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Co-founder of Diamond Foundry
Kyle Gazay is a co-founder of Diamond Foundry, the US-based unicorn that makes lab-grown diamonds and which is also the world’s first diamond producer to be certified carbon neutral. He has worked at Diamond Foundry since its launch, and held several roles there, including being COO as well as president of productionCurrently, Gazay oversees all diamond production at the company. Gazay’s expertise is in engineering and production. He has a decade’s track record in working with any equipment to obtain a robust and repeatable baseline output.Like the other co-founders of Diamond Foundry, Gazay previously worked at Nanosolar, a $640m US-based solar power technology provider, which later folded due to pressure from cheaper competition in China. At Nanosolar, Gazay led the development of its production line, and oversaw the translation of the company’s research into development and baseline production output. Upon the closure of Nanosolar, Gazay joined former Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen and former Nanosolar engineer Jeremy Scholz in pivoting to work on lab-grown diamonds, and in establishing Diamond Foundry.
Kyle Gazay is a co-founder of Diamond Foundry, the US-based unicorn that makes lab-grown diamonds and which is also the world’s first diamond producer to be certified carbon neutral. He has worked at Diamond Foundry since its launch, and held several roles there, including being COO as well as president of productionCurrently, Gazay oversees all diamond production at the company. Gazay’s expertise is in engineering and production. He has a decade’s track record in working with any equipment to obtain a robust and repeatable baseline output.Like the other co-founders of Diamond Foundry, Gazay previously worked at Nanosolar, a $640m US-based solar power technology provider, which later folded due to pressure from cheaper competition in China. At Nanosolar, Gazay led the development of its production line, and oversaw the translation of the company’s research into development and baseline production output. Upon the closure of Nanosolar, Gazay joined former Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen and former Nanosolar engineer Jeremy Scholz in pivoting to work on lab-grown diamonds, and in establishing Diamond Foundry.
CEO and founder of Swan Daojia (formerly 58 Daojia)
Chen received a bachelor’s degree in material formation from Xiangtan University in 2004. While in college, he co-founded 0755.org.cn, one of the earliest online classifieds providers in China. He is also a co-founder of dunsh.org, a nonprofit search engine optimization website in China. After graduation, he served as senior project manager and chief editor at Xiamen Haowei Network Technology. From June–December 2007, Chen served as head of the product department at ganji.com, an online classified site, responsible for product management and customer experience. He then joined 58.com the same year, serving as senior VP of product management and website operation from December 2007 to August 2014.In November 2014, he founded 58 Daojia and has served as CEO since then. In August 2017, 58 Daojia announced a merger with 58 Su Yun and Gogovan, a logistics platform in Southeast Asia, and he became Chairman of the new company. The merger created Asia's largest city-to-city cargo delivery platform. In 2018, 58 Daojia was rebranded as Daojia Group. The group’s 58 Su Yun received $250m funding and was relaunched as Kuaigou Express.
Chen received a bachelor’s degree in material formation from Xiangtan University in 2004. While in college, he co-founded 0755.org.cn, one of the earliest online classifieds providers in China. He is also a co-founder of dunsh.org, a nonprofit search engine optimization website in China. After graduation, he served as senior project manager and chief editor at Xiamen Haowei Network Technology. From June–December 2007, Chen served as head of the product department at ganji.com, an online classified site, responsible for product management and customer experience. He then joined 58.com the same year, serving as senior VP of product management and website operation from December 2007 to August 2014.In November 2014, he founded 58 Daojia and has served as CEO since then. In August 2017, 58 Daojia announced a merger with 58 Su Yun and Gogovan, a logistics platform in Southeast Asia, and he became Chairman of the new company. The merger created Asia's largest city-to-city cargo delivery platform. In 2018, 58 Daojia was rebranded as Daojia Group. The group’s 58 Su Yun received $250m funding and was relaunched as Kuaigou Express.
