Strategic Investing in Ag Technologies With Michele Lombardi of CNH Ventures

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

CNH Ventures: https://www.cnh.com/en-US/Our-Company/Ventures

Today's episode features Michele Lombardi. Michele is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at CNH and the Head of CNH Ventures. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Company’s long-term business strategies and in-house capabilities, tied to inorganic growth. Through this work, he holds Board positions in several of the independent technology companies in which CNH has invested, such as Monarch Tractor, Stout Industrial Technology and Zasso.

Michele and I talk about how he’s thinking about the future of agricultural technology, some wins and lessons from his experiences in this industry, what it means to be a strategic investor, and how he handles the convergence of startups and the large established brands he represents at CNH. 

Michele joined CNH in 2008. Prior to his current role, he was Head of Global Mergers and Acquisitions from 2019 – 2021. His international assignments with the company have included: Executive Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand; Head of the Iveco brand for the Asia Pacific Region; Head of the Iveco China branch; Managing Director for CNH Industrial South East Asia & Japan.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.