AgBiome upgrades ag, biotech expertise as 2 join board

Veteran corporate leaders Krysta Harden and Alison Lawton recently joined the board of directors of AgBiome.

The company, based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, develops biological and trait products for crop protection from naturally occurring microbes. Agbiome has a fungicide product, Howler, that’s registered with the Organic Materials Review Institute. A second product, Theia, is under development.

Harden is currently president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, according to a news release from AgBiome. Prior to joining the dairy council, Harden was the vice president of external affairs and chief sustainability officer at Corteva. Harden has served as the deputy secretary of agriculture and was the chief of staff for the Secretary of Agriculture under Tom Vilsack in the Obama administration.

Lawton joins the AgBiome board with extensive experience leading and operating biotech and pharmaceutical companies, according to the news release. Most recently, Lawton was CEO of the microbiome company Kaleido Biosciences, leading the company through a successful IPO. Prior to Kaleido, Lawton was COO for Aura Biosciences, X4 Pharmaceuticals and OvaScience. Lawton spent two decades of her career at Genzyme, serving in senior management roles during its growth from a small US company to a global commercial organization with over 10,000 employees. Lawton sits on the Boards of several biotech companies, including: ProQR Therapeutics, Magenta Therapeutics, X4 Pharmaceuticals, Aeglea BioTherapeutics and SwanBio.

“Krysta and Alison bring significant industry knowledge and company board expertise to AgBiome,” Eric Ward, co-cEO and co-founder of AgBiome, said in the news release. “We’re excited for them to join us to help guide our growth.”

Marijn Dekkers, chairman of AgBiome’s board, said the two were a welcome addition.

“Krysta brings a wealth of experience in governmental and legislative aspects of agriculture and is a strong proponent of the development of more sustainable farming approaches,” he said in the news release. “Alison has a wonderful track record in the Biotech industry, both as an operating executive and as a board member, having successfully taken several companies through the different stages of growth and scale.”

Above, AgBiome’s headquarters in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Photos: AgBiome