Mark Tester obtained his Bachelor’s degree in botany (University of Adelaide, 1984), and his PhD in biophysics (University of Cambridge, 1988). He was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship from Churchill College (Cambridge, 1988), a BBSRC (UK) Research Development Fellowship (2001) and an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship (2004). When in Australia, he was a Director of Australian Grains Technology and served on editorial boards of 11 international journals. Since 2013, Mark Tester is a Professor of Bioscience in the Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (KAUST, Saudi Arabia) and is the Associate Director of the Center for Desert Agriculture. He is currently seconded to NEOM, where he heads the Food Sector, developing the strategic plan and initiating its implementation. The Food Sector capex budget is in the order of USD5bn and involves the establishment of an entire food system for NEOM, a hi-tech city of the future, with a population estimated to be 1m by 2030. Mark Tester leads an academic research group (cell biology and plant physiology, genetics and genomics) in which forward and reverse genetic approaches are used to understand and manipulate traits that contribute to salinity tolerance and improve this in crops. The ultimate intellectual aim is to understand the control and co-ordination of whole plant function through processes occurring at the level of single cells, particularly through processes of long-distance communication within plants. Mark’s aspiration is to unlock seawater, by developing a new economically viable agricultural system where salt-tolerant crops are irrigated with partially desalinised seawater or brackish groundwater. Internationally, his group is one of the leading laboratories on salinity research. At KAUST, Prof Tester has established a “discovery and delivery pipeline”, where a balance is being strived between fundamental research into molecular mechanisms of salinity tolerance and the delivery of those discoveries through the development of crops with improved salinity tolerance. In the Discovery Program, forward genetic and genomic approaches are being used to discover genes that affect traits that are likely to contribute to salinity tolerance. These genes, and others discovered previously by other researchers, are being characterised to elucidate mechanisms of action and natural variation within the target crops, to a level necessary to facilitate delivery. The Delivery Program focuses on the alteration of genes likely to alter salinity tolerance in crop plants and the testing of the effects of these alterations on yield in the field. Work in these programs is occurring in parallel, as knowledge of some genes has advanced to the stage of field trials, whereas the discovery of fundamental processes is still required for other genes and traits. Mark Tester is a scientist with much energy who is passionate about research and discovery, with a commitment to lifelong learning. He is focused on high-quality science that contributes broadly to both increasing intellectual knowledge of plant function and to increase the sustainability of the planet. He is committed to education and assisting and supporting others in fulfilling their potential. He has a high level of professional integrity and intellectual rigour, and the quality of his science is reflected in both the quality of his publications and the recognition of these by others. He has published over 190 refereed papers in international journals. He has long had the capacity to attract significant funding and to implement ideas, such as shown in his building of The Plant Accelerator, from inception to completion, coordinating a wide range of expertise from engineers and architects to plant scientists and financial managers. He has strong financial and administrative management skills, possessing successful interactions with multinational companies (Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and Pioneer-DuPont).