The longtime CEO of a Cincinnati-based agtech startup – and one of the region’s top venture-backed companies – has announced his plans to exit at the end of the year.
Ian Edwards, who’s helmed Hyde Park-based BioWish Technologies since 2013, will retire effective Dec. 31. The company has named Graham Beesley, former CEO of Ineos Oxide, a division of London-based chemicals giant Ineos, as his successor. His start date is Jan. 1.
Edwards, among his long list of accomplishments, is credited for creating a home for BioWish in Cincinnati. BioWish, founded in 2007, moved from Chicago to Cincinnati in 2012.
He also established the company’s research and development processes and laid the groundwork for the company’s proprietary HoloGene 3 technology. BioWish provides biotechnology solutions for the agriculture, aquaculture and environmental management industries, and HoloGene 3, which is coated onto dry fertilizer or mixed with liquid fertilizer, is specifically designed to improve soil productivity, plant vigor and to optimizes yield.
Edwards, prior to joining BioWish, spent 36 years at Procter & Gamble, most recently as vice president and general manager of P&G Chemicals.
He will continue to work with the company as a board adviser.
“We thank Ian for his tireless focus,” Nabil Sakkab, BioWish board chairman, said in a release. “In his tenure, he created a unique and high-performing culture within BioWish. His contributions to our current and future success cannot be understated.”
Beesley, a native of Northampton, England, is also a P&G Chemicals alum, serving as a leading operator in oleochemical, an industry that uses compounds derived from natural fats and oils, in a variety of commercial roles in the U.K., Switzerland, the U.S. and the Middle East.
Following P&G Chemicals, he moved to the petrochemical sector, which involves refining and processing petroleum or natural gas, serving as CEO of Ineos Oxide for six years until 2021. The business grew substantially via organic growth and a series of acquisitions.
Graham has been a board adviser to several companies, primarily operating in the cleantech and renewables space and currently serves as a board member of My Carbon Zero, a charitable foundation dedicated to CO2 reduction projects principally in the agronomy and forestry sectors.
BioWish said Beesley’s leadership will be key in developing its next generation of technologies.
He's expected to split his time between Switzerland and Cincinnati.
“Graham has demonstrated a successful record in both commercialization and technology development,” Sakkab said. “This experience will be valuable as he leads BioWish in our mission to help feed the world through microbial innovation.”
Founded in 2007, BioWish currently works with more than 60 agronomy partners around the globe. Its products help farmers improve crop production sustainably, safely and cost effectively.
BioWish ranks as one of the region’s best-funded startups. In September, it announced a $5 million raise led by Saudi Arabian-based public company SABIC Ventures, bringing the company's total capital raised to $44 million.
