Precision ag developer Taranis welcomes two key members to leadership team

DiPaola and Altaras join the precision agriculture company’s leadership team from Southern State Cooperatives and Lumos Global, respectively

Taranis, a global leader in precision agriculture, announced last Friday the executive appointments of two agriculture industry veterans as vice presidents: Michael DiPaola will join as North American General Manager and Vice President of Sales, and Avi Altaras as Vice President of Operations. The move follows the opening of Taranis’ Silicon Valley headquarters and will be key to further building out its rapidly growing global customer base.


Taranis offers farmers an advanced scouting service, backed by a comprehensive precision agriculture platform to aid crop management and improve yields while cutting costs. Taranis recently expanded its scouting services to provide a more robust solution for the upcoming season, enabling growers to monitor more acres quicker and with human-level accuracy, while delivering insights at leaf-level resolution. Using aerial imagery and AI-driven technology, Taranis’ platform can cover over 100 fields in six minutes (as opposed to 10 fields in six hours using human workers), enabling growers and consultants to optimize their workforce allocation. Growers then receive detailed reports through the Taranis platform to support critical season-wide decision making, including a cross-field comparison identifying the weakest and strongest areas by threat and a prescription engine for precise variable rate applications.

“We’re thrilled that these illustrious industry veterans are joining our leadership team at a time of exceptional company growth, both geographically and technologically,” said Ofir Schlam, CEO and co-founder of Taranis. “Michael and Avi’s respective years of experience in implementing successful go-to-market strategies in the agricultural space make each of them an invaluable asset to our company. With the upcoming US farming season less than a month away, and the unusual challenges faced by growers in these tumultuous times, these appointments are critical to supporting our growing US customer base in achieving an excellent season.”

With over 15 years of experience in sales and management, Michael DiPaola has held several senior roles in the agricultural industry, including Product Line Lead at Southern States Cooperative, VP Global Sales and Operations at Farmers Edge, and Sales and Marketing at Syngenta. As Taranis’ North American General Manager and VP Sales, DiPaola will be instrumental in continuing the expansion of Taranis’ customer-base while ensuring customer satisfaction.

DiPaola noted: “I’m honored to be part of this team. Taranis’ technologies are truly innovative and defy traditional categorization. The time is right, the technology is exquisite, and the people are fantastic. The company’s impact on global agriculture has been and will continue to be substantial. I look forward to equipping retailers and growers with the next generation of scouting services, backed by the best people in agtech.”

Avi Altaras has over 15 years of experience as an operations leader in various industries, including renewable energy and consumer goods. Most recently, he served as VP Operations at Lumos Global, which offers clean, affordable solar power to customers. Altaras’ experience in leading operations across different industries is key to delivering a seamless flow of operations across the many regions Taranis serves globally.

Taranis helps over 19,000 farmers in North and South America, Europe, and Australia protect more than 20 million acres of farmland.