UK: Intelligent Growth Solutions appoints Chief Strategy Officer

Intelligent Growth Solutions, the Scottish-based agritech business, further strengthened its team with the appointment of John Chapman as Chief Strategy Officer. John is the first senior appointment by new CEO David Farquhar. He will play a crucial role in identifying and securing investment, as well as help shape the strategic positioning of the business over time.

John specialises in generating investment in early stage technology companies, supporting their expansion, driving growth and advising on an eventual exit for investors. Since 2000 he has worked closely with a number of first time and repeat entrepreneurs and has been instrumental in 13 investments, 21 transactional deals and 11 company exits. John originates from an M&A background working for major global financial institutions, including Citicorp and Paribas.

Most recently, David and John worked together at UK-based SaaS vendor Workplace, where David lead the team through a successful turnaround, transformation, growth and exit in a merger with US-based Workforce Software.

John comments on his new role: “I have worked in technology and investment much of my career, collaborating closely with entrepreneurs who identify significant market needs or future trends that can be addressed with new technologies. There is absolutely no denying the increasing challenges faced by the food industry, which we see driving demand for our product offering in indoor farming in the US, Europe, Middle East, as well as Asia. The applications for our technology are only just emerging in horticulture and beyond.

“I am very excited to be joining the team at this point as we look to our next round of investment. With interest growing across many different markets and geographies, we need to accelerate the build out of our team to effectively serve our customers and manage our partner relationships going forward.”

David Farquhar, CEO of IGS comments: “John and I have worked together on a number of ventures in the past, most recently at Workplace. His track record is excellent and his knowledge of the investment and developing markets is going to be a significant bonus for IGS. We are at a crucial point in our growth as we look to raise capital and John is absolutely the right person to be taking us forward. I am delighted to have him on board.”

Intelligent Growth Solutions was established in 2013 as an indoor horticulture business with a vision to deliver commercial viability to the nascent vertical farming model by improving productivity (yield, quality, consistency) whilst dramatically driving down the cost of power and labour through Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA).

For more information:
Intelligent Growth Solutions
c/o The James Hutton Institute
Invergowrie
Dundee
DD2 5DA
T: 0131 202 1050
info@intelligentgrowthsolutions.com
www.intelligentgrowthsolutions.com