Monty Christian gives key insight into his career that led him to the Office of Research & Innovation.
Monty Christian enthusiasm for ag stemmed from his family's farming/ranching heritage. This eventually led him to graduating with a Masters degree in Agricultural Biology from New Mexico State University and over 30 years of experience in the industry.
Throughout his career at Bayer Crop Science, Christian held several marketing management positions before becoming the Vice President of US Cotton OPS Seed and Fiber Technology from 2010 to 2018. After working with Bayer Crop Science for nearly fifteen years, Christian became the Vice President of Global Cotton OPS Seed and Fiber Technology at BASF. Over the two years at BASF, Christian utilized his in-depth experience in “developing, launching, and accelerating new technologies for agriculture production and forging strong customer relations.” In June 2020, Christian retired from BASF.
Only a year after his retirement, Christian applied for a role in Texas Tech's Office of Research and Innovation. “Having had a long career in technology driven ag companies I've always had a close connection and awareness of universities.”
With his “broad background in commercial and technology driven companies, [he has] a lot of experience interacting with many domestic and global companies both large and small…”, Monty Christian was named the Executive Director of Marketing Strategies. Christian's passion for innovation and entrepreneurship drove his request to office out of the Innovation Hub.
“This is where I had requested to office from. It's a great platform to showcase with outside visitors and it gives me a natural segway into promoting TTU and requesting support. But most of all being surrounded by innovation and individuals with vision and entrepreneurship is invigorating!” His primary focus while at Texas Tech will be to generate value from TTU's intellectual property and codevelop solutions with companies and seek government funding.
When asked what advice he would give students in the same or similar field, Christian responded with three key pieces of advice.
- Always seek to understand the wonders of science and biology and then match it with your own interests, skills, and dreams.
- Continue to ask questions and enjoy the satisfaction of learning.
- Recognize that everyone coming across your path knows something that you don't and that gives you a good appreciation of the human mind.