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Sky Kurtz
Founder & CEO at Pure Harvest Smart Farms
Sky Kurtz is the Founder and CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, a pioneering agritech company based in Abu Dhabi that focuses on providing organic, sustainable, and locally sourced food to communities in the Middle East. His career spans various roles in technology investment and entrepreneurship, with a strong emphasis on addressing global food security and sustainability challenges.
Professional Background
Before founding Pure Harvest in 2016, Kurtz co-founded Vence, a company that developed innovative livestock management solutions through virtual fencing technology. He also served as a divisional CEO at Pultron Composites, where he worked on advanced building materials to combat infrastructure corrosion. His earlier career includes significant investment roles at Francisco Partners and CCMP Capital, where he focused on technology investments.136
Kurtz holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Arizona State University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He has been actively involved on the boards of several technology companies and is recognized for his commitment to building impactful businesses.1256
Vision and Impact
Kurtz is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance agricultural practices, particularly in challenging environments like the Middle East. Under his leadership, Pure Harvest has integrated advanced technologies such as IoT and AI into its operations, aiming to create a more efficient and sustainable food production system. His work is driven by a mission to improve food security and promote resource conservation.456
In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Kurtz is also a family man, married to author Kinsi Grimen, and they reside in the UAE with their daughter.6
Highlights
🌱 I'm grateful to have played a small part in Saturday’s Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed lecture, exploring the challenges of implementing “Sustainable Agriculture at Scale” 🌱
As climate challenges intensify and the need to transform our agricultural systems becomes critical, I’m proud that Pure Harvest Smart Farms can offer a path forward. Innovation and technology are reshaping food production in the UAE, which endures some of the planet’s harshest climate environments, serving as a lighthouse for innovators in other parts of the world – showing what’s possible for the future of farming and food.
It was a pleasure to share thoughts on the challenges faced, with a focus on the bright, innovation-led, sustainable future that we’re building for agriculture and food production. #sustainability #sustainablefarming
Enjoy the lecture:
