Shiru appoints industry veterans Dean Banks, Aaron Kimball, and Blaine Templeman to advisory board

New advisors bring leadership expertise from food, tech, and biopharma industries to support Shiru’s mission to create the next generation of sustainable ingredients

ALAMEDA, Calif., June 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food ingredient company Shiru has appointed three new members to its advisory board: Dean Banks, former president and CEO of Tyson Foods, Aaron Kimball, former CTO of Zymergen, and Blaine Templeman, former Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legal Officer of Aduro Biotech. Together, they 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. All three bring years of combined C-suite level industry experience to Shiru.In addition to his leadership with Tyson Foods, Dean Banks is a co-founder for Vergent Bioscience, Advisor for X, the Moonshot Factory, and is on the Board of Directors at Omeat. Banks brings impressive food industry expertise and an extensive background in venture capital, high-tech, and health to the Shiru advisory board.

“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,” said Banks. “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.”

Aaron Kimball brings years of technology and software expertise to the Shiru advisory board, previously serving as Chief Technology Officer at Zymergen. In addition, Kimball co-founded WibiData in 2010, was the first employee at Cloudera, and holds several patents on predictive modeling for microbial engineering.

“Shiru aims to be the discovery engine for the world's leading food manufacturers,” said Kimball. “With their focus on applying validated science and technology from fields like protein science and machine learning to the specific needs of the food industry, I see the discovery platform the Shiru team is developing as a unique and promising path to the challenge of creating sustainable, plentiful food ingredients for all.”

Blaine Templeman brings to Shiru over 20 years of experience counseling biotechnology companies in the development and commercialization of their products and the protection of their intellectual property portfolios, including in his former role as a corporate and intellectual property partner at Arnold & Porter, LLP. Templeman most recently served as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legal Officer at Aduro Biotech.

“The biopharma industry has robust models for scaling protein operations. Shiru is seizing on these learnings as it pioneers new approaches in the food industry,” said Templeman. “Like so many others in tech and bio, I have come to understand that changing our food system is one of the most important things we can do to create a more sustainable world. That's why I'm so eager and passionate to bring my experience to Shiru.”

Shiru’s new advisory board members join Shiru’s existing scientific advisor Dr. Ranjani Varadan and will provide guidance and support to Shiru as the company scales partnerships within the food industry to help create the next generation of sustainable ingredients. Shiru’s Flourish™ platform combines machine learning, precision fermentation, and high-throughput testing to identify, evaluate, and produce naturally-occurring proteins that can serve as functional ingredients to replace unsustainable, animal-based products in food. Through this discovery platform and partnerships with leading food organizations, Shiru can help provide alternative, sustainable ingredients that achieve the same performance as animal-based products, without sacrificing nutrition or taste.

“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.”

*About Shiru*

Shiru is an ingredient company for the plant-based food industry that’s on a mission to improve the sustainability of our food system. Using a combination of machine learning, bioinformatics, and precision fermentation, Shiru is uncovering new uses for naturally-occurring proteins as functional ingredients that can replace animal-based products used in food today. Founded in 2019, Shiru is developing a growing range of functional ingredients, initially focused on scaling up ingredients for gelation, egg replacement, and structured fats functions. Powered by a team of technology experts and food industry veterans, Shiru is working to reduce the world’s reliance on animals for food by providing delicious, cost-effective, healthy, and sustainable alternatives. Shiru is based in Emeryville, California, and is backed by leading venture capital firms such as S2G Ventures, Lux Capital, and CPT Capital. For more information, visit www.shiru.com.

*Shiru Media Contact*

Taylor Patteson
shiru@bulleitgroup.com