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Boeing Institute of International Business Highlights Agtech and Geospatial Innovation at Annual International Business Conference

12/17/2024

The Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University’s Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business hosted the 2024 Bayer International Business Conference on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, drawing in over 150 attendees from across global companies, government, civic organizations, academia, and the public-at-large.

Held at the Busch Student Center, this year’s theme, highlighted the region's pivotal role in agricultural innovation and sustainability.

Boeing Institute Director, Hadi Alhorr, Ph.D., speaks at the conference.

Boeing Institute Director, Hadi Alhorr, Ph.D., speaks at the Bayer International Business Conference on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Submitted photo.

This year’s event featured multiple speakers, including Elzandi Oosthuizen, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Corn Product Team at Bayer, who delivered the keynote address. The conference kicked off with a morning panel of experts, including Linda Jing, President, CEO, and Board Director of Genective, Stephanie Regagnon, Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships with the Danforth Plant Science Center, and Dr. Manuel Piñuela, CEO and Co-Founder of Cultivo.

Capping off the conference, representatives from regional agtech companies including 39North, BioSTL, The Cortex Innovation District, Danforth Plant Science Center, Deep Grain, Ostara, and T-Rex shared their perspectives on challenges and opportunities in agtech, in focused roundtable discussions with conference attendees.

Boeing Institute Director, Hadi Alhorr, Ph.D., said the conference was an important event.

“The Agtech industry in St. Louis is a major part of the region's economy, forming an ecosystem that continues to grow with a significant number of companies and research centers and employing over 7,500 people in the region," he said. "As an academic partner who is heavily embedded in our community, our role is to act as a vessel to highlight the global impact of the region’s Agtech business and to foster a sense of collaboration among the various parts of this ecosystem. As such, we invited distinguished speakers from various parts of the St. Louis Agtech ecosystem who can highlight the challenges and opportunities in the global Agtech market and who can draw on their experience in responding to such global issues.”

With 150 participants, the conference provided an opportunity for connections and collaborations across sectors.

Proceeds from the conference support the academic mission of the Boeing Institute of International Business and are used as scholarships for students majoring in international business at Saint Louis University, furthering the institution’s commitment to cultivating future leaders in international business.

For more information on the Bayer International Business Conference or to explore sponsorship opportunities for next year’s event, visit Saint Louis University’s Boeing Institute of International Business website or contact the institute directly.