CEO and co-founder of Scoobic Urban Mobility
Jose María Gómez Marquez started his business career as CEO at Roder Spain from 1986–1994, manufacturing materials used in Expo 1992 in Seville. From 1998–2005, Gómez worked in business development for Climocubierta indoor swimming pool materials company in Seville. Since 1998, Gómez has also been running F1/MotoGP equipment supply company AMG Services as CEO and founder.He completed a master’s in business management in 2006 at San Telmo International Institute in Seville and became the managing partner of Seville-based engineering design company Arquingenia.In 2015, he co-founded Spanish mobility startup Scoobic Urban Mobility and became the CEO of the country’s first three-wheeled EV last-mile delivery logistics provider. He is also CEO of Passion Motorbike Factory.Between 2011 and 2015, Gómez was a director at Morocco-based EURoma Network, a transnational EU organization contributing to the promotion of social inclusion, equal opportunities and the fight against discrimination of the Roma community.
Jose María Gómez Marquez started his business career as CEO at Roder Spain from 1986–1994, manufacturing materials used in Expo 1992 in Seville. From 1998–2005, Gómez worked in business development for Climocubierta indoor swimming pool materials company in Seville. Since 1998, Gómez has also been running F1/MotoGP equipment supply company AMG Services as CEO and founder.He completed a master’s in business management in 2006 at San Telmo International Institute in Seville and became the managing partner of Seville-based engineering design company Arquingenia.In 2015, he co-founded Spanish mobility startup Scoobic Urban Mobility and became the CEO of the country’s first three-wheeled EV last-mile delivery logistics provider. He is also CEO of Passion Motorbike Factory.Between 2011 and 2015, Gómez was a director at Morocco-based EURoma Network, a transnational EU organization contributing to the promotion of social inclusion, equal opportunities and the fight against discrimination of the Roma community.
Co-founder of Vence
Industrial business entrepreneur Jasper Holdsworth comes from a multi-generational family of cattle ranchers. In 2013, he became a director of his family’s 100-year-old Paringahau Farm Company in New Zealand. He also co-founded a virtual fencing startup for livestock management, Vence Corp, with US-based investment banker Frank Wooten in 2016.After graduating in forestry engineering in 1995, Holdsworth obtained a master’s in engineering management at his alma mater University of Canterbury. In 1998, he completed a master’s in applied finance at Macquarie University and started his banking career at WestLB and Deutsche Bank in Sydney.He completed an entrepreneurship development program run by MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2010. He has also undertaken an advanced management program run by Harvard Business School in 2012.Since 2004, he has been working as the CEO of New Zealand-based Pultron Composites Ltd, an industrial technology company focused on the development and manufacture of glass fiber-reinforced polymers.In 2019, he became the chairman and co-founder of Mateenbar Ltd to produce composite reinforcement for infrastructure building materials in New Zealand, North Carolina and Saudi Arabia.
Industrial business entrepreneur Jasper Holdsworth comes from a multi-generational family of cattle ranchers. In 2013, he became a director of his family’s 100-year-old Paringahau Farm Company in New Zealand. He also co-founded a virtual fencing startup for livestock management, Vence Corp, with US-based investment banker Frank Wooten in 2016.After graduating in forestry engineering in 1995, Holdsworth obtained a master’s in engineering management at his alma mater University of Canterbury. In 1998, he completed a master’s in applied finance at Macquarie University and started his banking career at WestLB and Deutsche Bank in Sydney.He completed an entrepreneurship development program run by MIT’s Sloan School of Management in 2010. He has also undertaken an advanced management program run by Harvard Business School in 2012.Since 2004, he has been working as the CEO of New Zealand-based Pultron Composites Ltd, an industrial technology company focused on the development and manufacture of glass fiber-reinforced polymers.In 2019, he became the chairman and co-founder of Mateenbar Ltd to produce composite reinforcement for infrastructure building materials in New Zealand, North Carolina and Saudi Arabia.
