Sara Menker | |
---|---|
![]() Menker in 2017 | |
Born | |
Alma mater |
Mount Holyoke College Columbia University |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Employer | Gro Intelligence |
Awards | Young Global Leaders |
Sara Menker is an Entrepreneur and the former CEO of Gro Intelligence, a company that uses artificial intelligence to forecast agricultural and climate trends. [1] She is a trustee of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies and was elected one of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders.
Menker grew up in Ethiopia. [2] Her parents were middle class and she attended a private school in Addis Ababa. [2] In her time in Ethiopia, she was exposed to the effects of poverty and famine.
During her high school career, she met an admissions officer from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, [2] which she ultimately decided to attend. There, she got her degree in Economics and African Studies. [3] She later attended the London School of Economics for graduate studies and received her master's degree at Columbia University. [4]
Menker started her career in commodities risk management at Morgan Stanley. [5] She eventually moved through Morgan Stanley to portfolio trading and management. [5] Throughout her work at Morgan Stanley, the issue of food insecurity was constantly on her mind. During her time there, Menker became interested in farmland investments. [3] She left her job in Wall Street in 2014 to use her skills in data analytics for social good. [6] So, she founded Gro Intelligence, a company that leverages artificial intelligence to forecast agricultural trends. [1]
She became concerned by threat of a global food crisis, and started to investigate how Africa could mitigate the Earth's growing demands for food. [7] She estimated that by 2030 food shortages could be as significant as the financial crisis or dot-com bubble crash. [3] Menker predicts that the world could face a 214 trillion calorie deficit. [8] This is due to systemic issues in the food supply chain, as well as a general increase in population. [2] In 2014 Menker established Gro Intelligence, a data-driven platform which connects food market around the world. [3] [9] [10] Gro Intelligence includes information such as the cost of avocado exports from Mexico and popular coffee beans, and uses artificial intelligence to make predictions about trends in food prices. [11] [3] Gro Intelligence offer software that attempts to make agricultural, weather and climate data easy to understand. The data is combined with satellite imagery and creates over 1,000 models a day. [12] She has used Gro Intelligence to investigate the impact of natural disasters, including droughts, on food supply. [13] The reports inform companies on what and where to sell products, as well as supporting policy makers and insurance companies. [13]
In 2017 Menker delivered a TED talk A global food crisis may be less than a decade away, which has been watched over 1.5 million times. [14] [4] In 2018 Menker was named the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecturer. [15] [16] She has presented at the Rockefeller Foundation, X and The New York Times. [17] [18] [19]
Menker is a trustee of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the Mandela Institute for Development Studies. She was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2014. [20] She is also a member of The Aspen Institute African Leadership Initiative. [21] Menker is involved with Cognition X, the artificial intelligence information platform. [22] In 2021, she was included in the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. [23] In 2021, Menker was selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst. [24]
In February 2024, Menker was replaced as CEO of Gro Intelligence [25] and in May 2024, the company announced it was closing down. [26]
Sara Menker | |
---|---|
![]() Menker in 2017 | |
Born | |
Alma mater |
Mount Holyoke College Columbia University |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Employer | Gro Intelligence |
Awards | Young Global Leaders |
Sara Menker is an Entrepreneur and the former CEO of Gro Intelligence, a company that uses artificial intelligence to forecast agricultural and climate trends. [1] She is a trustee of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies and was elected one of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders.
Menker grew up in Ethiopia. [2] Her parents were middle class and she attended a private school in Addis Ababa. [2] In her time in Ethiopia, she was exposed to the effects of poverty and famine.
During her high school career, she met an admissions officer from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, [2] which she ultimately decided to attend. There, she got her degree in Economics and African Studies. [3] She later attended the London School of Economics for graduate studies and received her master's degree at Columbia University. [4]
Menker started her career in commodities risk management at Morgan Stanley. [5] She eventually moved through Morgan Stanley to portfolio trading and management. [5] Throughout her work at Morgan Stanley, the issue of food insecurity was constantly on her mind. During her time there, Menker became interested in farmland investments. [3] She left her job in Wall Street in 2014 to use her skills in data analytics for social good. [6] So, she founded Gro Intelligence, a company that leverages artificial intelligence to forecast agricultural trends. [1]
She became concerned by threat of a global food crisis, and started to investigate how Africa could mitigate the Earth's growing demands for food. [7] She estimated that by 2030 food shortages could be as significant as the financial crisis or dot-com bubble crash. [3] Menker predicts that the world could face a 214 trillion calorie deficit. [8] This is due to systemic issues in the food supply chain, as well as a general increase in population. [2] In 2014 Menker established Gro Intelligence, a data-driven platform which connects food market around the world. [3] [9] [10] Gro Intelligence includes information such as the cost of avocado exports from Mexico and popular coffee beans, and uses artificial intelligence to make predictions about trends in food prices. [11] [3] Gro Intelligence offer software that attempts to make agricultural, weather and climate data easy to understand. The data is combined with satellite imagery and creates over 1,000 models a day. [12] She has used Gro Intelligence to investigate the impact of natural disasters, including droughts, on food supply. [13] The reports inform companies on what and where to sell products, as well as supporting policy makers and insurance companies. [13]
In 2017 Menker delivered a TED talk A global food crisis may be less than a decade away, which has been watched over 1.5 million times. [14] [4] In 2018 Menker was named the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecturer. [15] [16] She has presented at the Rockefeller Foundation, X and The New York Times. [17] [18] [19]
Menker is a trustee of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and the Mandela Institute for Development Studies. She was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2014. [20] She is also a member of The Aspen Institute African Leadership Initiative. [21] Menker is involved with Cognition X, the artificial intelligence information platform. [22] In 2021, she was included in the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. [23] In 2021, Menker was selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst. [24]
In February 2024, Menker was replaced as CEO of Gro Intelligence [25] and in May 2024, the company announced it was closing down. [26]