Dean Banks

Dean Banks is a CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering and Chief Executive Officer of Indigo Ag. Dean has been an Indigo Ag Board Member since July 2022.

Dean previously served as President and CEO at Tyson Foods, where he was responsible for charting the long-term vision for the company, including steering integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and the development of alternative proteins throughout its operations. During his four-year tenure with the company, he also served on the Board and executive leadership team. He joined Tyson from the high-tech incubator at Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google [X], where he served on the leadership team and led moonshot projects across multiple industries, including sustainable food (as co-founder of Tidal) and robotics (as co-founder of Intrinsic).

Prior to Google X/Alphabet, Dean was managing partner of SEED Ventures, a group investing in and developing early-stage healthcare technologies, where he co-founded Vergent Bioscience. He has also served as a consultant to Cleveland Clinic Innovations, SVP of Business Development and Strategic Marketing at OrthoHelix (acquired by Tornier/Wright Medical), co‐founder and CEO of Connective Orthopedics, and Vice President at Highland Capital Partners.

Dean is a former platoon sergeant and squad leader in the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a B.A. in Marketing and Public Relations from Miami University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.