Inari Appoints Lisa Nunez Safarian Chief Executive Officer

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Oct 29, 2025, 07:00 ET

Safarian also joins Flagship Pioneering, Founding Company of Inari, as CEO-Partner

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 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."

About Inari
Inari, the SEEDesign™ company, develops seeds that address the world's needs, pushing the boundaries of what is possible for a more sustainable, nature-positive food system. Through a combination of AI-enabled predictive design and a pioneered multiplex gene editing toolbox, the company is unlocking the full potential of seed to bring step-change soybean, corn and wheat products to market. Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2016, Inari is based in Cambridge, Mass., with additional sites in West Lafayette, Ind., and Ghent, Belgium. Inari is a growing team of more than 300 employees working to solve the critical issues of food security and sustainability. To learn more, visit Inari.com.

About Flagship Pioneering
Flagship Pioneering invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health, sustainability and beyond. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, operating with $14 billion of assets under its direction as of its latest capital raise, announced in July 2024. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises more than 40 companies, including Foghorn Therapeutics, Generate Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Lila Sciences, Moderna, Sana Biotechnology, Tessera Therapeutics and Valo Health.