Dr. Aaron Hummel has been improving crops through better genetics for 15 years. Aaron joined Pairwise in 2018 from global plant breeding company KWS, where he established their US-based genome editing team and program. As Vice President of R&D for Pairwise, Aaron leads discovery and development efforts to support the Company’s diverse business, including crop traits, seeds, finished goods, and the enabling technologies platform that is creating new opportunities in agriculture and beyond. Aaron is an expert in plant molecular genetics and genome editing technologies, holding over 25 patents and patent applications, and over ten peer-reviewed research publications. Aaron did postdoc research at the University of Minnesota, holds a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Iowa State University, and a BS in Biology from Hillsdale College. He is a decorated veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Tom Spaulding is Vice President, Commercial for the Pairwise Berry Portfolio. Tom joined Pairwise from Driscoll’s, where he spent a decade as District Production Manager in Watsonville, Calif. and then Senior Director of Blackberry Business for the Americas.  In his role, he is focused on integrating all parts of the company’s caneberry business — from breeding programs/edited varieties to nursery, grower business models, packer/shipper relationships, product specifications, and delivering products to the marketplace. Tom holds an MS in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an MBA from Cal State—San Jose, and a BS from the University of Wisconsin. 

Megan Thomas is Vice President, Marketing and Communications. Megan has worked in brand leadership roles for companies such as Smithfield Foods and Fleet Labs, launching over two dozen products in her brand marketing career.  She also served as Group Vice President at shopper marketing firm The MARS Agency, developing marketing programs for consumer healthcare clients GlaxoSmithKline and Abbott Nutrition. A published author, Megan holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a BA from Northwestern University.

John Schouten has 20+ years of senior operational management experience from seed to consumer across a diverse set of horticultural products. He has held leadership positions at Dole Fresh Vegetables, Dole Fresh Flowers, Ready Pac (Bonduelle), and Syngenta AG. His agriculture experience ranges across open field production and CEA on perishable items such as leafy greens, cucurbits, herbs, and flowers. He graduated from the University of Oregon with BA and resides in Salinas, Calif. 

Neil Merritt joins Pairwise from Bard Valley Date Growers, where he served as Sr. Director of Global Sales. His previous experience includes leadership roles at Fusion Marketing and Handmade Real Foods. He brings deep experience working in the US and Canada in the salad and fruit categories through previous positions at Dole and Ready Pac Foods. Mettitt graduated with a BA in Science (Business Management, Political Science) from Central Michigan University.

Dan Jenkins is VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs. Dan has 20+ years’ experience working in the food and agriculture industry.  Prior to joining Pairwise, he was the Managing Director and Chief of Staff of the Agricultural Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) trade association in Washington, DC. Dan also led Monsanto’s Regulatory team in DC, overseeing all domestic chemistry and biotech crop approvals across FDA, EPA and USDA, and at the beginning of his career, worked in pesticide commercial sales, as well as R&D, for Dow AgroSciences. Dan currently sits on the American Chemistry Society’s editorial board for the Agricultural Science and Technology journal, and the advisory board to North Carolina State University’s Plant Sciences Initiative’s Center of Excellence for Regulatory Science in Agriculture. Dan earned a BS in Biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, an MS degree in Entomology and Applied Ecology from the University of Delaware, and his JD from Loyola Law School.

Adam Helms is head of Portfolio Management and Collaborations. Adam joined Pairwise in 2020 from Inari Agriculture, a plant gene-editing start-up, where he led efforts to secure the company’s germplasm, expansion site in West Lafayette, Indiana, and established the foundation of a global supply chain network. Previously he was a member of the Global Seeds & Traits team at Bayer Crop Science after completing an accelerated leadership program at the company. He holds a BS in Agronomy, an MS in Soil Science—both from Texas A&M University—and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas-Austin.

Mike Mann heads up the R&D Operations for Pairwise, joining the team in 2018. He has experience in managing transformation, quality, and regulatory compliance labs for global vegetable seed portfolios, working most recently for Monsanto. Mike holds an MS in engineering management from the University of New Haven and a BS in plant science and plant tissue culture from Cornell University.

Lucy Wert joined Pairwise in 2019 and leads the HR function. Lucy has experience building HR teams at several Tech and Biotech startups where she focused on people programs supporting People Development and People Engagement, leading to a strong company culture. She graduated with a BA in Economics from Indiana University.