SVP, Strategy and Business Development

About the role

As the SVP, Strategy and Business Development, you will play a critical enterprise leadership role in shaping Inari’s long-term growth agenda and building the strategic partnerships needed to advance the company’s mission.

Reporting to the CEO and as a member of the Inari Leadership Team, you will translate market insights, scientific capabilities, competitive dynamics, and customer needs into a clear, actionable strategy that aligns internal priorities with external opportunities.

• Identify long-term growth opportunities across core business areas, adjacent markets, new technologies, and emerging commercial models.
• Translate market insights, competitive dynamics, scientific capabilities, and customer needs into actionable strategic priorities.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year strategic roadmap that aligns internal capabilities, external partnerships, investment priorities, and commercial opportunities while integrating Inari sustainability goals.
• Help shape go-to-market strategies for novel technologies, products, or platforms.

Business Development & Strategic Partnerships

• Identify and assess potential partners, including, but not limited to, large agriculture companies, food companies, technology providers, startups, research institutions, and commercial channel partners.
• Drive, in partnership with Head of External Innovation, the strategy for sourcing, evaluation, prioritization, and execution of strategic collaborations, licensing arrangements, joint development agreements (in partnership with Legal), and commercial partnerships.
• Structure partnership opportunities that create mutual value and accelerate technology development, product adoption, revenue growth, or market access.
• Establish and manage a disciplined framework for evaluating, launching, and governing strategic collaborations, partnerships, and JVs.
• Monitor and drive the performance of active collaborations and ensure alignment with strategic, financial, technical, and commercial objectives.
• Lead the identification and evaluation of partnership opportunities by guiding cross-functional teams in assessing strategic fit, commercial potential, revenue opportunity, margin profile, market access, competitive differentiation, and execution risk.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred, such as MBA, PhD, JD, or master’s degree in business, agriculture, life sciences, biotechnology, engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategy, business development, corporate development, licensing, strategic partnerships, innovation, commercial strategy, or related leadership roles.
• Demonstrated experience leading and delivering strategic partnerships, collaborations, licensing transactions, joint development agreements, M&A, or other complex business development initiatives.
• Strong understanding and experience in agriculture, biotechnology, seed, crop protection, and biologicals.
• Proven ability to evaluate technical, commercial, financial, and strategic dimensions of business opportunities.
• Experience working directly with senior executives, Boards, external partners, investors, and strategic customers.
• Strong financial acumen, including business case development, deal modeling, ROI assessment, and valuation concepts.
• Robust legal, IP and licensing acumen to support effective functional engagement and deployment of related negotiation strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders without relying solely on direct authority.
• Excellent executive communication, negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing strategy/business development team as the function grows.
• Ability to travel as needed for the role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in agriculture technology, seed, crop protection, gene editing, and biologicals.
• Prior experience in a venture-backed, growth-stage, or innovation-oriented company.
• Experience partnering with large strategic players, research institutions, startups, or global commercial organizations.
• Familiarity with intellectual property, licensing models, technology transfer, research collaborations, and commercialization pathways.
• Ability to integrate a data and AI strategy into the overall company strategy.
• Track record of building new business models, market opportunities, or strategic partnership ecosystems from early concept through execution.
• Global business experience and ability to operate across cultures, markets, and organizational models.