David Russell

David Russell is focused on the AgriFood Fund looking at plant productivity, farm productivity, and supply chain efficiency. Prior to joining Lewis & Clark Partners, David led Monsanto’s Biotechnology Prospecting Team looking for innovative opportunities to support the Monsanto agriculture technology platforms. As part of this effort, he continued to build an extensive Ag Tech network including research institutes, universities, start-ups, and agriculture companies.

In a previous role, David helped lead the development of animal feed and grain processing traits as part of the Renessen LLC JV. At Renessen, David was V.P. of Product Development & Technology and led the technology, product development and regulatory science functions. He started his Ag career with Agracetus, Inc., an early Ag biotec startup, where he led teams developing new seeds traits and investigating novel plant seed approaches to animal nutrition and human health.

David received his B.S. from U of Minnesota, Morris, his PhD from Rice University in microbial gene expression, and did a NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University exploring light regulation in corn.