Commercial Director and co-founder of Digitanimal by SensoWave
An industrial engineer by training, Rubén Blanco Carrera comes from a family of ranchers in Cabañas, 18 km from Ávila, Spain. Currently he is Commercial Director and co-founder of IoT startup SensoWave, as well as its brand Digitanimal, aimed at remote farming. The business idea of Digitanimal partly came about because of Blanco’s personal experience with his own livestock. Using IoT remote tracking, detecting heat and parturition through the use of sensors , which are analyzed to reflect the behavior of the cattle and notify alert ranchers to the anomalies detected, he was able to save a mother and calf from a difficult delivery. In another incident, the technology helped alert him to the attack of wolves. Blanco holds both a first degree and a master's degree from Madrid's Alfonso X El Sabio University, the former in Technical Engineering in Industrial and Product Design and the latter in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Electronics. He then worked as an industrial engineer at both private company Retailgas and at Alfa Imaging, the startup co-founded by Carlos Callejero, with whom Blanco later co-founded SensoWave.
An industrial engineer by training, Rubén Blanco Carrera comes from a family of ranchers in Cabañas, 18 km from Ávila, Spain. Currently he is Commercial Director and co-founder of IoT startup SensoWave, as well as its brand Digitanimal, aimed at remote farming. The business idea of Digitanimal partly came about because of Blanco’s personal experience with his own livestock. Using IoT remote tracking, detecting heat and parturition through the use of sensors , which are analyzed to reflect the behavior of the cattle and notify alert ranchers to the anomalies detected, he was able to save a mother and calf from a difficult delivery. In another incident, the technology helped alert him to the attack of wolves. Blanco holds both a first degree and a master's degree from Madrid's Alfonso X El Sabio University, the former in Technical Engineering in Industrial and Product Design and the latter in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Electronics. He then worked as an industrial engineer at both private company Retailgas and at Alfa Imaging, the startup co-founded by Carlos Callejero, with whom Blanco later co-founded SensoWave.
Co-founder, CTO of Meatable
Daan Luining is the Dutch co-founder and CTO at cell-based meat startup Meatable, the first to claim a highly scalable culture technology, where he has worked since 2018. He is also a research director at the Cellular Agriculture Society in Leiden, a joint initiative for cell-based startups to share knowledge and to collaborate on projects to further scale the sector. Luining is also on the board of directors at the not-for-profit Cultured Meat Foundation that promotes sector innovation. His past posts have all been in the area of research, either as a researcher or a technician, and at the same time as completing studies. His last job was as a research strategist at New York-based New Harvest, a callular food rsearch funding body, where he worked for a year and met Dr. Kotter, the inventor of Meatable’s cellular technology. His research positions from 2009–15 were in the area of cell culture, mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing at the Maastricht University, University Medical Center Amsterdam, Utrecht University and Leiden University. Luining holds a master’s in biological sciences from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Daan Luining is the Dutch co-founder and CTO at cell-based meat startup Meatable, the first to claim a highly scalable culture technology, where he has worked since 2018. He is also a research director at the Cellular Agriculture Society in Leiden, a joint initiative for cell-based startups to share knowledge and to collaborate on projects to further scale the sector. Luining is also on the board of directors at the not-for-profit Cultured Meat Foundation that promotes sector innovation. His past posts have all been in the area of research, either as a researcher or a technician, and at the same time as completing studies. His last job was as a research strategist at New York-based New Harvest, a callular food rsearch funding body, where he worked for a year and met Dr. Kotter, the inventor of Meatable’s cellular technology. His research positions from 2009–15 were in the area of cell culture, mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing at the Maastricht University, University Medical Center Amsterdam, Utrecht University and Leiden University. Luining holds a master’s in biological sciences from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Co-founder of Acuilae
Pedro Diezma is an entrepreneur, author and professional speaker as well as a co-founder of AI software development company Acuilae. He previously founded Zerintia Technologies, which specializes in wearable technology, IoT and software and business processes and was its CEO until 2017. Diezma was also a senior project manager at Endesa and had developed projects for over 450 enterprises. As an author, his books include The Crown of Adam and The Rebirth of the Hero. According to Onalytica, Diezma is a top influencer on IoT and wearables. Diezma holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Madrid's Complutense University.
