Sky Kurtz
A former technology investor turned serial entrepreneur, Sky is passionate about building impactful companies that tackle global food security, human health & longevity, and resource conservation challenges. Prior to founding Pure Harvest Smart Farms, he was the Co-Founder and CEO of Vence - reinventing livestock management through a virtual fencing and autonomous animal control technology solution (sold to Merck Animal Health). He also served as a divisional CEO within Pultron Composites, pioneering novel building materials that solve infrastructure corrosion challenges (sold to Owens Corning).
Prior to building companies, Sky invested in them – most recently as a Vice President with Francisco Partners, a $30B technology investment firm based in San Francisco, CA and an affiliate of Sequoia Capital. He was also an investor with CCMP Capital, a $16B generalist investment firm based in New York, NY. Sky has served on the boards of eleven (11) companies, ranging from burgeoning start-ups to $2B+ industry leaders, and considers himself a lifelong student of business.
Sky holds an M.B.A. and a Certificate in Public Management & Social Innovation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a B.S. in Finance from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was named the Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior (Valedictory honour). Sky is proudly married to author Kinsi Grimen and is the father of Elleste Kurtz. Together they reside in the United Arab Emirates.
Andrew Bolter
Andrew has over 15 years of experience in senior financial management roles, living and working across four continents. During this time, he has worked with a number of growth stage businesses in the UAE, Canada and the UK, leading efforts to further professionalise firms in instances where they were seeking to attract growth capital, or post-acquisition. In 2018, as the CFO of RA International Group plc, Andrew led the admission process to successfully list the company on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Prior to this, Andrew worked with EY’s Assurance and Transaction Advisory teams in Dubai and Toronto, Canada. While in Dubai, he primarily assisted multinational corporations to establish operations in the Middle East and Africa; supporting their global management teams to implement organic and inorganic growth strategies.
Andrew is a Canadian Chartered Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator, and recently qualified as a Chartered Director with the UK Institute of Directors.
Anil Hansjee
A UK qualified lawyer with over twenty years’ experience in MENA, Europe and Asia, including over ten years with Allen & Overy in London and the UAE, Anil is an experienced investor and advisor who has served as a board advisor to Careem for over seven years and is also involved in a wide range of other ventures. He has been the General Counsel at Pure Harvest since its formation.
Anil attained his first degree in Land Economy at the University of Aberdeen and later studied Law at Nottingham Law School. He was awarded a Masters in Law at King's College London.
Jan Westra
Head Grower for Pure Harvest Smart Farms since April 2018, Jan’s association with Pure Harvest began as early as December 2017, in a consulting capacity.
A seasoned master grower with international experience, he has engaged in various growing and crop consultancy roles across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Working as a senior grower in China in 2017, Jan was responsible for educating young Chinese students on how to cultivate plants in high-tech greenhouses. He has also developed and operated farms in Ethiopia, and has built and managed greenhouses in The Netherlands. His vast experience also includes responsibilities across diverse functions, such as consulting in Turkey, export of Albanian tomatoes to Russia, and advisor to the government of Ethiopia.
Jan has witnessed and experienced all aspects of horticulture, with an in-depth exposure to the industry. In 2006, he became the first grower in Ethiopia specializing in the export of premium quality vegetables to the Middle East. In 2008, Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi acquired Jan’s company and, working under his umbrella, Jan built a company which, three years later, rose to become the biggest vegetable exporter in Ethiopia, exporting to 11 countries and serving as a major supplier to the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan. Having started work at the tender age of 16 years after completing his horticultural studies, he returned to Erasmus University in The Netherlands at the age of 20, to further his management studies, covering all its facets.
Jan was born and raised in The Netherlands and is the proud father of three children.
Josef Schmidhuber
Josef Schmidhuber began his professional career at the World Food Council, worked as a senior economist at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and eventually as a Director at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In parallel, he assumed numerous short-term assignments with other international institutions, including the IPCC, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Josef is a prolific writer and researcher, his work has been published in high-impact journals like Nature, PNAS, the Lancet and Science, as well as in hundreds of books and documents of international organizations.
His areas of interest include the health and nutrition, trade and investment, industry 4.0 and all related innovations and technologies
Josef holds a PhD in economics from the Technical University of Munich.
Olivier Tessiore
As the Senior Vice President Commercial & Logistics at Pure Harvest, Olivier is responsible for overseeing sales, logistics, customer service, and all projects related to vertical farming.
