Matt Kramer, a 33-year veteran of the horticulture industry, has joined Fall Creek Farm & Nursery as director of product development and commercialization. In this newly created position, he is responsible for the company’s intellectual property business, including its blueberry breeding and variety development programs. He will lead the advancement of commercialization strategies for a complete blueberry variety portfolio, including licensing platforms. Kramer will continue close collaboration with licensors, licensees, customers, and allied programs of Fall Creek’s blueberry genetics. He reports to Fall Creek’s President and Chief Operating Officer Oscar Verges and is a member of the executive management team.
Most recently, Kramer was research director at Ball Horticultural Company based in Chicago, where he was responsible for all breeding and genetics, intellectual property activity in seed and vegetative product lines, government relations and regulatory compliance worldwide.
“Matt is a great fit for this new position and our company,” says Verges. “His hiring marks a significant step forward in formalizing and professionalizing Fall Creek’s R&D program. Matt will be leading the efforts for breeding of all chill levels for growers throughout the world. We’ve admired the innovations of Ball Horticultural Company over the years and look forward to collaborating with Matt as we take our global program to a new level.”
“I’m excited by the opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing industry where quality is going to make the difference,” says Kramer. “Fall Creek develops and commercializes some of the leading blueberry varieties in the world. We will continue to raise the bar by delivering new and better varieties to growers so consumers can count on high-quality blueberries year-round. We have the technical expertise in genetics and are making steady progress toward that vision.”
Kramer is currently a member of AmericanHort, the leading horticulture industry association in the U.S. He is a past trustee of the Horticultural Research Institute, the AmericanHort Foundation, as well as a recent scientific advisory board member of the Vineland Innovation and Research Centre in Canada.
For more information:
Fall Creek Nursery
www.fallcreeknursery.com