John B. Elstrott, Ph.D., has joined the board of directors of Concentric Ag Corporation, a developer and producer of proprietary biological and essential plant nutrient inputs for specialty and broadacre crops.
Elstrott is the founder and emeritus executive director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship Research at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, where he taught courses and researched entrepreneurship, strategic planning, regional economic development, technology commercialization and environmental economics over a 30-year period.
Among his many business associations, Dr. Elstrott served as the chairman of the board and chair of the audit committee for Whole Foods Market from 1994 to 2017 prior to its sale to Amazon. Prior to joining the Tulane University faculty, he was chief financial officer of Celestial Seasonings. He is an active entrepreneur and investor in the venture capital, wetlands mitigation, banking, pharmaceutical, financial services, medical and functional food, technology, audio hardware and software, and authentic herbal remedy industries.
He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Colorado Boulder, and master's and bachelor's degrees in economics from Louisiana State University.
Concentric recently opened its 30,000-square-foot U.S. headquarters and commercialization office in Centennial, Colo., near Denver. Its Montreal-based, R&D Technical Center of Excellence was recently expanded to 20,000 square feet. In April, Concentric acquired ATP Nutrition, a producer of science-based plant nutrients based in Oak Bluff, Manitoba, Canada.
The company employs about 65 people in the U.S. and Canada today, and anticipates adding another 25 to 30 high-level scientific and managerial professionals over the next year.