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About the company

Located in Montreal, Quebec, a global hub for artificial intelligence talent, our client is revolutionizing the commercial greenhouse and indoor farming industry. Through cutting-edge AI solutions, our client delivers actionable, data-driven insights that allow greenhouse operators to improve profits by dramatically improving crop yield.

Scope of Position

Founded by a young, passionate and talented team with deep technical and market knowledge our client now seeks a CEO with a proven track record who will be tasked with capitalizing on the significant global market opportunity by refining the company’s strategic path forward.

This is an outstanding opportunity that features:

• Strong industry and company growth
  • A large market opportunity
  • Committed financial backers
  • A highly entrepreneurial culture
  • An opportunity to be at the center of a true revolution in agriculture

Functional Tasks

As a visionary and hands-on CEO, the leader will have the chance to continue to foster the company’s strategy and culture by:

• Product:

• Contributing to the development and execution of the product roadmap; developing a market strategy and market positioning.
• Building on existing developed AI yield prediction tools and products, setting direction by validating key markets and verticals and assessing development priorities for R&D investments.

• Management:

• Leading team members by focusing on tactical short-and-medium term goals and objectives to achieve results.
• Demonstrating strong leadership, management and development of a small team of highly committed employees as well as creating a collaborative work environment.

• Sales:

• Meeting with key accounts and distribution partners to establish key drivers to leverage existing client base and network to drive sales and execution.o Fostering on-going relationships with key-accounts and identify, establishing and negotiating strategic partnerships as well as ongoing support on existing partnerships.

• Fundraising:

• Leading Series A fundraising efforts.

• Administrative:

• Reporting and communicating the company’s strategy and providing key progress to the board of directors.

Key Performance Deliverables

• Number of clients on monthly revenue contracts by early 2020
  • Actual MRR rate by early 2020
  • AI algorithms for diverse crops and multi week yield forecast accomplished or launched
  • Team cohesiveness
  • Quality of presentations to board, potential investors, marketing/sales material
  • Extent of distribution network around the world
  • Number of academia/industry R&D experts under co-development projects

Competency Profile 

The competencies listed below define the role of CEO:

Planning and Objective Setting

Systematic in approach to work; Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified; Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks; Develops plans that anticipate obstacles; Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones, and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.

Self Confidence

Expresses and conveys confidence in own ability to complete tasks successfully; Displays personal resolve in the face of opposition; Seeks challenges and independence.

Strategic Approach

Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision; Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances; Takes a long-term view of organizational success; Works to clarify long term organizational goals; Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.

Visioning

Imagines future possibilities; Thinks broadly and investigates a wide-range of alternatives in developing a vision for the future; Selects the most promising vision from a range of alternatives and communicates this vision to others.

Commercial Acumen

Applies appropriate commercial and financial principles; Understands situations in terms of costs, profits added-value and return on investment; Appreciates the commercial impact of own work on the organization’s total expenses and revenues.

Customer/Client Orientation

Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service; Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs; Quickly follows up on customer/client contracts and complaints; Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.

Results Orientation

Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met; Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure; Aims to improve upon past performance; Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.

Team Skills

Helps to create a sense of team spirit and harmonious relations through cooperation and support; Balances personal goals with those of the team; Fosters collaboration among team members.

Preferred Experience / Education

The following describes industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.

• Graduate degree in Computer Science, Engineering Science, Business or similar.
  • Senior management experience scaling a growth-oriented technology start-up.
  • Proven track-record of managing a P&L combined with managing multiple value creation projects that drive agreed upon outcomes.
  • Track-record of successfully raising equity capital, is strongly desired.
  • Strong intellectual curiosity, and an ability to synthesize large amounts of technical information.
  • Knowledge of or prior experience with AgTech and/or data driven solutions preferred; an understanding of the key dynamics of greenhouse farming would be ideal.
  • Proven ability to create a vision and drive technology solutions that address market needs.
  • Ability to build a team/grow an organization.

Remuneration & Benefits 

• A competitive base, variable and equity compensation package to the successful candidate.

If interested, please contact:

Sal RoccoStoneWood Group, TorontoBus: 416-365-9494 Ext. 233[email protected]

Marwan ElghamryStoneWood Group, TorontoBus: 416-365-9494 Ext. 229[email protected]