Meet BioConsortia
Executive Team
Marcus Meadows-Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Marcus Meadows-Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Marcus Meadows-Smith is an experienced and successful executive in the specialty chemicals and biologics space, with a passion for innovation in sustainable agriculture. Marcus currently serves as Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to BioConsortia, Marcus held the position of Head of Biologics for Bayer CropScience. He assumed the leadership role following Bayer’s purchase of AgraQuest, where Marcus was also the CEO. Within four years, Marcus and his team had transformed the small biopesticide company, AgraQuest, from financial distress to the technology leader in the biological market, closing the sale at $425 million plus milestone payments.
Previously, Marcus had a 14 year career at Chemtura Corporation, assuming multiple managerial roles ultimately becoming EVP for a $2 billion portfolio of businesses: crop protection, consumer products and plastics additives. Earlier in his career he worked for Sumitomo Corporation.
Marcus holds a degree in Biological Sciences, Genetics from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
Christina Huben
Senior Vice President
Operations & Administration
Christina Huben
Senior Vice President Operations & Administration
An attorney by training, Chris Huben has over 20 years of business and legal experience in a corporate environment, playing a key role in the development, negotiation and execution of commercial arrangements, including licensing, distribution, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and like collaborations.
Chris began her career at the New York Law firm of Breed Abbott & Morgan in corporate finance, and from there moved to her first corporate post at EnviroSource, Inc., serving last as General Counsel and Secretary. Chris joined a Chemtura Corporation predecessor company in the late 1990s, and gained valuable international experience working out of Geneva, Switzerland and London. Chris served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Chemtura, overseeing global commercial legal matters, before moving to join AgraQuest, Inc., as SVP, General Counsel and Secretary in early 2009. At AgraQuest, Chris ensured compliance and was a vital contributor as the company expanded with multiple partnerships and ultimately was acquired by Bayer CropScience.
Chris holds a J.D. from Pace University School of Law and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany.
Hong Zhu, PhD
Senior Vice President
Research & Development
Hong Zhu, PhD
Senior Vice President Research & Development
A recognized biotech expert in fermentation, formulation, and industrialization of microbial solutions, Dr. Hong Zhu has 20 years of industrial experience in agricultural biologics from discovery research, product development to manufacturing. Prior to joining BioConsortia, he was Director of Biologics Process Development at Bayer CropScience where he was responsible for fermentation, formulation and scale-up, as well as manufacturing support of Bayer’s new and existing biological products. In 2014, Hong was elected as R&D Fellow into Bayer Expert Club, an esteemed group that recognizes the top scientists in the company.
Hong joined Bayer CropScience following its acquisition of AgraQuest, Inc., where he had been Director of Fermentation and Formulation. While at AgraQuest, Hong also established an advanced lead-screening platform and pipeline development strategy, periodically leading the company’s fungicide pipeline program. Prior to AgraQuest, Hong was instrumental in the development of biofertility and biocontrol products at PhilomBios (now Novozymes BioAg) and Mycologic. Hong also has previous experience founding and leading his own company, MetaBios, in Canada, which developed and manufactured single-use bioreactors for cell culture, fermentation, and bioprocessing.
Hong holds a PhD from the University of Alberta and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Guelph in Canada. He is an inventor on multiple patents around fermentation processes, biopesticides, and plant growth promotion microbes, and has published numerous papers in the field of applied microbiology.
Sarah Reiter
Senior Vice President
Business Development
Sarah Reiter
Senior Vice President Business Development
Scientific Leadership
Coming soon!