Initiatives ... Food
AeroFarms®

AeroFarms® has a vision for urban farming using advanced technology and vertical systems

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Founded in 2004, AeroFarms® is a mission-driven company leading the way to address our global food crisis by building, owning, and operating farms that grow locally flavorful, safe, healthy food in a sustainable and socially responsible way, setting a new standard for totally controlled agriculture. An environmental champion, we have been fundamentally transforming the agriculture business by disintermediating the supply chain by enabling local farming at commercial scale all year round. Our mission, vision, and core values are the foundation of our management philosophy guiding us on not only what we do but also how we do it.

Our passion is great tasting food and sharing our harvest. We started out growing in the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY, selling in to local retailers and restaurants including the famed Ithaca Farmers’ Market – long recognized as one of the best in the United States, and legendary Moosewood Restaurant– acclaimed for its creative vegetarian cooking and cited as “one of the most influential restaurants of the 20th Century” by Bon Appétit magazine and with the “American Classic” award from the James Beard Foundation. Our customers have always appreciated our high-quality, locally grown produce with unmatched freshness, flavors, and extensive varieties.

Our patented growing technology and expertise was developed by Ed Harwood, a former professor at Cornell University, one of the best agriculture schools in the world, and we now have over 10 years of farming experience optimizing for taste, texture, nutrition, and yield. In addition, we have sold our farming technology and systems to other farmers in other locations, both domestically and internationally, helping them grow pristine produce that has been enjoyed in the finest restaurants and retailers.

Returning exclusively to our farming roots, we are building in Newark, NJ a brand new state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and what will be the world’s largest indoor vertical farm for baby leafy greens and herbs based on annual growing production. We are helping redefine not only the Garden State but also agriculture overall. In addition to serving the NY Metro area, the biggest market in the United States, we have immediate plans for multiple farms in major U.S. cities and also have farms in development in 3 other continents helping address what is truly a global concern on how to grow locally at scale.

Contact Us to learn more about our next farms and our patented, scalable farming technology.

We build and operate responsible farms throughout the world enabling local production at scale to grow safe, nutritious, and delicious food.

• To be the world leader in local produce production.

• To transform our industry through technology innovation.

• To build and operate for-profit farms all over the world that deliver locally grown, safe and flavorful food.

• To have a positive impact in our world.

• To lead by example, creating an inspiring brand.

• To guide a culture that is engaging, collaborative and caring.

We are building trusted farms in markets everywhere, working to make the world better for generations by nourishing people with great tasting, safe and healthy leafy greens that are locally grown while using responsible, innovative methods that champion the environment and educate our community.

Innovative - we embrace new ways of thinking. Caring - we respect our team, community, environment, and investors. Responsible - we compete ethically.

aero leadership

Marc Oshima Chief Marketing Officer 20 Years in Marketing Food and Grocery MBA – Columbia

Ed Harwood Chief Science Officer 30 Years in Agriculture Aeroponics Champion PHD – U. of Wisconsin

David Rosenberg Chief Executive Officer Over 15 Years in Start Ups Cleantech Leader MBA – Columbia

David Rosenberg, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder David, a serial entrepreneur, is also the founder of Hycrete, Inc., a cleantech nanotechnology company that had the first ever Cradle-to-Cradle certified product, helping pioneer what has become the movement for sustainability and social responsibility. A recognized leader in cleantech and innovation, David has won numerous awards including the following:
* 2010 and 2008 Technology Pioneer World Economic Forum
* 2008 Time Magazine – Top 4 Enterprise for Leading Edge of the New Energy Frontier
* 2010 Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for NJ
* 2009 Best New Jersey CleanTech Company of the Year awarded by NJ Tech Counsel

David is an active member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its annual meeting in Davos. Within WEF he is honored as a Young Global Leader, where he Co-Chairs the Circular Economy Taskforce. At WEF he is also a Co-Chair for Technology and Innovation Group of Agriculture and was a Member of the Global Agenda Counsel on Water Security. David is also a member of Young Presidents Organization. David is a regular lecturer at Columbia Business School and a former adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. David received his BA from UNC Chapel Hill and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Ed Harwood, Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder Ed has over 30 years of agricultural and engineering experience. Ed developed AeroFarms in 2004 as GreatVeggies® LLC before commercializing further in 2009 with cleantech investment from 21 Ventures and The Quercus Trust.
* 2011 World Technology Awards Finalist for the Environment
* 2011 Clean Equity Monaco Runner Up for Technology Research
* 2011 Red Herring Global Top 100 Finalist
* 2010 Red Herring Global Top 100 North America Winner

Ed is also a noted agricultural author with articles in leading trade publications like Planetizen, Renewable Energy World, Maximum Yield, Green Tech Media, and The Growing Edge. A former Associate Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ed was responsible for identifying cutting-edge technologies. Ed also has senior management experience as the former CEO of Topline Waikato, Inc. a New Zealand milking equipment supplier. Ed has his B.S. in Microbiology and B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from Colorado State University and Ph.D. in Dairy Science minoring in Artificial Intelligence from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Marc Oshima, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder Marc has an extensive marketing background in retail, brand management, and media with leading companies including Toys R Us, L’Oreal, and Turner Broadcasting. Marc also brings invaluable experience specifically from the food industry where he had headed up marketing for The Food Emporium, a leading NY metro grocery store chain and for Citarella gourmet markets which has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Specialty Food Retailers in the United States. Passionate about creating new businesses, Marc helped launch GameTap, the first on-demand broadband video game network and Beautyjungle.com, the first site authorized to sell both prestige and mass beauty products. An established leader in marketing, Marc has developed award-winning marketing campaigns including:
* AdWeek “Best Spots of the Year”, Creativity’s “Spot of the Week”, AICP “Advertising Excellence”, AdAge’s “Highest Brand Recall for the Year”
* Webby “Award Winner”, Internet Advertising Competition Award for “Best Advertising – Integrated Ad Campaign”
* M16 Video Game Industry “Best Integrated Marketing Campaign”, Toy Industry Association “Best Marketing Campaign”, American Academy of Dermatology “Gold Triangle Award”

Active in the community, Marc has been a member since 2004 of the Food Bank for NYC - Marketing Advisory Committee and since 1995 of the Columbia Alumni Advisory Group. Marc has his B.A. from Columbia College and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.