Eduardo Flores joins Sakata as COO

Sakata Seed America announced that Eduardo Flores will take on the role of chief operations officer (COO) for Sakata Seed America. Flores will assume responsibility for all of Sakata’s logistics, operations and seed production activity in North and Central America, reporting to John Nelson, executive vice-president, and administratively to Dave Armstrong, president-CEO. Flores will be based in Sakata’s Morgan Hill, California headquarters. 

Flores has extensive experience leading supply chain operations for vegetable seeds, having served as regional operations director for Monsanto’s North American vegetables business. He was also the commercial lead for De Ruiter, a global leader in high-tech greenhouse tomato seeds and other crops, acquired by Monsanto and, most recently, Flores led global strategy for Dümmen Orange, the Netherlands-based ornamentals company.

Flores holds a B.S. with honors in mechanical and industrial engineering from the Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey (Mexico) and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is fluent in Spanish and English.

“We are excited to have Ed join Sakata,” says Armstrong. “Ed’s strong operational background and cross-cultural experience is a great fit for Sakata.”

“Ed will be an immediate contributor to Sakata,” says Nelson. “Ed brings the ability to enhance Sakata’s industry leading supply chain team.”

Across my career, I’ve shared Sakata’s belief that seeds have the potential to improve lives and create healthier communities,” says Flores. “This is a remarkable opportunity to combine my passion for seeds and merge it with my professional business experience to contribute to Sakata and our colleagues.”