As FA Bio continues its mission to revolutionise sustainable agriculture and accelerate its R&D work to discover agricultural bioproducts, it has focused on ensuring it has the strongest team in place to lead us to success.
In our discovery of superior soil microbes and pioneering agricultural bioproducts to replace chemical inputs like pesticides and fertilisers, we utilise our team’s diverse skillsets, scientific experience, and leadership capabilities.
To support our ongoing research and development work we have appointed a Head of Research and Head of Scientific Operations to lead our teams of expert scientists in the discovery and development of microbial active ingredients for agricultural bioproducts.
Andrea González González, Head of Research, is a microbiologist with a wide experience in developing research programs aimed to characterise the interactions established by microbes with other organisms and their environment. By following the structure and processes of science, Andrea is establishing the foundation from which she can lead the innovation of our research activities and deliver on the company’s objectives.
Natalia Taketani, Head of Scientific Operations, has a deep understanding of the development and optimisation of technologies for sustainable soil management, providing a wealth of experience to lead the company’s scientific operations and optimise our processes and systems to inspire a culture of continuous improvement and quality.
Angela de Manzanos Guinot, CEO at FA Bio, comments: "At the heart of our innovation is leadership and we are very proud to promote these two dynamic leaders who embody our mission to revolutionise sustainable agriculture. Their dedication and expertise will continue to drive growth and ensure we deliver innovative solutions and a more resilient future for the agriculture industry."
Andrea González González – Head of Research
Andrea is an experienced microbiologist and systems biologist with nearly two decades of experience in the study of the ecology and evolution of pathogenic microorganisms and data analysis.
Having joined FA Bio as a Research Scientist in April 2023, Andrea has been responsible for the development and execution of bioassays, bioinformatic and data analysis pipelines to discover and identify superior microbes from agricultural soils.
Andrea will lead FA Bio’s research activities and innovation to discover microbial active ingredients from our microbial library, including multi-omics analysis, bioprospection, in vitro and in vivo screening and, mode of action studies. She will be responsible for designing and implementing our research and scientific strategy to obtain meaningful and robust conclusions and deliver on the company’s objectives.
As well as leading the research activities, Andrea will coach and mentor the team in data analysis to strengthen their analytical skills. By inspiring her team and nurturing their effective collaboration, she will ensure team growth and promote diversity and inclusion practices.
Natalia Taketani – Head of Scientific Operations
Natalia has a strong background in innovation and process optimisation with more than 20 years of experience developing technologies for sustainability in soil management.
Natalia joined FA Bio in September 2021 as a Microbiologist and progressed to become our Process and Quality Manager in 2022. She managed the optimisation process of our Microbial Discovery Platform, helping to understand the microbial diversity provided by our patented SporSenZ technology.
In her new role, Natalia will be responsible for leading the company’s scientific operations, designing processes and systems, evaluating capacity and risks and identifying opportunities for improvement. She will lead the scientific team in their execution of the SporSenZ life cycle, our microbial library services, isolation and storage of microbes, laboratory-scale fermentation and formulation processes and laboratory management.
Natalia will lead the implementation of processes and systems to inspire a culture of continuous improvement and quality within the scientific team, working to optimise processes to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. As well as this, she will support and mentor her direct reports in building up their skillset to guarantee good data collection and management practices, ensuring team growth and collaboration to promote diversity and inclusion practices.
Nurturing success
FA Bio is committed to nurturing both the development of our team and the company, and we believe that the growth of our team is the key to our company’s success.
By creating a culture of continuous learning, collaboration and support, and an environment where every team member can reach their full potential, we’re building a company where everyone can thrive.