In newly created role, Husain will forge strategic partnerships, lead development of new financial products and advance AI modeling for financial risk assessment.
JOHNSTON, IA, February 25, 2024 – Growers Edge, a financial technology firm that provides modern financial products and data-driven tools for agricultural retailers, manufacturers, and lenders, today announced the promotion of Ahraz Husain to the role of Chief Innovation Officer.
After joining Growers Edge in 2022 as Vice President of Data, Husain’s role expanded to oversee product and engineering teams as he helped customers drive innovation, increase productivity and reduce waste. In his new role, he’ll focus on strategic partnerships and collaborative new product development as Growers Edge finds new ways to serve its agricultural industry partners.
“Growers Edge thrives where fintech and agtech intersect, and we’re stronger when we partner with other innovative organizations across those ecosystems,” said Husain. “By inviting future-focused growers, banks, lenders, ag retailers, fintechs, and manufacturers on our transformational journey, we’ll build a brighter, more sustainable future.”
In his new role as Chief Innovation Officer, Husain will focus on three key areas:
- Strategic partnerships: By building new industry relationships, he’ll expand market reach and drive the development of new products that serve the agricultural industry.
- Financial product development: Alongside industry partners, Husain will develop new financial solutions that adapt to the evolving needs of growers.
- AI and risk modeling: He’ll spearhead the aggressive development of new AI models that enhance financial risk assessment, decision-making, and operational efficiencies.
“Since joining the Growers Edge team, Ahraz has promoted innovation by designing and building powerful, responsible models that unlock new opportunities for our customers,” said Matt Hansen, CEO of Growers Edge. “Under his leadership, our team has underpinned our financial product offerings with deep artificial intelligence capabilities. As Chief Innovation Officer, Ahraz’s influence will only grow as he develops and executes strategies with outside partners to create new value and advance our market reach.”
The announcement comes after a series of major achievements for Growers Edge in 2024. In addition to serving four of the top ten largest retailers in the country, the company partnered with organizations like Nutrien, PepsiCo, Mondelez, Helena Agri-Enterprises, and The Nature Conservancy to boost sustainable agriculture practices.
Also last year, Growers Edge acquired AQUAOSO Technologies, which offers its services under the Agcor brand and provides mapping, data, and analytics software for agricultural lenders. After expanding RangeAg, its farmland valuation tool, to cover more than 144 million acres of land across nine states, Growers Edge announced it protected over 1 million acres of American farmland from downside risk.
About Growers Edge
Growers Edge provides modern financial products and data-driven tools that help forward-thinking agriculture retailers, manufacturers, and lenders reduce their growers’ risks and costs when adopting newer innovative solutions and practices. The company’s crop plan warranty and input financing solutions are trusted by dozens of retailers and manufacturers to assist hundreds of growers affordably purchase their products and guarantee yields on over one million acres of cropland.