Pivot Bio appoints operations and information executives

Pivot Bio, the leading microbial nitrogen innovator delivering sustainable, self-fertilizing grain crops, announced that Lisa Nunez Safarian joins as Chief Operating Officer and John Walls joins as Chief Information Officer.

“John and Lisa are joining Pivot Bio at a critical time in our growth trajectory,” said Karsten Temme, Pivot Bio co-founder and CEO. “Their insights and leadership will help guide our journey to providing more and more farmers with access to productive, sustainable innovations and build out our product offerings.”

As COO, Safarian will lead product development, regulatory, commercial, and manufacturing at Pivot Bio. Having dedicated her career to agriculture and served in many leadership roles, she had a strong track record at Bayer and Monsanto for building market leadership and commercial transformation. Safarian has been a director on Pivot Bio’s Board of Directors for nearly a year and will remain a member of the company’s board as COO.

Walls joins Pivot Bio from ADM Investor Services, where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Previously, Walls held various CIO and COO roles at ADM and the Iowa Grain Company. At Pivot Bio, Walls will lead the company’s data and information strategy to meet the needs of the company as it continues to rapidly grow.

Walls and Safarian join Pivot Bio at a time of explosive growth for the company. It raised $430 million in Series D funding and launched its second-generation nitrogen product for corn, Pivot Bio PROVEN^® 40, to increase farmer productivity and deliver improved sustainability. The company tripled its revenue in 2021, providing farmers with a breakthrough product that was used on more than one million acres of farmland in 2021.