S&W Seed Company Appoints Jeffrey Rona to Its Board of Directors

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Dec 19, 2023, 09:00 ET

LONGMONT, Colo., Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW), a global agricultural technology company, today announced the nomination of senior biotechnology executive Jeffrey Rona to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Rona has more than 30 years of experience as a Chief Business Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and investment banker. He is currently the Chief Business and Financial Officer of Ovid Therapeutics, a Nasdaq listed biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Ovid Therapeutics, he was the Western region Managing Director for Danforth Advisors, a life science financial strategy consultancy.

"We are very pleased to have Jeff join our board of directors. As a seasoned executive, he brings to S&W broad experience in corporate finance, M&A, business development, corporate strategy, accounting, tax and financial operations," said Alan Willits, Chairman of the Board for S&W Seed Company. "Jeff is recognized as a strategic thinker with deep knowledge of the broader life sciences sector and capital markets for micro-cap companies. We look forward to his contributions as a member of the S&W board."

In addition to Mr. Rona's recent experience with Ovid and Danforth Advisors, he previously held the titles of Chief Business Officer at GlobeImmune, Chief Financial Officer at AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, and Director, Investment Banking at UBS. Over the span of his career, he has completed more than 50 transactions totaling $3 billion in deal value. Mr. Rona received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Case Western Reserve University.

"I believe S&W is ideally positioned at the cross section of agriculture and biotechnology," Mr. Rona added. "I am excited to join the board as the Company looks to expand on its leading agritech position within sorghum, as well as other novel crops and cropping systems, which contribute to animal forage, renewable fuels, and cover crops."

About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global multi-crop, middle-market agricultural company headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. S&W's vision is to be the world's preferred proprietary seed company which supplies a range of sorghum, forage and specialty crop products that supports the growing global demand for animal proteins and healthier consumer diets. S&W is a global leader in proprietary alfalfa and sorghum seeds with significant research and development, production and distribution capabilities. S&W also has a commercial presence in pasture and sunflower seeds, and through a partnership, is focused on sustainable biofuel feedstocks primarily within camelina. For more information, please visit www.swseedco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "anticipates," "believe," "expected," "may," "future," "plans," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, S&W's position at the cross section of agriculture and biotechnology. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties related to: the effects of macroeconomic events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertain market conditions, such as inflation and supply chain disruptions, on our business and operations; the sufficiency of our cash and access to capital in order to meet our liquidity needs, including our ability to pay our growers as our payment obligations come due; our need to comply with the financial covenants included in our loan agreements, refinance certain of our credit facilities and raise additional capital in the future and our ability to continue as a "going concern"; changes in market conditions, including any unexpected decline in commodity prices, may harm our results of operations; changes in the competitive landscape and the introduction of competitive products may negatively impact our results of operations; our business and strategic initiatives may not achieve the expected results; previously experienced logistical challenges in shipping and transportation of our products may become amplified, delaying our ability to recognize revenue and decreasing our gross margins; and the risks associated with our ability to successfully optimize and commercialize our business. These and other risks are identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023 and in other filings subsequently made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.

Company Contact:
Mark Herrmann, Chief Executive Officer
S&W Seed Company
Phone: (720) 593-3570
www.swseedco.com

Investor Contact:
Robert Blum
Lytham Partners, LLC
Phone: (602) 889-9700
[email protected]
www.lythampartners.com

SOURCE S&W Seed Company