Former President of Global Seeds at Syngenta brings over three decades of commercial and operational leadership to drive commercial scaling of Ohalo’s Boosted® seed business
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ohalo® today announced the appointment of Justin Wolfe as President and Chief Operating Officer. Wolfe joins Ohalo from Syngenta, the world’s third-largest seed company, where he most recently served as President of Global Seeds.
Wolfe will lead Ohalo’s commercial and related functions as the company scales its global seed business, with an initial focus on commercial delivery of the world’s first true potato seed to farmers around the world.
“Potato growers worldwide have been left behind. While hybrid breeding and hybrid seed have helped transform modern agriculture, potato farmers are still planting 100 year old varieties using vegetative propagation, without seed. Boosted Breeding™ changes that,” said David Friedberg, CEO of Ohalo. “Justin has spent his career building and running seed businesses across every scale of farming, from smallholders to the largest commercial enterprises. We are thrilled to have his leadership as we take Boosted Breeding from breakthrough to broad adoption.”
Ohalo’s Boosted Potato hybrids, delivered as true seed, makes potato farming dramatically more efficient, shifting away from bulky, disease-carrying tubers that require massive investments in storage, equipment, fuel, fungicides, labor, and time. With yield gains in excess of 20%, elimination of the majority of production costs, and reduction of pest and disease risk, commercial potato farmers can target $2,000 or more in additional profit per acre. A century after hybrid breeding revolutionized corn, the same revolution is now here for the potato.
Beyond potatoes and previously announced partnerships in almond and strawberry, Boosted Breeding is bringing radical change to other crops. With a robust pipeline of new varieties in development, Wolfe will spearhead their commercial expansion across global crop markets.
Wolfe brings more than 30 years of leadership experience developing, producing, and selling seed to farmers across the globe. As President of Global Seeds at Syngenta, he oversaw all functions of the company’s global seed business, including commercial, R&D, breeding, production, regulatory, and operations.
Prior to Syngenta, Wolfe spent two decades at Monsanto, where he held a series of high-impact international roles, including Vice President of Europe and Middle East Commercial Operations and Regional Director for North America. He spent several years living and working abroad, giving him a deep, firsthand understanding of farming operations at every scale and in every region of the world.
For Wolfe, joining Ohalo is a full-circle moment. Having launched his commercial career in potatoes, he now returns to revolutionize the very industry where he began.
“After three decades in global agriculture, I’ve learned that breakthroughs only matter if they reach farmers’ fields. Ohalo is delivering some of the most exciting advances in seed I’ve ever encountered — and I’m thrilled to join the team to help bring it to farmers around the world,” said Wolfe.
About Ohalo
Ohalo® is sowing the seeds of tomorrow. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo’s breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit www.ohalo.com.
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SOURCE Ohalo Genetics, Inc
