WESTFIELD, Ind. – Bar Veinstein, named CEO of Taranis in January, has  years of experience, which is what led the precision scouting and agricultural intelligence firm to hire him, according to the company’s president.

Taranis was co-founded in Israel in 2015 by Ofir Schlam. The company was looking for someone who would continue the growth it has seen since it was founded, he said. “He brings experience and vision to our team and is very complementary to us,” Schlam explained. “I wanted someone who would inspire the whole team.”

Veinstein came to Taranis with more than 20 years of experience with two technology companies – Ex Libris and NICE Systems. Ex Libris is a software as a service, or SaaS, company. NICE Systems provides cloud and on-premises software solutions.

This is his first job in the agricultural technology sector. “My previous role was in education technology,” Veinstein said. When looking for new opportunities, “I always look for a new industry, a new space. I was looking for something exciting.”

Israel has become a hub for agricultural technology, he stated, which made it easier for him to explain his new job to his young daughters. “That, combined with Taranis’ great technology cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and drones, made me think what else can you look for from an interest perspective. I thought that was an excellent space to go into. AI is going to be a disruptor in the way we operate in this space.”

Taranis monitors more than 20 million acres of land worldwide in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine and Australia. It has more than 80 employees and more than 19,000 customers.

Late last year, Taranis moved its headquarters to Westfield. “We want to be close to our customers,” Veinstein noted. “Staying close and being close to our customers is the most important thing. We can work on technical innovation in Israel but when it comes to helping customers, we just have to be there. We really need to always be about the customer experience. We want to strengthen that relationship.”

Taranis considers its customers to be agricultural advisers, agronomists and other retailers who work with growers, Veinstein said. “We’re communicating more with retailers and not specifically with growers. Our technology allows (retailers) the opportunity to be a more trusted advisor for their growers.”

For farmers, the technology gives them important information, without overloading them with data, he said. “Our technology can find a problem in a field, analyze it for growers and tell them what they need to do, whether they need to replant or deal with disease or pesticides. It’s not just about identifying what are some of the most stressful problems. It’s also about telling them what we think, what problems may be the most critical to address.”

Farmers are more willing to embrace drone technology than they might have been a few years ago, Veinstein pointed out. “Our business has tripled in the last year. There’s more acceptance. That we provide a full service is a differentiation for us. Growers don’t want to deal with how to get imagery. They’re not in the business of flying drones.”