Defining Leadership in Environmental Science

By Gilles Galliou Chief Executive Officer

Over the holidays, like many people, I finally had a little time to slow down.

Between family time and a few quiet mornings, I couldn’t help noticing the annual flood of year-end car commercials. New models. New features. Safer designs. Lower emissions. Smarter technology. Every brand making the same point in different ways: this year’s car is better than last year’s, and next year’s will be better still.

I joked with my wife that I don’t think she’d be thrilled if I bought her a new SUV for Christmas without discussing it first. But the message behind those ads is serious. No one expects the automotive industry to design one car and stop. Continuous improvement is assumed because people’s safety depends on it.

Environmental science works the same way; it just doesn’t advertise during football games. Leading a standalone environmental science company has sharpened my view of what leadership in this field requires — and it’s why I’m sharing these thoughts now.

Why this work is often misunderstood

Most people never think about environmental science. And when it’s working the way it should, that’s exactly the point.

You don’t think about harmful pests when you walk into a restaurant or sleep in a hotel bed. You don’t stop to wonder whether unmanaged vegetation will disrupt railways, runways, or utility corridors — or whether your kids’ sports fields or a favorite golf course will still be playable and safe. You simply expect daily life to function without interruption.

At its core, environmental science is the applied work of understanding how biological forces behave — pests, invasive plant species, disease vectors — and using science to manage them so they don’t become disruptions, or worse, crises. It’s science tested in real-world conditions and applied at scale — across food systems, public spaces, infrastructure and natural environments.

Being mindful of what happens in the background so people can live safely is essential. The solutions applied must meet the highest standards, and the environments where people live, work, and gather must be protected — whether that means safeguarding stored grain after harvest, keeping infrastructure operational, or reducing disease risk. This work is not optional. It’s foundational.

And while the ability to manage these risks varies around the world, the risks themselves are very real. Mosquitoes still spread deadly diseases every day. Food security remains fragile. Public health and safety still depend on getting this work right. That’s why environmental science must keep evolving: nature adapts, conditions change and expectations rise. The long-term stability of our societies depends on it.

Learning from the front lines

I don’t come from a farming family, but I loved spending summers working on local farms near my hometown of Normandy, France. That experience drew me to study agronomy and become an agronomic engineer — work that put me in the field early on, testing solutions in real conditions, with real consequences.

I was also drawn to the global diversity of our world, which led me to specialize as a tropical agronomist. I began my career in innovation and then moved into business roles, working in Pakistan, Morocco, Germany and France before eventually coming to the United States in 2010.

Early on, I worked in subsidiaries, leading teams close to customers. But like many people, I assumed that to grow my career, I needed headquarters experience. So when I joined Bayer in 2001, I moved into corporate functions such as procurement and risk management.

On paper, it made sense. In practice, something important changed. I felt increasingly distant from customers, frontline teams, and the real-world impact of our decisions. After a few years, I made a course correction, back toward the environmental science business.

In environmental science, leadership isn’t about visibility or recognition. It’s about responsibility — being accountable for outcomes that affect public health, safety, food systems, and the everyday spaces where society and nature meet — often before anyone else notices there was a risk at all.

That experience reinforced a belief I’ve held ever since: environmental science is essential to daily life, but for a long time it wasn’t led with the focus, urgency and accountability it requires.

That is precisely why Envu exists.

What independence made possible

For decades, environmental science lived inside much larger organizations rooted in adjacent industries like agriculture. When a category is one business among many, priorities are constantly compared. Capital is allocated relatively. Decision-making speed is uneven. Despite its importance, environmental science often became the end of the branch.

The Bayer carve-out that created Envu in October 2022 changed that dynamic overnight. When Envu launched as a standalone company, environmental science stopped being a secondary focus and became the mission.

From the start, our purpose was clear: to innovate boldly, advancing healthy environments for everyone, everywhere.

Envu is the world’s first global innovation company of its size and scale dedicated solely to environmental science. Even our name reflects that intent — Environmental View — a reminder that this work requires a clear, focused perspective on protecting the everyday spaces where society and nature meet.

Independence forced clarity — no hiding behind legacy systems or adjacent businesses. We built governance, systems, supply chains and culture while continuing to serve customers without disruption.

I was incredibly proud to see how our people took ownership, stayed close to customers, and established new ways of working. Within just a few years, Envu has strengthened its innovation engine, grown deliberately through targeted acquisitions, and earned external recognition for sustainability and governance.

What comes next

This is just the beginning. Environmental science will never be “finished.” Like the vehicles we rely on every day, it has to keep improving.

Climate volatility, urbanization, biodiversity loss and disease risk are not abstract trends. They are daily realities for our customers. The margin for error is shrinking, and short-term thinking creates long-term risk.

For Envu, the next phase is about building on what independence made possible: continuing to invest in innovation, scaling what works, strengthening discipline, and proving — year after year — that focused environmental science leadership creates durable value.

That responsibility is what drives me. And it’s what will continue to define how Envu leads.