Apr 26, 2023

Valent BioSciences makes staff changes

Valent BioSciences LLC is publicizing some staff changes.

Ted Melnik, president and CEO, plans to retire in July. Salman Mir, executive vice president and chief operating officer, has been named Melnik’s successor.

Melnik joined Valent in 2013 as chief operating officer and was promoted to his current position in 2022. During his 10-year tenure at Valent, Melnik oversaw significant company growth through business acquisitions, including Mycorrhizal Applications, Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd., the Canadian forestry business of AEF Global Inc., and FBSciences Holdings, Inc., according to a news release.

Mir joined Valent BioSciences in 2012 as vice president of global marketing and business management, where he was responsible for leading the company’s global marketing and commercial activities.

In 2016, Mir moved to Sumitomo Chemical’s AgroSolutions Division International (ASDI) for an overseas assignment. During his tenure there, he was Head of AgroSolutions Division International (Asia Pacific) and general manager Sumitomo Chemical Asia (SCA). He returned to the U.S. in 2019 to Valent subsidiary Pace International LLC in Wapato, Washington. In early 2021, Mir began leading the Global Sustainable Solutions Business Unit (SSBU) team in partnership with Sumitomo Chemical affiliates around the world and also assumed Valent’s new position of chief commercial officer. He was promoted to executive vice president and COO in 2022.

In his new role as president and CEO, Mir will be responsible for overseeing Valent’s global activities. He holds extensive experience in sales, marketing, operations and business development roles with several major global crop protection companies.

Mir holds an undergraduate Veterinary Sciences degree from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and earned his master’s degree in Business Administration from Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.

Other business milestones that Melnik directed include the construction of Valent’s biorational manufacturing facility in Osage, Iowa, as well as the opening of the Biorational Research Center and Global Headquarters in Libertyville. Some of the key product launches over this period include VectoPrime Biological Larvicide, LEAP® Bacterial Disease Management Biological Insecticide, AVEO EZ Nematicide, InGrain Plant Growth Regulator and Accede® Plant Growth Regulator.

“I want to thank Ted for his many invaluable contributions to the organization during the past 10 years,” Nobuaki Mito, representative director and senior managing executive officer of Sumitomo Chemical Co., said in the release. “Not only has he elevated Valent BioSciences’ global industry leadership position, he has left his imprint on the company in numerous areas – from acquisitions, investments in new facilities, and the launch of new products to the many different people he taught and mentored. Although Ted will be greatly missed, he has established a strong business foundation for continued growth and success.”

Based in Libertyville, Illinois, Valent develops environmentally compatible technologies and products for agriculture, public health and forest health. In agriculture, Valent creates and supplies biorational products used in sustainable systems including environmentally compatible bioinsecticides, insecticides, plant growth regulators nematicides and larvicides.