Rodrigo Cifuentes Joins Pace International

Rodrigo Cifuentes Joins Pace International as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

[WAPATO, Washington] – August 24, 2015 – Pace International announced that Rodrigo Cifuentes has joined the company as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. Rodrigo will assume the leadership for the company’s strategic marketing and business development activities to support its expanding product portfolio and geographic presence, along with identifying partnering and acquisition opportunities.

Cifuentes joins Pace Senior Leadership Team and will report directly to Roberto Carpentier, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Pace International. According to Carpentier, “The addition of Rodrigo to our team comes at a critical time in the growth of our company. As we continue to build our broad portfolio of products, his leadership of our global marketing and business development teams will have an immediate impact on the development of new opportunities to our business”.

Cifuentes comes to Pace International with over 20 years of experience in leadership roles in domestic and multinational companies in agriculture, specialty agricultural chemicals, and food retail industries. According to Carpentier, Cifuentes’ history of new product development, value-capturing business models, and identification of strategic growth and partnering opportunities align well with the company’s future growth expectations. “Rodrigo brings a unique and experienced perspective on the global postharvest market and is an excellent fit for this important position” Carpentier said.

Cifuentes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Sciences from P. Catholic University of Chile, a Master in Food Science with emphasis in postharvest science and technology from the University of California at Davis, and an executive MBA with emphasis in technology management from the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis.

“I am very excited to join Pace at this point in the company’s history,” Cifuentes said. “Pace has achieved unique synergies in the postharvest world, bringing technical expertise, an innovative product portfolio of high-value postharvest solutions and services and a year-round customer service. Looking ahead, Pace’s leading portfolio and market share not only provides the company an edge to be the one-stop shop for all their customer needs, but also makes it an ideal strategic channel to launch new and innovative third-party technologies.”

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About Pace International: Pace International,LLC is a subsidiary of Valent BioSciences Corporation, a Sumitomo Chemical Company. Pace collaborates with growers, packers and agricultural organizations to develop innovative solutions to enhance, protect, and preserve fruit and vegetable quality. Paceis the leading provider of postharvest solutions and technologies, equipment and technical services to maximize efficiencies in packing operations and increase the value of crops being processed. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.paceint.com

About Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited: Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sumitomo Chemical is one of Japan’s leading chemical companies, offering a diverse range of products globally in the fields of petrochemicals, energy and functional materials, IT-related chemicals and materials, health and crop science products, and pharmaceuticals. Thecompany’s consolidated net sales for fiscal year 2014 were JPY 2.38 trillion. For additional information, visit the company’s website at www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/.

Media Contact:

Pace International
Jorge Gotuzzo
925-357-6711
Email: Jorge.Gotuzzo@paceint.com