Biophilica names ex-Adidas sustainability director to board

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
March 20, 2024

British materials innovation start-up Biophilica has appointed Dharan Kiru to its board while also adding a Head of Commercial and Head of Business to its London-based team.

He will advise the business as it continues to scale Treekind, its patented plastic-free, home-compostable leather alternative made from leaves.

And he comes with a strong background. The ex-Director of Sustainable Technology Innovation at Adidas, his board guidance “will support in driving forward Biophilica’s ambition in sustainable innovation, as well as advise on the growth of the business and the development of the Biophilica brand”. 

With over nine years’ service at Adidas within material and tech engineering, “Dharan brings a wealth of knowledge to Biophilica at a critical point in their scaling journey”, it added. 

With a deep understanding of material engineering and developing new sustainable technology, he’s “well versed in driving long-term sustainable strategy within large-scale businesses, having played a key role in innovations including Adidas Boost, Made To Be Remade and leather alternative Mylo, which provided immense learnings for the future of material innovations”. 

As well as his new strategic advisory position on Biophilica’s board, he’s also an innovation advisor for Fashion for Good, the global platform that selected Biophilica to join its sustainable accelerator programme in 2021. 

In addition the board announcement, Elvira Pilatti is joining as Head of Commercial, bringing over 15 years' experience in premium luxury retail including roles at Net-A-Porter, John Lewis, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. 

“With Elvira’s strong knowledge of the industry, and solid commercial background, she will be a driving force for sales growth and brand visibility for Biophilica, leading the development, implementation and performance of the commercial strategy”, Biophilica said. 

Also, Jessica Kruger is joining as Head of Business, with 10 years’ experience in building and scaling two mission-driven brands, including one B Corp. She bring “sophisticated next-generation materials knowledge, with a deep understanding of how to translate new innovations into products with consumer and commercial appeal”.

As Head of Business, she’ll focus on streamlining operations and implementing processes to scale the company more efficiently.