Ag tech firm Taranis names new CEO
Westfield-based agricultural technology company Taranis Inc. has named Opher Flohr chief executive officer, succeeding former CEO Bar Veinstein who has accepted a leadership role with another company.
Flohr joined Taranis in 2019 and served as chief financial and operating officer. Prior to joining the ag-tech company, Flohr held leadership positions at several global companies.
Taranis is a crop intelligence platform that uses artificial intelligence to analyze satellite imagery and drone photos of agricultural fields. The platform helps farmers to spot and address early signs of disease, pests and nutrient deficiencies.
“Taranis is revolutionizing the way that decisions are made on the farm and improving the outcome for retailers and growers alike. Data-driven insights from Taranis deliver a smarter, more connected value chain for agribusiness,” said Jim Blome, Taranis Board Member and former President and CEO of Bayer CropScience. “I’d like to congratulate Opher on his new role and thank Bar for setting a strong foundation for future success.”
The company, which was founded in Israel in 2015, moved its headquarters to Westfield in 2020. Taranis says Veinstein helped it achieve 260% growth over the past two and a half years.
“I’d like to thank Bar for substantially accelerating the company’s growth and solidifying its strategy to make Taranis the leading provider of crop intelligence solutions,” said Zvika Orron, Taranis’ Chairman of the Board. “The ag industry is ripe with opportunities to turn innovation into customer value and business success.”
In September, Taranis announced it had secured another $40 million in investment to help fund its ongoing growth. The investment was a Series D round for Taranis—its fourth major round of funding—bringing its total funding to $100 million since the company’s 2015 founding.
“Opher is the best person to lead Taranis through its next chapter, bringing a deep understanding of the market, a clear vision of where Taranis is heading, and the ability to execute on this vision,” said Orron.
Veinstein is joining Clarivate Plc, a British-American publicly traded (NYSE: CLVT) analytics company that operates a collection of subscription-based services. He will serve as president of its academia and government market segments.
