Former Tyson Foods CEO Dean Banks has joined the advisory board of Shiru, a California ingredient company for the plant-based food industry.
As a member of that board, Banks will support Shiru in areas of strategy, technology, and leadership as the company continues to scale the discovery and production of novel, naturally-occurring ingredients for the plant-based food industry.
“Shiru’s platform for improving ingredients in many different food products is impressive to me, but I’m equally impressed with Shiru’s approach to partnering,” Banks said in a press release. “While it is valuable for some companies to make their own branded products, Shiru wants to provide ingredients to large, existing food players, shortening their timeline to reach real impact. My work with Shiru’s leadership is focused on finding the most effective and efficient pathways to commercial scale so we can see Shiru’s customers thriving quickly in a food ecosystem that’s changing before our eyes.”
In addition to his leadership with Tyson Foods, Banks is a co-founder for Vergent Bioscience, Advisor for X, the Moonshot Factory, and is on the board of directors at Omeat, a cultured meat company.
Banks initially joined Tyson Foods as a director in 2017 and was appointed as president of the company in 2019. He became Tyson’s CEO in October 2020, but that tenure was short-lived. Banks left the company in June 2021, and he was succeeded by the company’s current CEO, Donnie King.
Other new board members
Also joining the Shiru advisory board are Aaron Kimball, former chief technology officer of Zymergen; and Blaine Templeman, former chief administrative officer and chief legal officer of Aduro Biotech.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Dean, Aaron, and Blaine to our advisory board and look forward to working together in our mission to feed people more sustainably,” said Jasmin Hume, PhD., founder and CEO of Shiru. “Their expertise in the food and technology industries will provide great benefits to Shiru as we continue to scale the company while discovering and producing next-generation ingredients for leading food companies.”
