Pierre Broun
Translational Faculty
“Real impact comes from turning science into working farms - my aim is to make profitable, water-efficient agriculture a reality for Saudi Arabia and for arid regions everywhere.”
Biography
Pierre Broun is a plant scientist and agricultural-innovation leader and entrepreneur whose career spans academia and global industry. His roles included senior R&D leadership at Nestlé and Olam and, most recently, Director of Climate-resilient Agriculture at NEOM. He also co-founded two ventures at the interface of agriculture and food. As director of Nestlé’s Plant Science Research Unit and VP Plant Science at Olam/ofi, he led industry-leading R&D programs on coffee and cocoa spanning over 250 trial sites and impacting thousands of farmers globally. His team contributed to the release of innovative food products and the strengthening of supply chains while reducing reliance on chemical inputs. At NEOM he developed and executed the agriculture strategy for the region, delivering more than 10 hectares of advanced greenhouses and bringing premium produce to major retailers across the Kingdom. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, has authored more than 30 scientific publications and 20 patents and has served on several advisory and steering bodies in Europe.
Research Interests
Prof. Pierre Broun’s program at KAUST aims to develop profitable, water-efficient, and climate-resilient agricultural production systems for Saudi Arabia and other arid regions. It is organized around two pillars: water- and energy-efficient controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) and high-value perennial fruit crops – with emphasis on specialty coffee. The work integrates advanced genetics, tree crop propagation, post-harvest science, and greenhouse design. It is anchored by a planned pilot-scale CEA translational facility that will serve as a national testbed to validate and commercialize water-saving greenhouse technologies. The program is explicitly translational; it draws on two decades of building and commercializing agricultural innovation with international organizations and aims to position KAUST as a reference center for agricultural innovation in arid environments in support of Vision 2030.Education Profile
• Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Biometry, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, [1994]
• Ingénieur (Agronomy), AgroParisTech, Paris, France, [1987]
• Executive Program “Managing the Technology Enterprise,” IMD Lausanne, Switzerland, [2010]
• Ingénieur (Agronomy), AgroParisTech, Paris, France, [1987]
• Executive Program “Managing the Technology Enterprise,” IMD Lausanne, Switzerland, [2010]