Granting of an Honorary Doctorate of the Agricultural University of Athens to Ms Christina Legaki, the Managing Director of Corteva Agriscience.

Granting of an Honorary Doctorate of the Agricultural University of Athens to Ms Christina Legaki, the Managing Director of Corteva Agriscience.

On Friday, November 25 2022 at 18.00 pm, the Granting Ceremony of an Honorary Doctorate to Ms Christina Legaki, the Managing Director of Corteva Agriscience, was held at the Ceremony Hall of the Agricultural University of Athens, pertaining to the Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, of the School of Environment and Agricultural Engineering respectively.

The Head of the Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Mr Charalampos Charitos, Professor, has referred to the work and life of the official honoree. Ms Christina Legaki holds an Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate awarded by the Arsakeio School in Psychiko and a BA, too. She had started her degree courses at the Department of Business Administration of Athens University of Economics and Business. Afterwards, she continued her studies, onto a postgraduate degree level (2nd Cycle of Studies) at the USA, in particular at Virginia Darden School of Business from which she has graduated with the MBA title. She has been running onto a long career path in the area of Business Management, holding positions of responsibility in multinational companies, with specific competence on undertakings management, fostering innovation at various stages of agricultural economy.

Ms Christina Legaki is the Managing Director of CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE HELLAS, a company that does business in the domain of agriculture, originating from the association of the companies DuPont Crop Protection, Pioneer and Dow Chemicals. Besides, she is Business Leader on the part of Israel and Cyprus of CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE and President of the Steering Board, inasmuch the Managing Director of Du Pont Hellas S.A. Her most recently completed term of office had been that of the Executive Director of the Administrative Board and the Managing Director of the Seed Production and Trading Company PIONEER HI-BRED HELLAS S.A. She also speaks English and French fluently.

Then, the Rector of the Agricultural University of Athens Mr Spyridon Kintzios, in the greeting speech addressed, has highlighted the following statement:“ …….that Ms Legaki has been an informal and close member of the friends of the University for many years, making a reference among other things, to the special connection of Ms Legaki with the Agricultural University of Athens, being an accomplished representative and a worthy successor of an entire living tradition, flavoured with personalities of prime contribution to the events of Greek agriculture, specifically the cutting edge transfer in the field of agricultural science  over the daily life of  farmers and their activities”. It is worth mentioning that within the period of 102 years of the University’s functioning, it is only the third time that a woman has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate– the last time was in year 2014”.

The honoured guest has thanked the Rectorate Authorities of the Agricultural University of Athens for the particular tribute paid to the granting of an Honorary Doctorate, referring to the heritage of the family of visionaries from which she comes from. A rich stock of Agriculture and the future of greek agriculture. Ms Legaki has stressed the need for investments in the research and innovation area, in conjunction with the trust to the precious human potential of all the stakeholders who make up agriculture today, setting an example to emulate for greek agriculture in general. What followed was the lecture by the Managing Director of Corteva Agriscience on the subject of: “The challenges of the Goddess Demeter until 2050”, through which she elaborated the difficulties encountered in the present era by the Goddess Demeter herself, at a more fundamental level, the existence of Agriculture on a global level. The huge challenges related to demographic changes, climate change, the change patterns of consumption and of course the food crisis, have been creating a more favourable atmosphere than ever for changes that have not been faced so far by humanity. Innovation, digital technology and the genetic as useful tools can provide solutions, taking however, into account the man of the countryside, the farmer striving and working too hard without a regular working time, deeply dependent upon the collaboration of the nature itself, as far as the financial gain is especially, concerned.  Agriculture as a science with the Goddess Demeter acting as guardian, is in need of help with a view to producing any products in the appropriate manner, showing respect at the same time to both nature itself and the environment that the human factor has destroyed to a great extent.