In a brand-new role created for the executive, agtech company Indigo Ag hired John Mulliken as its new chief integrated product officer (CIPO). Mulliken was formerly the chief technology officer at online furniture retailer Wayfair.
As its first CIPO, Mulliken will oversee Indigo’s regenerative and microbial product teams as part of Indigo Ag's focused mission on regenerative farming.
The Charlestown-based company wants to empower farmers to turn greater profit margins, all while implementing sustainable practices. Indigo Ag uses microbiology research to help farmers replace chemicals and fertilizers and increase crop yield, but its most ambitious project is Indigo Carbon, a program to incentivize farmers to implement regenerative practices that uptake carbon.
"My role is to create products through these [regenerative farming] practices," said Mulliken. "An example would be giving farmers the best advice on growing cover crops —offering them a set of advice through software tools they can apply to their farming practices."
In his decade-long stint as Wayfair's CTO, Mulliken helped with developing a user-friendly e-commerce catalog and deep integration with suppliers. In his new role, Mulliken is excited to build teams and solve agricultural challenges using technology.
"I have a lot of experience helping teams deliver a scrappy outcome of a product," he said. "I'm excited to work on [Indigo Ag's] farmer recommendations product. Earlier this year, we committed 2.2 million bushels of rice to Anheuser-Busch to make beer"
Commenting on the diverse nature of both businesses, Mulliken said, "I never used the word 'bushel' at Wayfair."
Mulliken isn't the only executive Indigo Ag brought on. The company also hired Persis Elavia, former general manager at Uber, as marketplace general manager and Amit Menipaz, a former eBay executive, was hired as the head of global transport.
