Biotalys appoints Kamal El Mernissi as Chief Business Development Officer

Company Expands Senior Leadership Team with Experienced Agriculture Executive to Drive Partnerships

Ghent, BELGIUM, Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Press Release

Biotalys (Euronext Brussels: BTLS), an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for sustainable crop protection, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kamal El Mernissi as Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO).

“I’m delighted to welcome Kamal to the Executive Committee of Biotalys,” said Simon Moroney, Chairman of Biotalys. “With more than 15 years of experience in agriculture and a broad variety of leadership positions in marketing and sales, he is an excellent addition to the leadership team. The board looks forward to working with Kamal as he builds the company’s roster of partnerships, with a focus on maximizing long-term value for Biotalys and its stakeholders.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Kamal as part of my team at Marrone Bio Innovations and am delighted to welcome him to the executive leadership at Biotalys,” said Kevin Helash, CEO of Biotalys. “Kamal and I have collaborated successfully in the past, and I’m thrilled that he has agreed to join Biotalys. As partnerships become increasingly important for us to bring our growing pipeline of novel and effective biocontrols to market, Kamal’s expertise in fostering strong business relationships will be invaluable in the next phase of Biotalys’ growth.”

Most recently serving as the Vice President, Sales and Marketing North America at biocontrol solutions leader Marrone Bio Innovations (currently Pro Farm Group), Kamal El Mernissi has been involved in the latest technological developments and trends in the industry and partnered with key players in the field. Reporting to Biotalys’ CEO Kevin Helash, Mr. El Mernissi will lead the company’s efforts to secure partnerships with major agricultural players that can benefit from the AGROBODY Foundry™ technology platform to develop biofungicides and bio-insecticides with new modes of action.

Kamal El Mernissi, Chief Business Development Officer, said: “Biotalys is uniquely positioned to bring impactful innovation to farmers seeking performance and sustainability, and I am thrilled to start this new journey with such an incredible group of talented and mission-driven colleagues and investors. During my initial interactions, I was impressed by the team and sensed their excitement and motivation to develop protein-based biocontrols to positively impact the wider Ag community.”

Prior to his role at Marrone, Mr. El Mernissi held various commercial leadership roles at Syngenta, where he was Portfolio Manager North America and LATAM, Commercial Unit head and Director of Sales for Morocco, and Asset Manager EMEA responsible for the launch a major active ingredient. Prior to that, he took up various roles in sales and marketing in leading companies such as DELL and SIKA. He obtained his Engineering Diploma in Agriculture from the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute (Morocco) and his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley (United States).

The appointment of Kamal El Mernissi is effective as of 17 October 2024. Together with various colleagues from the Biotalys management, he will represent the company at the upcoming Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting, taking place in Basel from 21 to 23 October.

About Biotalys

Biotalys is an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for the protection of crops and aiming to provide alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides for a more sustainable and safer food supply. Based on its novel AGROBODY™ technology platform, Biotalys is developing a strong and diverse pipeline of effective product candidates with a favorable safety profile that aim to address key crop pests and diseases across the whole value chain, from soil to plate. Biotalys was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and has been listed on Euronext Brussels since July 2021. The company is based in the biotech cluster in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.biotalys.com.

For further information, please contact:

Toon Musschoot, Head of IR & Communication
T: +32 (0)9 274 54 00
E: IR@biotalys.com

Important notices

Biotalys, its business, prospects and financial position remain exposed and subject to risks and uncertainties. A description of and reference to these risks and uncertainties can be found in the annual report on the consolidated annual accounts published on the company’s website.

This announcement contains statements which are "forward-looking statements" or could be considered as such. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words ‘aim’, 'believe', 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'expect', 'intend', 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'continue', 'ongoing', 'possible', 'predict', 'plans', 'target', 'seek', 'would' or 'should', and contain statements made by the company regarding the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are warned that none of these forward-looking statements offers any guarantee of future performance. Biotalys’ actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. Biotalys makes no undertaking whatsoever to publish updates or adjustments to these forward-looking statements, unless required to do so by law.