Farm Tech Startup Iron Ox Appoints Impossible Foods and Tesla Veteran Rachel Konrad as First Independent Board Member
-- Konrad, who spent the past five years at Impossible Foods, joins the board of Iron Ox during a period of rapid manufacturing scale-up and retail expansion.
-- Iron Ox growing facilities use advanced robotics to precisely cultivate perfect, nutritious produce by giving each plant the specific attention it needs, and then getting it on a store shelf nearby within about a day of harvest.
-- The Series B-stage company, whose products are already a breakout seller in California, is also hiring plant scientists, engineers, greenhouse operators, and roboticists.
SAN CARLOS, Calif., June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Ox, a farming innovation company with deep expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence, has appointed former Impossible Foods and Tesla executive Rachel Konrad as its first independent board member. This appointment further demonstrates the food tech startup's growth trajectory as they scale up operations and expand their commercial footprint.
Iron Ox, which launched the world's first autonomous farm, has an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio to automate farming and produce that's fresher, cleaner, and locally grown. Thanks to the company's groundbreaking robotics, Iron Ox farms require 90% less water than traditional farms — generating 30 times more produce per acre of land.
Konrad joins Iron Ox after spending the past five years as Chief Communications Officer and a member of the senior leadership team at Impossible Foods, reporting directly to CEO Pat Brown. She previously held senior management roles at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Tesla, where she reported directly to Elon Musk as the company scaled up operations.
"We can't solve our planet's climate crisis without radical changes to the way we make food," said Konrad, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys cooking for her family and hiking with her rescue German Shepherd. "Iron Ox's intellectual property portfolio can usher in a new era of farming that produces food sustainably and ethically. But honestly, I was sold after my first whiff of Iron Ox basil."
"Rachel understands the unique power of disruptive startups to shift entire industries and force even the most entrenched incumbents to do the right thing for people and the planet," said Brandon Alexander, Iron Ox CEO and Co-Founder. "Her unique perspective will help Iron Ox refine and execute our ambitious strategy. As our first independent board member, we expect Rachel to help us set a new standard for inclusive governance in corporate America."
The Series B-stage company operates farms in Northern California and recently broke ground on a new 535,000 sq. ft. indoor farm in Lockhart, Texas. Today, California consumers can buy Iron Ox food throughout California at Whole Foods and at San Francisco Bay Area's upscale Biancchini's markets. Sales in Texas are expected to begin in late 2021.
The company is also hiring plant scientists, engineers, greenhouse operators and roboticists who are passionate about solving food insecurity, which is at the root of our environmental and public health crises.
For more information, and to view the job openings, visit the Iron Ox jobs page.
About Iron Ox:
Iron Ox is a farming innovation company with deep expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence, and a vision to solve global climate through food. Their approach redesigns every step of the farming process, achieving levels of precision that are impossible through traditional farming. Iron Ox produce is both local and sustainable by design, greatly reducing systemic food waste and minimizing the ecological impact of farming. For more information, visit www.ironox.com.
SOURCE: Iron Ox
