Horton to resign as Chief Financial
Officer; Company appoints agricultural industry veteran
Vanessa Baughman as the Company's
Interim Chief Financial Officer
LONGMONT, Colo., April 27,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company
(Nasdaq: SANW), a global agricultural company, today
announced the transition of Elizabeth
(Betsy) Horton to the Company's board of directors following
her resignation as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Ms.
Horton will serve as a director of the Company until the 2023
Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and until her successor is duly
elected and qualified, or until her earlier death, resignation or
removal.
Ms. Horton will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer and
corporate Secretary of the Company until the earlier of (i) the day
on which the Company files its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the Quarter ended March 31, 2023 and
(ii) May 15, 2023.
The Company appointed Vanessa
Baughman as the Company's Interim Chief Financial Officer
and corporate Secretary, effective concurrent with the end of Ms.
Horton's tenure as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the
Company, Ms. Baughman served as Chief Financial Officer, Vice
President of Finance of AgReliant Genetics, LLC, the largest North
American company focused solely on seed, headquartered in
Westfield, Indiana, where she
served as CFO from January 2019 to
March 2023.
Mark Wong, President and CEO of
S&W, commented, "The entire S&W organization is incredibly
thankful to Betsy for the valuable guidance and insight she has
provided. I look forward to that continued counsel as she
transitions to her role as a member of the S&W board."
"I am appreciative of the Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee's recommendation to have me join the board of S&W. We
have made tremendous progress over the past year and I look forward
to working with the team to build upon the momentum into the
future," Ms. Horton commented.
In addition to serving as AgReliant Genetics CFO for the past
four years, Ms. Baughman has held numerous finance roles of
increasing responsibility at Monsanto Company, a previously public
agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation acquired by
Bayer AG in June 2018, including as
U.S. Strategic Account, Distribution Strategy and Licensing Finance
Lead, Global Commercial Crop Protection and Seed Applied Solutions
Finance Lead and, most recently, NALAN Supply Chain Finance Lead.
Ms. Baughman received a B.S. in Accounting from University of
Holy Cross and an MBA from the
University of New Orleans. She also
completed the General Management Program Certification at the
Wharton School of Business at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Wong continued, "Vanessa Baughman
is a highly accomplished agricultural chief financial officer with
experience at two of the largest seed companies in the world -
Monsanto and AgReliant Genetics LLC. With progress being made at
S&W building out our key centers of value, I believe the
financial operations of S&W are in great hands."
About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global multi-crop,
middle-market agricultural company headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. S&W's vision is to be
the world's preferred proprietary seed company which supplies a
range of forage and specialty crop products that supports the
growing global demand for animal proteins and healthier consumer
diets. S&W is a global leader in proprietary alfalfa, sorghum
and pasture seeds, with significant research and development,
production and distribution capabilities. S&W is currently
focused on commercializing stevia products, entering the camelina
market and developing products to address unmet market needs
through high-value improved traits in its crops. more information,
please visit www.swseedco.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations,
plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words
such as "anticipates," "believe," "expected," "may," "future,"
"plans," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements in this
release include, but are not limited to: statements regarding
S&W building momentum and the expected performance of S&W's
financial operations. You are cautioned that such statements
are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could
cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially
from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including
risks and uncertainties related to: the effects of macroeconomic
events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertain market
conditions, such as inflation and supply chain disruptions, on our
business and operations; the sufficiency of our cash and access to
capital in order to meet our liquidity needs, including our ability
to pay our growers as our payment obligations come due; our need to
comply with the financial covenants included in our loan
agreements, and raise additional capital in the future and our
ability to continue as a "going concern"; changes in market
conditions, including any unexpected decline in commodity prices,
may harm our results of operations; changes in the competitive
landscape and the introduction of competitive products may
negatively impact our results of operations; our business and
strategic initiatives may not achieve the expected results;
previously experienced logistical challenges in shipping and
transportation of our products may become amplified, delaying our
ability to recognize revenue and decreasing our gross margins; and
the risks associated with our ability to successfully optimize and
commercialize our business. These and other risks are identified in
our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including,
without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended June 30, 2022 and in other
filings subsequently made by the Company with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in
this press release speak only as of the date on which they were
made and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of
such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt
of new information, the occurrence of future events or
otherwise.
Company Contact:
Mark Wong, Chief Executive
Officer
S&W Seed Company
Phone: (720) 593-3570
www.swseedco.com
Investor Contact:
Robert Blum
Lytham Partners, LLC
Phone: (602) 889-9700
sanw@lythampartners.com
www.lythampartners.com
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SOURCE S&W Seed Company