Sara Olson

Sara Olson is a Director of Venture Investments Agriculture at Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment unit of Bayer. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University and has always been fascinated by the process of turning scientific discoveries into world-changing technologies. She has invested across crop protection, biologicals, and digital agriculture technologies on behalf of Leaps and previously as a member of FMC Ventures. Prior to becoming an investor, she led the Agrifood and Consumer Health innovation program at Lux Research, helping corporations develop cellulosic ethanol feedstock crops, build strategies on sweeteners for the future of food, and identify new tools to harness the power of biology in crop protection. As an investor, her goal is to eradicate hunger in her lifetime. She believes the future of agriculture must emphasize not just calorie production, but nutrition and health – of people and environments.