Ponsi Trivisvavet

For Ponsi Trivisvavet, “climate change is the challenge of our times, an issue that will increasingly affect everybody on this planet but disproportionately affect those who are most vulnerable.” She is CEO and director of Inari, which makes seeds that address the world’s needs, pushing the boundaries of what is possible to create a more sustainable, nature-positive global food system for the benefit of farmers, society, and the planet. Inari’s unique take on tackling climate change focuses on using the seed itself as a driver for sustainable solutions.

Born in Thailand, Trivisvavet earned her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, focusing on fiber optics. Realizing that she wanted to work more closely with people, she earned an MBA at Cornell University and then joined McKinsey & Company. When she was first starting out, Trivisvavet met a farmer in Indonesia. He shared that, “thanks to hybrid seeds, he could afford a cow for the first time and provide beef for his family.” This simple story reinforced for Trivisvavet that the impacts of agricultural innovations are very real. She “fell in love with agriculture and how innovation could be brought to farmers — improving their lives and their countries overall.” She would go on to hold several leadership roles in the industry, including as a region director for North America and president of Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

Today, with her broad management expertise in global agriculture, Trivisvavet has raised millions of dollars in funding for Inari with the mission of creating plants that are resilient to climate change, nutrient-dense, and profitable for farmers while taking fewer resources from the environment. Ultimately, she hopes that Inari’s tech-driven innovations in agricultural production will impact our footprint as we strive to protect Earth for future generations.

Twitter: @P_Trivisvavet