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Cainthus appoints Steve Kickert as Chief Operations Officer 

Kickert has a passion for applying technology to solve problems in agriculture

February 20, 2019

(DUBLIN, IRELAND) Feb. 20, 2019—Cainthus, a Dublin-based computer-vision company, has appointed Steve Kickert as its new chief operations officer.

Kickert, who served as director of technology for Cargill’s animal nutrition business prior to this announcement, began working closely with Cainthus in 2018 when Cargill announced its equity investment in the tech company. Kickert has more than 30 years of technology experience, building and leading teams with expertise in emerging technologies. 

“We have worked with Steve since our partnership with Cargill began,” said David Hunt, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Cainthus. “His consistently strong contributions and decision-making made it a natural transition for him to join us as COO once the company grew. It is a tremendous reflection of Cargill's value as a start-up partner that they were happy for a person of Steve’s caliber to join our team. Steve will work closely with our CEO Aidan Connolly to ensure that Cainthus executes its commercial rollout with excellence.”

“Steve’s unique experience both working in multiple startups and within one of the world's largest corporations makes him the ideal candidate to help Cainthus leap to the next level and be a transformative agent in agriculture,” said Aidan Connolly, chief executive officer, Cainthus.

Kickert excels leading all aspects of software development, from hands-on work to strategy development. He joins a growing team of 35 programmers, developers, sales and marketing experts at Cainthus, whose mission is to provide farmers with data-driven insights that empower them to improve their farm management for a more secure future.

“Cainthus is poised to revolutionize how farmers monitor and measure the performance of their animals and their farms,” Kickert said. “Having been part of a multi-national agricultural company, I saw first-hand how quickly new innovations that truly deliver value can disrupt the status quo. Cainthus has the right mix of technology and agricultural experts to achieve success at a large scale, and I’m honored to be a part of their growth.”

Kickert graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of North Dakota. Throughout his career, he has developed leadership skills in multiple product development disciplines, including technology strategy, product architecture, technical sales support, customer service and operations and facilities management. Kickert has held executive positions at companies including Cargill and has also co-founded a number of hardware and software companies.
 

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Cainthus

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Ottowa and San Francisco, Cainthus is a computer vision company that turns visual information into actionable data. Their proprietary software uses images to identify individual animals based on hide patterns and facial recognition, and tracks key data such as food and water intake, temperature and behavior patterns. This breakthrough predictive imaging technology monitors the health and wellbeing of livestock and provides the analytics and information needed to drive business decisions.

For further information, visit cainthus.com Join us in conversation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Contacts:
Ann Kehoe, [email protected]
Annie Michaelson, [email protected]