IPO Edge hosted a fireside chat at the 2024 ICR Conference with Rick Vanzura, CEO of Freight Farms, which is going public via a merger with Agrinam Acquisition Corp. The in-person interview was joined by Editor-in-Chief John Jannarone and they discussed future global trends and prospects for the agricultural technology industry, the company’s latest partnership with Agrinam and its presence in Latin America, what comes ahead after becoming a publicly traded company, and more. Watch the full recording below:
About Rick Vanzura
Rick Vanzura is the CEO of Freight Farms. Mr. Vanzura came to Freight Farms after a successful seven years building Wahlburgers from a single unit to a $100 million brand. Mr. Vanzura’s 20 years in President and C-level roles include a decade in foodservice working with markets central to Freight Farms’ business. He also has significant international experience, having run Borders Group’s nearly $1 billion International business. Prior to Wahlburgers, he was Co-COO of Panera Bread Company and a senior executive at companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500s, across the technology, restaurant, retail, and entertainment sectors. Mr. Vanzura received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BS from Santa Clara University.
About Freight Farms
Founded in 2012, Freight Farms debuted the first vertical hydroponic farm built inside an intermodal shipping container with the mission of democratizing and decentralizing the local production of fresh, healthy food. Since its inception, Freight Farms has refined its product offering to arrive at the Greenery™ container farm. With global customers ranging from small business farmers to the corporate, hospitality, retail, education, and nonprofit sectors, Freight Farmers make up one of the largest network of IoT connected farms in the world. AgTech Breakthrough named Freight Farms the 2022 “IoT Monitoring Solution of the Year” for its farmhand® IoT automation software.
