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Maria Khorsand named Chair of Arevo’s Board

A middle-aged woman with dark hair pulled back, wearing pearl earrings and a dark checkered top, is positioned on the right side of the image. She has a subtle smile and wears a necklace with a distinctive pendant. The background is a deep red with abstract white and orange lines radiating outward, resembling stylized plant or fiber structures.

Arevo AB announces that Maria Khorsand, CEO of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra), has been appointed Chair of its Board.

  • A heavyweight in Swedish science joins Arevo. Maria Khorsand, CEO of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra), becomes Chair of the Board.
  • With a commercial experience and background in technology, research and sustainability, Khorsand has a unique expertise and insight into strategic environmental research, science and sustainability challenges, enabling her to contribute to the transition towards a more sustainable society.
  • The draw: food security. Arevo’s arginine-phosphate technology takes on one of the few problems the world can’t afford to get wrong, feeding a growing population without wrecking soil and water.

UMEÅ, Sweden ‒ July 6, 2026 ‒ Maria Khorsand, with an engineering background, leads the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra).

Her track record is one of steering large, complex organisations through hard change. She has been CEO of SOS Alarm, the backbone of Sweden’s emergency response, and CEO of the technical research institute SP (now known as RISE Research Institutes of Sweden) where she ran the bridge between science and industry at national scale. Before that came senior roles at Ericsson, Dell Sweden, and OMX, plus board seats spanning research, transport, and sea rescue. Her commercial experience combines scientific rigour with the ability to turn research into practical business value. In recognition of her valuable contributions to Swedish business and technology, she was awarded the H.M. The King’s Medal in 2014.

She brings Arevo that same grounding in scientific rigour, sustainability, and strategic leadership where research meets the real world.

“With a background in technology, research and sustainability, I have spent much of my career working at the intersection of science, business and societal challenges. That is also why I chose to take on a board role at Arevo,” says Maria Khorsand.

She continues, “Arevo stands out because it addresses a fundamental question: how to feed a growing world without placing even greater pressure on the soil and water systems that sustain us. Rather than working against nature, the approach builds on plant biology itself. Food security is one of humanity’s most critical challenges. Without food, there is no future to plan for. That’s why I said yes.”

Niklas Åström, Chief Executive Officer, Arevo, said: “Maria doesn’t just bring a name, she brings a unique mix of business and technical background, network, hard-won trust, and a way of engaging that pulls the best out of everyone around her. That’s exactly what a company in our phase needs. The science is solid; now it’s about building the right commercial relationships to take it to the global fields at scale.”

Arevo is an Umeå-based agtech company whose technology is built on SLU research into arginine-phosphate. With CE-marking, 70+ patents, and field trials running across three continents in 12 countries, the company is in an intensive growth phase.

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About Arevo

Arevo is an agtech company redefining crop nutrition from the ground up. Rooted in science and built commercially for agriculture, forestry and horticulture, its mission is to reduce dependence on synthetic fertilisers and support more sustainable cultivation practices with zero nitrogen waste. Based on decades of research, Arevo’s patented organic nitrogen technology, Arginex — where arginine meets phosphorus — enhances a plant’s natural ability to absorb nutrients and water while supporting beneficial soil microbes, resulting in stronger, more resilient plants that better withstand environmental stresses. Backed by extensive field trials, CE-marking and 70+ patents.