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Diego Lopez Casanello
Diego is the Founder and a Partner of Vidavo. Over his three-decade career leading global multibillion-dollar businesses in the Agricultural and Industrial sectors, Diego has had a front-row seat to witnessing how innovation is increasingly transforming how we produce goods and food. Diego believes the coming decade will be the defining one in our fight against climate change.
Diego's Story
Diego is the CEO of the Farmers Business Network. FBN's mission is to power the prosperity of family farmers around the world. The farmer-to-farmet network helps more than 70,000 family farmers maximize their profit potential with data and technology, direct-to-farm commerce, community, and a sustainability platform. Before founding Vidavo, Diego was CEO of Arysta Life Science Inc., a global leader in agricultural inputs and pioneer in natural alternatives to conventional agrochemicals. In 2018, he led the sale of the company to UPL Ltd., creating one of the largest agro-solutions companies in the world. Before Arysta and UPL, Diego spent more than twenty years with global chemicals manufacturer BASF, where he ran business units on four continents serving diverse industries such as Agriculture, Mining, and Mobility. Over his career, Diego gained extensive global M&A experience, leading corporate and private equity transactions worth more than $5B.
Originally from Argentina, Diego has lived in Asia, South America, North America, and Europe. This exposure to radically different social and economic realities helped him develop a deep sense of urgency in taking swift action to protect our planet and create economic wealth for more people. Diego maintains that climate and financial objectives are more aligned now than ever. He started Vidavo with the conviction that a venture team with deep industry knowledge, an extraordinary insider network, and a great investment track record can help founders with the right ideas make a huge difference.
Diego serves on the boards of Lithium Argentina (NYSE: LAAC) and Profile Products.
Diego has lived with his wife and children in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina since 2015. When he isn’t working, Diego enjoys traveling with his family, scuba diving, and visiting his family’s fly-fishing ecotourism business in Patagonia. Diego is fluent in English, Spanish, and German. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Hagen in Germany.