Sky Kurtz
Founder & CEO,
Pure Harvest Smart Farms
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, Sky 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). Sky 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.
Sessions
-
25-Sep-2024Za'abeel Hall 3Sustainable Farming Practices: Tapping into Next-Generation Farming