Venkata Kishore

Venkata Kishore, MBA-Ph.D.

Vice President and Head of Smallholders and Sustainability – Vegetable Seeds
Bayer Crop Science

Dr. VK Kishore is deeply committed to improving agriculture and improving lives. Watching farmers struggle as they worked to feed their families and neighbors in India inspired Kishore to study agriculture to improve the lives of those around him.

Kishore has 20 years of experience in research and development across field crops and vegetables in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Kishore has a doctorate in crop science from Oregon State University with a specialization in plant molecular breeding and a master’s in business administration from Illinois State University.

Kishore is currently a member of the veg strategic marketing leadership team and is the global head of smallholders and sustainability based in St. Louis, MO. He currently serves as a board member on the boards of two non-profit organizations: Hunger Free America and iDE (International Development Enterprises). Kishore has been named as an inventor on six granted patents, published 16 articles in scientific journals and presented at numerous national and international conferences. Besides his technical achievements, his dedicated focus on developing people and teams, as well as managing complex partnerships and divestitures has had a positive impact on the vegetable business at Bayer Crop Science.