Banks will officially join the board on Nov. 15. He becomes one of nine independent directors on what is now an 11-member board and will serve on its Governance and Nominating Committee and Strategy and Acquisitions Committee.

“Our board’s nominating committee recommended Dean because of his unique background in innovation and technology, as well as his experience in developing and investing in start-up companies,” said Chairman of the Board of Directors for Tyson Foods John Tyson. “We believe his experience will support our efforts to better understand and capitalize on the role of technology in the improvement and growth of our company.”

Since 2016, Banks has been the project lead for X. The project is a self-described “moonshot factory” that looks at technology and works on radical solutions for future problems.

Along with responsibilities at X, Dean serves on the board of Vergent Bioscience, which develops molecular imaging probes for life science research and development.

Banks was previously managing partner of SEED Ventures, a group investing in and developing early stage healthcare technologies. He also has served as a consultant to Cleveland Clinic Innovations; CEO of Occelerator; senior vice president of business development and strategic marketing at OrthoHelix (acquired by Tornier Inc.); was co-founder and CEO of Connective Orthopaedics; and was a vice president at Highland Capital Partners.

A former platoon sergeant and squad leader in the US Marine Corps, Banks has a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Public Relations from Miami Univ. and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

In addition to Banks and chairman John Tyson, the other members of the Tyson Foods board of directors are Gaurdie E. Banister Jr.; Mike Beebe; Mikel A. Durham; Tyson Foods president and CEO Tom Hayes; Kevin M. McNamara; Cheryl S. Miller; Jeffrey K. Schomburger; Robert Thurber and Barbara A. Tyson.