Kirchner Group announces addition of Bob Kodrzycki, who brings over 25 years of IP, R&D and Commercialization Experience. Kirchner, a leading North American traditional merchant bank, today announced that Bob Kodrzycki has joined the firm. Bob’s work spans more than two decades of leadership and innovation in agricultural biotechnology and genomics. Bob has been responsible for numerous entrepreneurial endeavours and has worked with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises.
Bob’s addition to Kirchner Group further solidifies the firm’s position as one of the top merchant banks working with Agriculture and Food companies and their investors. Kirchner’s recent activities in the sector include being an advisor to the lead investor in the largest PE financing ($100M) for an Agtech Company and selling the biostimulant division of the world’s leading genetic trait developer.
Bob also has significant expertise in the renewable energy and bioproducts sectors including work with the Jamaican Government and a number of early stage companies. In addition to his role with Kirchner Group’s agriculture group he will also complement Kirchner Group’s environmental technologies practice area.
“I am excited to join Kirchner Group,” commented Bob. “Their focus on creating value within companies and a desire to make a difference is the reason that I got into this business in the first place. I’m looking forward to applying my skills and passion to helping companies be successful while addressing future challenges.”
Prior to joining Kirchner Group, Bob operated a consultancy firm focused on helping biotechnology companies move discoveries from the lab to the marketplace. Bob assisted agricultural biotechnology companies and international non-profits identify promising technologies, evaluate markets and assist in restructuring R&D efforts to focus on commercialization.
Previously Bob worked with Phenotype Screening Corp as Chief Scientist where he led R&D and commercialization efforts to adapt medical imaging technology to agricultural biotechnology applications. He was also a founding research leader at ArborGen, a global forest biotechnology company focused on developing advanced genetic planting stock. Bob started his career with Westvaco in 1989 where he established an internationally recognized functional genomics program after obtaining a PhD in Biochemistry at Purdue University.
Bob is also a long-time contributor to the Genome Canada program where he assists in evaluating projects that seek to move biotechnology discoveries from the university lab to the market. He is a member of the South Carolina Biomass Council and serves as a mentor in local business accelerators, assisting startups navigate the difficulty of lab-based R&D and understanding markets.
“Bob brings very complementary expertise to our firm and will be a valuable resource for our clients. He also strengthens our expertise in the application of certain technologies in both agriculture and life sciences as well as the growing field of renewables,” added W.B. (Bud) Kirchner, Founder and CEO of Kirchner Group. “We are very proud of our 30 year track record of value creation and our unprecedented team of professionals which continues to grow to meet the market demand for our services.”
