NewLeaf Symbiotics adds manufacturing expert to scientific advisory board

NewLeaf Symbiotics (NewLeaf) announces the addition of Mark Warner to the organization's Scientific Advisory Board. Warner, a manufacturing expert, will advise NewLeaf on scaling M-trophs to meet the growing demand for real, sustainable solutions that meet the needs of a growing population.

"Mark is a seasoned executive with broad experience in manufacturing and scaling of biotechnology, renewable energy, chemical, food and ingredient manufacturing," said Aaron Kelley, VP, Manufacturing, NewLeaf. "We are confident his leadership and unmatched track record of success in taking technologies from the lab to commercial scale will position NewLeaf for long-term expansion and continued success of our Terrasym® brand."

Prior to founding Warner Advisors, LLC, Warner served as Chief Engineering Officer for Impossible Foods Inc., responsible for deploying the company's technology to develop a new generation of meats and cheeses made entirely from plants. He also held the position of Senior Vice president of Engineering at Solazyme, Inc., managing its manufacturing facility that served as both a demonstration facility for Solazyme's tailored oil technology and commercial manufacturing of innovative food products. Mark has experience with retrofitting and scaling existing facilities, building $200MM+ greenfield facilities, and collaborating with investment partners. Warner holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University.

"I am honored to join such a distinguished scientific advisory board, who are focused on deployment of a new class of crop inputs based on the plant's microbiome," said Warner.  "NewLeaf's M-troph platform is an exciting approach to make significant improvements in crop performance. I have spent the last 15 years focused on commercializing novel bio-based technologies and am looking forward to becoming a science advisory board member."

Along with an experienced management team, experts in product development, research & discovery, and business development, the Scientific Advisory Board will continue to guide NewLeaf in using the power of nature to strengthen crops. The Board is led by chairman Jim Carrington, Ph.D., President of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis and also includes Douglas Cook, Ph.D., professor, Department of Plant Pathology, UC Davis; Steven Lindow, Ph.D., professor and Executive Associate Dean, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley; and Alan R. Gould, Ph.D., Advisor, Verdant Partners.