06 March 2025, Göteborg: OlsAro, a leading Swedish agritech company that fast-tracks climate resilient cereals with its unique seed genetics platform has announced the appointment of An Michiels as Cochair of the board. With an extensive background in the seed industry and years of leadership experience at Bayer, Limagrain, and Syngenta, Michiels brings invaluable expertise in seed innovation and global market expansion. She will co-chair alongside Marika King, Head of PINC, as OlsAro continues to expand its climate resilient traits and seeds across multiple geographies.
Michiels joins at a pivotal moment for OlsAro, as the company accelerates its commercialization efforts. Having successfully demonstrated both its speed to market and efficacy of its climate resilience wheat, OlsAro is preparing to launch its first product, a salt-tolerant wheat, by 2026/27. This breakthrough variety has already shown up to a 50% yield increase in Bangladesh saline soil field trials.
Elén Faxö, CEO of OlsAro, said: “We are excited to welcome An Michiels as co-chair. Her deep industry knowledge and experience will be instrumental as we gear up our R&D efforts, advance our field trials and expand into new markets.
“By having co-chairs, OlsAro benefits from the combined expertise and perspectives of both An and Marika, allowing for diverse decision making as we continue to address the most pressing climate challenges for cereals.”
OlsAro’s platform is designed to seamlessly integrate into the existing processes of seed companies, cutting seed development and path-tomarket time compared to traditional methods. It also lowers regulatory barriers compared to sole gene editing based solutions.
The company is currently partnering for extensive field trials of its commercial salt-tolerant wheat in six markets including India, Morocco and Egypt. It is also conducting field screenings for its heat tolerantwheat, highlighting its commitment to accelerate seed genetics for global markets, tackling the challenges of climate change and ensuring food security.
“Cereal grains account for 50% of the world’s diet, yet seed innovation for climate resilience remains significantly underdeveloped. OlsAro is changing that by harnessing cutting-edge breeding technologies to tackle critical climate changes,” says An Michiels. “I am excited to give my commitment to Olsaro on its mission to drive sustainable solutions for a changing planet and strengthen global food security.”
OlsAro’s versatile seed genetics platform accelerates trait discovery and variety development in cereals, addressing urgent challenges such as soil salinity, heat, drought and nitrogen resilience. The company is targeting strategic partnerships to develop traits in other cereals including maize, rice and barley. Its continued expansion underscores its mission to deliver solutions that enhance productivity, support local farmers and strengthen food security in climate-affected regions.
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