Ronald Guendel

Ronald started his career as a farm manager for Chiquita Brands International​ before joining Bayer Crop Science as Head of the Central America region. ​Throughout his career with Bayer in Latin America, Ronald held several senior positions, ​including leading the fresh fruit business for the region.

In 2007, he moved to Germany and became Food Chain Senior Key Relations Manager ​and later the Global Head of Food Chain Relations, working in close cooperation with key certification organizations. Ronald’s work along the value chain led to the development of BAYG.A.P., a service program offered throughout the world that promotes and delivers on-farm training in Good Agricultural Practices.​

In 2018, he became the new Global Head of Food Security and Advocacy. In this newly created function, Ronald was responsible for prioritizing, defining, and supporting the implementation of partnerships to improve food security in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, working closely with international organizations.​

From 2020 until September 2023, he worked as the Global Head of Partnerships – Food Value Chain, leading strategic alliances and collaboration models with influential value chain players to generate pull for Bayer solutions and help to achieve Bayer Crop Science’s sustainability commitments and reputational goals.​

Presently, Ronald is the VP of Smallholder Farming at Bayer Crop Science, leading global strategy for smallholders. ​He is also active in other organizations such as IFAMA, in which he is part of the Executive Committee. ​Ronald holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension Education from Iowa State University, as well as an MBA from the Inter-American University in Costa Rica.