Garron Hansen will lead Chemonics’ efforts to facilitate inclusive market system development while improving nutrition outcomes and climate-smart agriculture practices.

Garron HansenChemonics is pleased to announce Garron Hansen as its new Agriculture and Food Security Practice director. Mr. Hansen is an accomplished agriculture, economic growth, and private sector development professional with nearly two decades of experience.

Before joining Chemonics, Mr. Hansen served as a program officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Agriculture Development team, conducting strategic analysis across the team’s 11 technical portfolios with a total annual budget of $400 million. He concurrently managed a $187 million investment portfolio that linked farmers to markets in staple and cash crops, tested last-mile service delivery models, and spurred private sector investments in Africa.

“In addition to Garron’s impressive work at the Gates Foundation, he has a breadth of experience working with the private sector and implementing innovative private sector competitiveness programs,” said Chemonics Senior Vice President Philip DeCosse. “He has facilitated private sector investments in agriculture that have achieved sustainable and effective development outcomes. He also understands the value of focused research as a means for advancing our work in agriculture and food security.”

As practice director, Mr. Hansen will provide technical leadership on agriculture activities that address food security for vulnerable populations, ensure improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers, provide stable access to nutritious food, and enhance resiliency. He will also lead efforts to track, analyze, and share development trends that impact the agriculture sector. The practice portfolio includes 13 projects in 40 countries.

“Having tackled agricultural development challenges at donor agencies, implementing organizations, and strategy consulting firms, I’ve learned that the best outcomes for farmers are achieved when cutting-edge approaches are linked with strong project implementation,” Mr. Hansen said. “I’m excited to build off Chemonics’ impressive breadth of existing projects and deliver long-lasting transformational change for the beneficiaries we serve.”

Mr. Hansen holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.