Celebrating Norm Stone’s 50 year journey with Bayer

It’s not every day that you get the chance to celebrate a colleague’s 50th year at the same company. The Bayer Crop Science team is thrilled to celebrate the incredible milestone of Norm Stone, who has officially retired in his 50th year of dedicated service at Bayer, an astounding achievement! We asked Norm about his time at Bayer, including his proudest achievements and some sage advice for those still with the company.

Norm Stone 50 years
What was your journey to joining Bayer and how has your role changed since then? 

Norm Stone: I commenced my journey in 1974 as a Technical Assistant at Schering P/L based in Melbourne, Australia. Schering at that stage was basically a horticultural company distributing and developing products for orchards, vineyards, and vegetable growers. Following mergers and acquisitions, I worked with Schering, AgrEvo, Aventis Crop Science and finally Bayer, with the company evolving into the leading research and development-based agricultural company it is today. 

During all these acquisitions and mergers, my role was basically the same except for the title changes. Technical Officer, Market Development Officer, Research & Development Specialist, Senior Development Specialist and finally simply Agronomist for Field Solutions.  


I was in the East Hawthorn office in Melbourne on the occasion of my 45th anniversary and the then APAC region Head of Field Solutions, Thomas Wegmann, was visiting and offered his congratulations on my long service and said you has witnessed so many changes. After thanking him I told him of my first day with Schering and spraying an apple trial in the Yarra Valley then said “do you know what I did yesterday? Sprayed an apple trial for codling moth control in the Yarra Valley” … so of course so much has changed in my 50 years, but then some of the basics have not.
 

Can you share some of your most memorable experiences or achievements during your time at Bayer?  

Norm Stone: My most memorable experience would without doubt be being involved in the initial development work with Sakura – for ryegrass control in cereals. Additionally, being the Field Project lead for the Luna suite of fungicides, including helping design field trial work and collating analysing and summarizing data for submissions, was also memorable due to their wide spectrum of activity.

Memorable for an entirely different reason was having a day with the then CEO of Bayer, Marijn Dekkers, who visited the Yarra Valley for a cellar wine tasting and lunch. The introduction of computers was by far the biggest technical achievement I have witnessed.

I feel my biggest achievement was in the field of data management. I’ve always considered this important as it’s one thing to conduct a trial, but results must be analyzed correctly, written up, summarized and collated with similar trials to form our efficacy submissions. 

I’ve also had the opportunity to guide the development of our data management programs not only in Australia and New Zealand but also in regional and global level teams.
 

Who have been your most meaningful mentors during your time at Bayer, and what has been the best piece of advice you have received?

Norm Stone: In Schering days, Peter Whitehouse, Neil Wilson, and Max Darvill were among my most meaningful mentors. They showed and explained not only how field trials should be conducted but also how they should be analyzed and reported. 

Their guidance has been invaluable, and the best piece of advice I received was the importance of showing rather than telling, a principle that has guided my approach to mentorship and leadership.


Following the introduction of SCOUT (field solutions data management system) I was well mentored – despite them being younger – by Harald Guenkel, Udo Stephan and Anja Grembler from the SCOUT team in Germany who all assisted me in solving issues that arose with the program.
 

Looking back on your 50 years at Bayer, what legacy do you hope to leave behind, and what are your hopes for the company's future?

Norm Stone: I hope my passion for data management and its support in ANZ will continue – I’m sure it will as this area is being further developed with the introduction of a new program (Velocity) with reportedly improved access, analytical techniques and outputs.
 

What are you planning to do in your retirement? 

Norm Stone: Travel both within Australia and overseas, learn a musical instrument, improve my (nearly) non-existent language skills – maybe French or Italian – return to the tennis court, and read.  Of course there will also be the occasional grandparent duties!
 

What advice would you give to any new employees who may be just starting with the company? 

Norm Stone: Don’t be afraid to ask questions, be inquisitive, and get involved in as many different areas as you can. There is always something new to learn, and the more you know, the more valuable you are to the company.