Accelerating the transition from traditional to autonomous farming
It’s predicted that by 2050 there will be an additional 2 billion people to feed on our planet. That increase in population, combined with a shrinking land base, is providing one of the greatest agricultural complexities the human race has ever faced.
At Verge, we are playing a key role in facing this challenge by pushing the boundaries of traditional farming practices though enabled, optimized and autonomous farming operations, all while staying focused on keeping the grower connected to the land.
Using our technology, we have created proven and successful solutions for:
Labour shortages
A lack of skilled manpower in key regions around the world has created an urgent need for technology to create efficiencies that can reduce time spent on operations.
Machinery productivity
There is a greater need to run more efficiently than ever, in order to reduce wasted production and excess resource usage.
Soil degradation
Inefficient and unnecessary operations lead to increased tillage and mechanical compaction, both of which continue to reduce the productive capacity of our land while increasing the environmental footprint of production.
All of these foreseeable challenges must be addressed in order to produce our food smarter, faster and more sustainably. Verge is continuously building the ecosystems and tools that will help to address production challenges around the world.
MEET THE EXECUTIVES
We are a team of entrepreneurs, rocket scientists, programmers, farmers, data scientists and deal-makers whose mission is to fundamentally reshape how we produce food by using technology, data and artificial intelligence to drive profitability and sustainability in agriculture. With a firm foundation in technological solutions and deep roots in agriculture, we believe in extremely simple solutions that help our partners produce more, sustainably.
Ryan Johnson
President & CEO
Godard
Chief Technology Officer
Wilson Acton
Chief Commercial Officer
Matt Mendes
Chief Financial Officer
Ryan Johnson, President & CEO
Ryan holds both a Bachelor and a Master degree in geography from the University of Lethbridge. In 2000 he started a small geomatics company in Lethbridge that, through his leadership, grew to the third largest imaging company in the world – BlackBridge Geomatics. He was the founding president of the U of L Graduate Students’ Association and in 2005 was inducted into the U of L “Alumni Honour Society.”
In 2005 Ryan was recognized by Alberta Venture Magazine as one of 13 leaders of the next generation and again in 2012 as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential people.
Godard
Godard is the Chief Technology Officer of Verge and oversees the technology and operations functions of Verge’s products. He received his Ph.D, Master’s, and Bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Ryerson University, Toronto. He has over 10 years of leadership and strategy execution experience specializing in program management.
Prior to joining Verge, Godard served as the Vice President, PMO for the BlackBridge group of companies for 4 years. He was responsible for managing BlackBridge’s project portfolio and future space systems program.
Wilson Acton, Chief Commercial Officer
Wilson is the Chief Commercial Officer at Verge. Wilson brings an extensive background in law and multi-generational experience in agriculture to the Verge team. As a transactional lawyer, Wilson assisted a wide range of businesses across a host of matters from seed capital raises to strategic acquisitions, including some of the largest and most complex M&A and corporate finance transactions in Canadian history.
Matt Mendes, Chief Financial Officer
Matt is the Chief Financial Officer at Verge where he brings 15 years of experience in corporate development, finance, strategy, risk management, trading and business development. He joins Verge from one of North America’s largest infrastructure companies, where he spent his time in the corporate development group responsible for materially expanding the core infrastructure business through M&A activities totaling over $100 billion. Matt also worked to build and partially monetize one of the world’s largest renewable energy businesses with assets across North America and Europe.