NDSU Research Foundation, the commercialisation affiliate of North Dakota State University, has appointed Chris Fender as executive director.
Most recently, Fender was the senior manager for group strategy, innovation, licensing, and portfolio management at plant breeding company KWS Group from June 2019 to May 2025.
Before this, he spent a year as executive vice president, Americas, at Palindromes, a now-defunct business that provided closed-loop commercialisation systems to agricultural commodity producers.
Fender worked for the University of Missouri as a senior licensing associate and business development associate from August 2002 to September 2008.
In April 2009, he rejoined the institution as director of the Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations.
“There is tremendous momentum at NDSU and across North Dakota’s innovation ecosystem,” said Fender. “I’m excited to collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to help move their innovations from discovery to real-world impact.”
