Anthony James, Customer eConnectivity Specialist at Syngenta, and Seed Council Chair

Leadership Profile

Anthony James, Customer eConnectivity Specialist at Syngenta, and Seed Council Chair

By J. Nolfo, BASF, and Communications Committee Chair

For our latest edition of the AgGateway Leadership Profile, we interview Anthony James, this year’s Seed Council Chair. Anthony is highly recognizable around the AgGateway meetings. He’s also one of the members that seems to always be having just a little bit of fun, which is evident in his interview.

How long have you been involved with AgGateway, and what are your current activities with AgGateway?

Since the 2013 Mid-Year Meeting, so a little over 5 years. Currently I am Supreme and Judicious Chair of the Seed Council but also participate in the Ag Retail Council, AIDC (Auto Information Data Capture) Committee, and the Communications Committee.

Give us a quick synopsis of your career path – where did you start, and where are you now?

I started in the agriculture industry at Syngenta in 2011 as a business operations contractor before being hired on full time as the Seeds eConnectivity Specialist in 2013. Before that I worked for a retail IT solutions company as a project manager, and before that I was chasing Bigfoot for the History Channel.

Tell us about one or two accomplishments within AgGateway that you’re particularly proud of, as well as how your company benefited.

There are several initiatives that we’re still working on that I think will prove to be of great benefit once they are fully realized. One is to bring onboard our trading partners to the Seeds Connectivity II messages, especially around orders and bookings e-messages. Another would be towards our master data and AGIIS alignment internally and with our partners. Syngenta has seen many benefits in adopting these integrations and practices, especially in making our order-to-cash process more transparent and aligned with our most valuable trading partners.

What, for you, is the most important thing AgGateway is working on now, and why?

I think if we are able to implement an AgGateway-led barcoding standard across seeds and chemical that will work for manufacturers, retailers, and their allied providers, it will be a major accomplishment and opportunity to provide transparency and efficiency.

What do you think are some of the most significant ways eConnectivity will impact agriculture in the years ahead?

I think some the biggest problems many ag companies are trying to help the grower solve involve making smart planning and planting decisions, and I believe eConnectivity is at the forefront of the solution. If AgGateway is able to lead the charge in supporting transparency and efficiencies for the grower, we will be utilizing technology for a much better, cleaner and more productive ag industry in general.

How has being involved in AgGateway benefited you?

I have made many friends across the industry that have helped me understand the value of working across boundaries to improve the potential of digital ag that will empower the farmer. They also like to stay up late and sing karaoke.

Tell us a little about your personal life - family, outside interests, etc.

I am currently married to my improv buddy and we live precariously with two animals (dog and cat). I play broomball (think ice hockey played with no skates, a broom, and a tiny soccer ball) in the winter and bike around the city in the summer.

What would you tell someone else who’s thinking about getting involved with AgGateway?

I can think of few other opportunities within the digital agriculture space that allow one to collaborate with their peers in the industry and overcome obstacles that were thought impossible. It can be daunting at the first call or face-to-face, but you will find that AgGateway loves to see new faces getting involved.

Thank you for your leadership Anthony!