Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
John Kempf Founder and Chief Vision OfficerJohn is a leading crop health consultant and designer of innovative soil and plant management systems. John is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, and his mission is to provide support to the world’s farmers and our food supply., Jason Hobson Chief Executive OfficerJason leads company strategy and the AEA team with strong data analysis, management, and farming expertise. He is a passionate agronomist, and a respected crop advisor, with 20 years in agriculture and a dairy farm in Indiana, joining AEA in 2011., Paul Bergman Executive ChairmanPaul leads business and organization development at AEA since 2018, with two decades in the ag/food space. Previously he was with Fertilaqua/ICL and Aqua Capital, founded China's first certified organic ice creamery/bakery, and began his career at Bunge., Eric Girdler Chief Operating OfficerEric is AEA’s COO and leads supply chain, operations and manufacturing development of the company. He joined AEA in 2016 after 20 years of operations management and experience in supply chain management, problem solving and budgetary controls., Laura Kavanaugh Chief Science OfficerLaura is a Bioinformatics Software Engineer / Scientist with a diverse background. She's had success at organizations like Union Grove Farm, Syngenta Biotechnology, Genome Insights, United Space Alliance, and Duke University where she received her PhD., Mike Gedeon Chief Financial OfficerMike has 25 years of experience leading finance teams in companies ranging from $20 million to $1 billion in annual revenue in the manufacturing, distribution, construction, and health care industries., Aaron Jimenez Chief Information OfficerAaron is a tech whiz and serves as the IT backbone for the entire company, joining AEA in 2014. He holds a BS in Business Management, and served 13 years in the Marine Corps prior to working for AEA., Philippe Van Den Bossche Chairman of the BoardPhilippe is Managing Partner of Zeno Capital Partners, CEO of Rein Morgen Holdings, Chairman of the Board of Advancing Eco Agriculture, and Founder of Crop Health Labs – all innovative social impact companies., Elisabeth Matthews Director of MarketingLissy is an experienced sales and marketing professional with a background in organic agriculture, specialty food and beverage, and international trade. Her role at AEA combines her skill set and dedication to human rights and regenerative agriculture.