LifeSci Search makes strategic BOD placement in the world of AI Drug Development

Known as “the crop health company,” Enko Chem designs safe and sustainable solutions for farmers’ biggest crop threats today, from pest resistance to new diseases. Enko Chem are applying the latest drug discovery and development approaches from the pharma industry to agricultural challenges. The next phase was to build and implement an Artificial Intelligence platform. Led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Enko Chem successfully raised $45 million in Series B funding to launch from stealth mode. LifeSci Search was introduced to Enko Chem to help find a true leader in the world of AI Drug Development with strong relationships across the industry and who would impress AI engineers.

The Approach

Our team primarily focused on the biotech and pharma industry seeking potential candidates with AI drug development including some exploration in academic and research organizations. There was some initial reluctancy from candidates to explore an opportunity in agricultural technology. However, LifeSci Search was able to overcome this by explaining the company’s approach by applying AI Drug Development to agricultural applications and utilizing our existing network and being knowledgeable of their team. This resulted in strong interest from candidates allowing LifeSci to present 10 candidates out of 35 sourced to Enko Chem.

The Outcome

We successfully identified and placed Shahram Ebadollahi on to the BOD. He was the ideal profile with a strong reputation in the industry with a deep background in artificial intelligence and leading drug development. He was the former Chief Data and AI Officer at Novartis where he established the foundational technologies and forming strategic partnerships to enable the application of data science and machine learning approaches to business problems. He oversaw the data science community across the company and built-up talent and expertise within the areas of data management, data science, and machine learning.