Cambridge, Mass., USA
October 29, 2025
Inari, the SEEDesign™ company, and Flagship Pioneering, a scientific innovation engine for transformative platforms and products, today announced that Lisa Nunez Safarian has been appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective November 4. A member of Inari’s board since May 2025, Safarian will also continue as a board director. Safarian will replace the interim CEO, Ignacio Martinez, who is Inari’s co-founder and board chair in addition to a Flagship Pioneering General Partner. She will also join Flagship Pioneering, Inari’s founding company, as a CEO-Partner.
Safarian is an esteemed executive in the agriculture industry, having held several leadership positions, most notably during her more than 30 years at Monsanto and then Bayer. Among her many accomplishments, Safarian helped build Monsanto’s $12 billion seeds, traits, licensing and crop protection businesses before transitioning to President, Crop Science North America for Bayer as part of the company’s acquisition.
“Lisa is a visionary leader who will propel Inari into its next phase of growth,” said Martinez. “Her deep expertise is matched only by her steadfast commitment to helping farmers achieve better outcomes. I look forward to continuing to work closely with her at Inari and leveraging her expertise for the benefit of the broader Flagship Pioneering ecosystem.”
“When I joined the board, I was immediately impressed by Inari’s level of sophistication and how far they had advanced their product pipeline in such a short period of time,” said Safarian. “As I dove deeper into the business, I knew I wanted to play a more active role in leading the organization as we revolutionize agriculture.”
Inari is setting a new standard for increasing plant performance by creating seed designs that deliver high-impact, high-value broadacre crops. The first wave of products feature High Yield Designs for three of the world’s largest crops by acre: soybeans, corn and wheat. This work is made possible through its AI-enabled SEEDesign™ Platform – the industry’s most sophisticated performance accelerator, integrating breakthroughs in genomics, AI and gene editing for exceptional seed designs.
Safarian continued, “Inari is built on groundbreaking technology – from AI-enabled systems to a deep IP portfolio spanning traits to tools – all driving a major shift for the industry. Seeing the proven results of the High Yield Designs, I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m eager to hit the ground running with this world-class team.”
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