Pedro Diezma is an entrepreneur, author and professional speaker as well as a co-founder of AI software development company Acuilae. He previously founded Zerintia Technologies, which specializes in wearable technology, IoT and software and business processes and was its CEO until 2017. Diezma was also a senior project manager at Endesa and had developed projects for over 450 enterprises. As an author, his books include The Crown of Adam and The Rebirth of the Hero. According to Onalytica, Diezma is a top influencer on IoT and wearables. Diezma holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Madrid's Complutense University.
Co-founder, CEO of Mediktor
In 2009, Cristian Pascual became a business angel at Let's Bonus and Audience Media in Spain. He also became a business angel at Antai Venture Builder in 2012 and joined as board member in 2018. The co-founder and CEO of Mediktor is also the president of Barcelona Health Hub.The engineering graduate has an MBA from ESADE Business School. In 1996, he became a board member of Greens Power Products, the distributor for Honda power products in Spain. Pascual spent 18 years working at his family's business Europastry that also invested in Let's Bonus.
In 2009, Cristian Pascual became a business angel at Let's Bonus and Audience Media in Spain. He also became a business angel at Antai Venture Builder in 2012 and joined as board member in 2018. The co-founder and CEO of Mediktor is also the president of Barcelona Health Hub.The engineering graduate has an MBA from ESADE Business School. In 1996, he became a board member of Greens Power Products, the distributor for Honda power products in Spain. Pascual spent 18 years working at his family's business Europastry that also invested in Let's Bonus.
Co-founder, COO of Bodyswaps
Julien Denoël is the Belgian co-founder and COO of UK-based VR edtech for soft-skills training Bodyswaps, where he has worked since its founding in 2019. Prior to this, he was CEO and managing director at VR marketing agency Somewhere Else from 2016, before the agency pivoted to training and skills development and became the basis of Bodyswaps’ product offer. The agency had clients such as Adidas, for which Somewhere Else produced an interactive VR in-store promotional tool that was deployed in over 100 locations in China, Europe and the US and was nominated for a VR Award and an Immersive Perspective award. Denoël has also been a guest lecturer in VR and AR at INSEEC business school in London and Geneva since 2017. Prior to this, Denoël also co-founded another VR agency, Exheb, in 2014, where he worked for almost three years as VR Producer. He also worked in digital marketing for Quotient Technology, formerly Coupons.com for two years, and in business development and marketing at the WorldOne agency for the same amount of time. Denoël holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from HEC Management School in Liege, Belgium, the former in Marketing and Organization, the latter in Management.
Julien Denoël is the Belgian co-founder and COO of UK-based VR edtech for soft-skills training Bodyswaps, where he has worked since its founding in 2019. Prior to this, he was CEO and managing director at VR marketing agency Somewhere Else from 2016, before the agency pivoted to training and skills development and became the basis of Bodyswaps’ product offer. The agency had clients such as Adidas, for which Somewhere Else produced an interactive VR in-store promotional tool that was deployed in over 100 locations in China, Europe and the US and was nominated for a VR Award and an Immersive Perspective award. Denoël has also been a guest lecturer in VR and AR at INSEEC business school in London and Geneva since 2017. Prior to this, Denoël also co-founded another VR agency, Exheb, in 2014, where he worked for almost three years as VR Producer. He also worked in digital marketing for Quotient Technology, formerly Coupons.com for two years, and in business development and marketing at the WorldOne agency for the same amount of time. Denoël holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from HEC Management School in Liege, Belgium, the former in Marketing and Organization, the latter in Management.
