijn started his career as a scientist at General Electric Corporate Research in Niskayuna, NY, USA. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and a BS in Chemistry, both in the Netherlands.
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Shahram Ebadollahi is a distinguished technologist and innovator, specializing in the applications of data science and AI in healthcare. Currently an operating partner at a private equity firm, he previously led data and AI initiatives as the chief data science and AI officer at Novartis. Before Novartis, he pioneered the healthcare research domain at IBM and later became the technical founder of IBM Watson Health. During his tenure at IBM, he also led industry-first initiatives applying blockchain technology to healthcare data resulting in the formation of new companies in this area. Shahram holds both a Ph.D. and an MBA from Columbia University.
Tim Hassinger is CEO, President, and Chairman of the board of directors, Intelinair, based in Indianapolis. Tim brings nearly forty years of experience in the agricultural industry. Prior to being named CEO and President of Intelinair in January 2022, he was CEO of Dow AgroSciences, the Indianapolis-based agricultural subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, where he had held crop protection, commercial sales, supply chain, marketing, and management roles over 33 years. He then moved to become CEO at Lindsay Corporation in Omaha.
Tony Klemm is CEO of Enko Chem, Inc. He joined the company in March 2025 and brings over 30 years of experience in agriculture to the role. Prior to Enko, Tony led the global strategy for licensing and development across the Seeds portfolio at Corteva Agrisciences. In this role, he focused on defining and executing global crop strategies and identifying and executing strategic business opportunities for seed. Prior to Corteva Tony joined the heritage company of Corteva, Dow AgroSciences, in 1994 as a sales representative. He worked extensively in Dow’s agriculture science business in several commercial capacities throughout North America and Asia including supply chain, marketing, and country management. Prior to that role, he held positions as the Global Portfolio Leader for Corn, Cotton, and the Enlist™ Weed Control System where he led development efforts coordinating the commercialization of Enlist traits across the seeds, traits, and ag chemical business platforms. He is a former board member of Crop Life International and the National FFA Foundation Sponsor’s Board and holds an Executive MBA in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University.
Spencer Maughan is Managing Partner and Founder of the Silicon Valley based DYDX Capital, a fund that has been focused on investing in the Data SuperCycle. Spencer was previously an EIR at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and an investor at Venrock. He has a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from Stanford University.
Brett Wong is a Partner at Anterra Capital with nearly 20 years of experience in the Food and Agriculture industry and he comes from agricultural roots with his family very active in the space. Brett began his career as a project and process engineer in the U.S. ethanol and 2nd generation biofuel industry, later transitioning into equity research at Piper Sandler covering agriculture companies across the value chain. Brett holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a BS in Chemical Engineering with a focus in Biotechnology from Tufts University.
A graduate of M.I.T., Pat obtained a Ph.D. at Harvard with Nobel laureate Prof. R.B. Woodward. After a post-doctoral stint, also with Prof. R.B. Woodward, directed toward the total synthesis of Vitamin B12,. Moving to DuPont, his bioorganic chemistry group developed the fluorescent dye-labeled reagents that were used in thehuman genome project. With DuPont’s Pharmaceutical Division, his medicinal chemistry department discovered Cozaar™, a major anti-hypertensiveand developed Sustiva™ a therapeutic for AIDS.
As Vice President, Global R&D, DuPont Crop Protection, he led 300 scientists to build a world class pipeline of novel products, including Rynaxypyr™ and Cyazypyr™ with world-wide sales over a billion dollars a year, and the new mode of action fungicide Zorvec™. In AnimalHealth, his team discovered the chewable flea and tick product NexGard™ with 2019 sales of $ 900M.
He has presented >110 plenary lectures worldwide, published >140 papers, obtained >50 U.S. Patents, and received numerous awards, including the Harvard Graduate Society Prize, the Alpha Chi SigmaAward, the Robert A. Welch Lectureship, and the Philadelphia Organic ChemistryAward. He was nominated to the Harvard Society of Fellows, is an electedFellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an ACSFellow, and served as Chairman of the Board of the American Chemical Society. He is the recipient of the 2021 ACS National Award for Leadership in ChemicalResearch Management and the 2021 Gassman Award for Distinguished Service inChemistry. Currently, Pat is an independent consultant to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and agrichemical industries.
Tim Pastoor obtained his Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Michigan, is certified by the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (ATS). Tim retired in 2015 from Syngenta as Principal Scientist and founded the company Pastoor Science Communications, LLC that is centered around his passion for sound science communicated well, and continues to provide regulatory and toxicological guidance in product development. He is also past president of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and is a board member of several small biotechnology start-up companies as well as the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).
Tim has over 40 years of international experience in fundamental toxicity testing, mode of action research, and human health risk assessment. For most of his career, including positions with DuPont, ICI, Zeneca, Novartis, and Syngenta, he led toxicology and risk assessment experts in the conduct of safety, health, and environmental studies to assess risk to humans and the environment. In those roles, he was involved in toxicological research projects and product development and was frequently asked to interact with media, community groups, legislators, and regulatory agencies. He is a frequent lecturer on toxicology and risk assessment subjects.
Andrew Plant has 30+ years’ experience in the crop protection and animal health industries. Prior to his current role as an independent consultant, he served as CEO and CSO of Animol Discovery Inc., CTO of AgriMetis LLC, Director Drug Discovery at MSD Animal Health, Head of Product Development Lawn & Garden, Syngenta and Global Head of Research Chemistry, Syngenta. Andrew received a B.Sc in Chemistry from the University of Liverpool, UK, and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from the same institution. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Technical University in Aachen, Germany, before beginning his career at Bayer AG, Central Research. Andrew has 70+ patent applications and publications.
Stephen Powles is a globally recognized crop science, herbicide and herbicide resistance expert. His career in Australia, USA and Europe has been focused on technologies impacting crop science and production. Powles is ProfessorEmeritus at the University of Western Australia and founder of two research organizations. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed research publications and edited two books on herbicide resistance in crops and weeds. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of theAustralian Academy of Technology and Engineering. Powles has received many distinguished national and international awards for his contributions to research. to crop production and to weed control. As well as his science and technology interests in agriculture he remains "grounded" through ownership of an 840-acre farm devoted to crop production.
Terence Walsh, Ph.D. has over 35 years of experience in agricultural biotechnology and agrochemical discovery research, first at The Dow Chemical Company, transitioning into Dow AgroSciences and Corteva Agrisciences. His core interest is translating detailed molecular information about agriculturally important target sites into new crop chemistries and traits. Among his career achievements, Terence led teams that biochemically characterized the enzymes that are the basis of Corteva’s successful Enlist® herbicide resistance trait, and discovered the target site receptor for a major class of auxinic herbicides that includes several new Corteva products. He retired from DowDuPont as a Research Fellow in 2018 and is now an independent consultant. He received a B.Sc. from King’s College, London, UK, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from theUniversity of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has been an associate editor of Weed Science and has over 30 scientific publications and 24 issued U.S. patents.
