Plenty CEO to headline CEA Summit East Day 2 in Virginia

Indoor Ag-Con and the CEA Innovation Center have added Plenty CEO Dan Malech to the Sept. 16 keynote lineup for CEA Summit East in Danville, Virginia. The session will focus on Plenty’s shift from leafy greens to premium strawberries and what that pivot reveals about running a capital-intensive indoor farming business.

Why it matters: - Plenty’s move from leafy greens to strawberries is one of the clearest examples of how indoor farming companies are rethinking crop mix, capital use and market fit. - The keynote gives CEA operators a direct look at what a large vertical farm company learned from its first model and how that may shape the next phase of the industry.

What happened: - Indoor Ag-Con and the CEA Innovation Center announced the Day 2 keynote for the Fifth Annual Controlled Environment Agriculture Summit East. - The summit runs Sept. 15-16, 2026, at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia. - The second morning will feature a fireside chat titled “Beyond Leafy Greens: Lessons from Plenty's Next Chapter.” - Plenty CEO Dan Malech will speak with Tom Stenzel, executive director of the CEA Alliance. - The session is set for Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m.

The details: - Plenty built a national vertical farming platform around leafy greens during its first decade. - Over the past two years, Plenty shifted to a single crop: premium strawberries grown in Virginia. - The conversation will cover what the leafy greens years taught Plenty about matching technology to market demand. - Malech and Stenzel will also discuss focus and discipline in a capital-intensive business. - The keynote is expected to address what other operators can learn while building a sustainable model. - Tom Stenzel called Malech’s perspective candid and said the discussion will examine what worked, what did not, and what it takes to find a sustainable path forward. - The opening-day keynote on Sept. 15 is titled “Grow It, Then What? Building the Bridge to Market.” - That session will feature Kathlyn Terry Baker, CEO of Appalachian Sustainable Development, in conversation with Matthew Lohr, president of VP Strategies LLC and Virginia’s former secretary of agriculture and forestry. - The full schedule, speaker roster, networking events, tabletop exhibits and registration are available at the conference site. - Exhibitor and sponsorship inquiries go to Suzanne Pruitt at suzanne@indoor.ag or 404.452.1884.

Between the lines: - The keynote booking shows organizers want more than technical farming sessions; they are spotlighting business model lessons and market realities. - Plenty’s pivot underscores a broader industry theme: in controlled environment agriculture, technical success does not guarantee a durable economics story. - Bringing together a grower CEO and the CEA Alliance’s top executive suggests the event is framing the discussion around industry-wide strategy, not just one company’s evolution.

What's next: - Summit East attendees will hear the Plenty conversation on the second morning of the event. - The Sept. 15 opening-day keynote will set up the market-access theme before the Plenty session moves the discussion into operational and financial discipline. - Indoor Ag-Con and the CEA Innovation Center will continue promoting summit programming, exhibits and registration ahead of the event.

The bottom line: - Plenty’s next chapter has become a case study for the indoor farming sector, and Summit East is using that story to explore what sustainable growth may look like for CEA operators.