NewLeaf Symbiotics announces the hiring of three experienced agriculture leaders to its product development and manufacturing team: Jan Diemont, fermentation scientist, John Whitteck, PhD, formulation scientist, and Linda Pipkins, Logistics Team lead.
“We’re expanding our team so we can deliver solutions more quickly and efficiently for growers and consumers,” says Des Jimenez, Chief Product Officer at NewLeaf. “Jan, John and Linda will be instrumental in advancing our ability to bring unique M-trophs-based products to the market to improve plant yield, reduce pest and disease stress, and improve crop quality sustainably.”
Jan Diemont joins NewLeaf with a decade of research and development experience in agricultural and healthcare biotechnology. He previously worked as a fermentation engineer at Mendel Biological Solutions, where he was responsible for optimizing applications using bacteria, fungi and actinobacteria to improve yields. He also held research roles at Genetech, Codexis, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics and MedImmune. He earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from San Jose State University.
John Whitteck will serve NewLeaf as a formulation scientist to develop new products that will support farmers as they feed a growing world. He has eight years of experience in research and development at major agriculture companies, including Monsanto (now Bayer’s Crop Science division) and Dow Chemical (now Corteva Agriscience). In these roles, John was responsible for leading cross-functional project teams representing R&D, Commercial, Regulatory and Supply Chain departments. He earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Linda Pipkins brings nearly three decades of supply chain management experience to her role as NewLeaf’s Logistics Team lead. She previously provided sales operations and procurement consulting services. She also spent 25 years managing sales, marketing, logistics, inventory management, partner, and program management at retail and healthcare organizations, including Cap3 Consulting, Cooper & Company, Golden State International, Venture Stores and Timex Group. Linda earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Eastern Illinois University.