With extensive international senior retail general manager experience in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Olivier brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. Over his 24-year career in the modern trade retail business, he has specialized in the fresh department, excelling in areas such as purchasing, operations, and project management. Olivier has successfully opened multi-format stores across 17 countries and has demonstrated his entrepreneurial skills by establishing new business units from the ground up. Notable achievements include introducing a new brand to the Korean market in the food and wines sector, setting up a global sourcing unit in Asia for food retail, and spearheading the establishment of the business process and project department for Carrefour Middle East, covering 16 countries.
Olivier's expertise spans loyalty card implementation in the UAE, warehouse management system setup in logistics, as well as pricing tools and e-commerce rollouts. With his comprehensive background and leadership capabilities, Olivier plays a pivotal role in driving Pure Harvest's commercial success and ensuring efficient and customer-centric operations.
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Brendan Scott
Brendan Scott is the Vice President of Operations at Pure Harvest Smart Farms, where he leads operational strategy and execution across the company’s high-tech farming facilities. Since joining in 2023, Brendan has played a key role in scaling production, enhancing supply chain efficiency, and embedding systems that support Pure Harvest’s rapid and sustainable growth. He oversees all farm operations, with a focus on quality, compliance, cost control, and team performance.
Brendan brings over 25 years of leadership experience in operations and general management across diverse agricultural environments. Prior to joining Pure Harvest, he served as Chief Executive Officer of a leading fresh produce grower and supplier in South Africa, where he drove large-scale business transformation, operational excellence, and long-term strategic growth.
Throughout his career, Brendan has been recognized for his ability to lead through complexity, implement effective systems and processes, and foster a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
Gareth Wilson
Gareth is a seasoned construction and engineering leader with over 15 years of experience delivering large-scale projects across seven countries. With a degree in Construction Management, Gareth has worked with some of the industry's most prestigious contractors and developers, including Sir Robert McAlpine and Majid Al Futtaim, contributing to projects valued at up to AED 2 billion.
Currently, Gareth leads all construction, engineering, and maintenance operations at Pure Harvest. In this role, he ensures that all facilities are designed and built to the highest standards, carefully controlled in terms of time and cost, and continuously improved using data and insights from Pure Harvest’s operating farms. He also oversees the long-term maintenance and performance of the company’s infrastructure, ensuring reliability, efficiency, and scalability.
With deep technical expertise, international experience, and a commitment to excellence, Gareth plays a critical role in supporting Pure Harvest’s continued growth and operational success.
Natalie Gleeson
Natalie brings over twenty years of hands-on experience in Human Resources leadership, focusing on enhancing organizational efficiency through practical approaches rooted in neuroscience and occupational psychology. Her expertise lies in crafting HR strategies tailored to meet the unique needs of each organization, drawing on a wealth of experience to navigate both successes and challenge.
Natalie works to strengthen HR policies and processes, making them more accessible and effective for employees, and leverages employer branding to attract and retain top talent.
Her empathetic and optimistic approach ensures that these initiatives not only drive efficiency but also foster a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Natalie is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion and facilitating innovation through training programs and technology enhancements. She provides valuable counsel to senior leadership on HR matters, including talent acquisition and budget management, always with a focus on practical solutions and tangible results.
Serene Farah
Serene Farah is the Vice President of Growth & Strategy at Pure Harvest Smart Farms, where she leads business development and corporate strategy. She is responsible for identifying and evaluating opportunities to expand Pure Harvest across new geographies, crops, and commercial partnerships. Serene also oversees the company’s strategic planning processes, including three-year roadmaps, annual operating plans, and OKRs, and manages special projects, post-merger integrations, and other high-impact initiatives that support the company’s growth trajectory.
Prior to joining Pure Harvest, Serene served as VP of Growth & Strategy at Noon, a leading e-commerce platform in the UAE and KSA, where she successfully launched and scaled two major platforms: Noon Daily (fresh groceries) and Sivvi (fashion). Earlier in her career, she was a strategy consultant with BCG in the Middle East and with Monitor Deloitte in the UK, advising both public and private sector clients on growth, go-to-market, and portfolio optimization strategies across a variety of industries including consumer goods and pharmaceuticals.
Serene holds a Master’s degree in Advanced Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology from Imperial College London.