Co-founder of Refurbed
Peter Windischhofer graduated with a management degree in 2012 at Vienna University of Economics and Business, including a stint at the University of Hong Kong. Student internships included various roles at McKinsey & Company, Perella Weinberg Partners, Realtreuhand and Raiffeisen Bank.In 2012, he joined CUDOS Group and worked for over a year as a business analyst in Vienna. In 2013, he met Refurbed co-founder Kilian Kaminski during a master’s program run by Hult International Business School. Both men worked in China while studying international business. Windischhofer spent six months running an online “TripAdvisor” review platform for Chinese language schools in Shanghai.In October 2014, Windischhofer joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant working on digital marketing and product development projects for marketplaces and e-commerce companies in Europe.In 2017, he left McKinsey to co-found Refurbed with Kaminski to build an Amazon-style marketplace for refurbished electronic goods. The idea was inspired by a personal experience when Windischhofer bought a used smartphone after seeing a classified ad. The phone stopped working after two weeks. The incident prompted him to create an e-commerce platform specializing in selling quality refurbished e-products with carbon-neutral credentials like planting a tree for every sales transaction.
Peter Windischhofer graduated with a management degree in 2012 at Vienna University of Economics and Business, including a stint at the University of Hong Kong. Student internships included various roles at McKinsey & Company, Perella Weinberg Partners, Realtreuhand and Raiffeisen Bank.In 2012, he joined CUDOS Group and worked for over a year as a business analyst in Vienna. In 2013, he met Refurbed co-founder Kilian Kaminski during a master’s program run by Hult International Business School. Both men worked in China while studying international business. Windischhofer spent six months running an online “TripAdvisor” review platform for Chinese language schools in Shanghai.In October 2014, Windischhofer joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant working on digital marketing and product development projects for marketplaces and e-commerce companies in Europe.In 2017, he left McKinsey to co-found Refurbed with Kaminski to build an Amazon-style marketplace for refurbished electronic goods. The idea was inspired by a personal experience when Windischhofer bought a used smartphone after seeing a classified ad. The phone stopped working after two weeks. The incident prompted him to create an e-commerce platform specializing in selling quality refurbished e-products with carbon-neutral credentials like planting a tree for every sales transaction.
CEO, founder of TherapyChat
Alessandro De Sario is CEO and founder of mental health startup TherapyChat, Spain’s number one online psychotherapy platform founded in 2016. He also works for TherapyChat’s investor, the Spanish VC and startup developer Next Chance Group, on other startups in their portfolio, such as the discount aggregator app Billionhands.Prior to starting TherapyChat, De Sario spent just over three years working in different food delivery entities associated with German VC and startup incubator Rocket Internet. He oversaw the development and launch of Rocket Internet’s food delivery operations in Latin America before these entities were sold to JustEat and Delivery Hero. He was also Head of Logistics at La Nevera Roja in Spain, which was later acquired by Delivery Hero. Before these roles, De Sario spent two years in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions at HSBC in London.De Sario holds three master’s degrees: one in management from ESCP Business School; one in science from City University, London; and one in business administration from the University of Turin, Italy. He lectures part-time on International Food and Beverage Management at ESCP Business School in Turin, Italy.
Alessandro De Sario is CEO and founder of mental health startup TherapyChat, Spain’s number one online psychotherapy platform founded in 2016. He also works for TherapyChat’s investor, the Spanish VC and startup developer Next Chance Group, on other startups in their portfolio, such as the discount aggregator app Billionhands.Prior to starting TherapyChat, De Sario spent just over three years working in different food delivery entities associated with German VC and startup incubator Rocket Internet. He oversaw the development and launch of Rocket Internet’s food delivery operations in Latin America before these entities were sold to JustEat and Delivery Hero. He was also Head of Logistics at La Nevera Roja in Spain, which was later acquired by Delivery Hero. Before these roles, De Sario spent two years in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions at HSBC in London.De Sario holds three master’s degrees: one in management from ESCP Business School; one in science from City University, London; and one in business administration from the University of Turin, Italy. He lectures part-time on International Food and Beverage Management at ESCP Business School in Turin, Italy.
COO and co-founder of iLoF
Mehak Mumtaz grew up in Pakistan and decided to study biochemistry when she saw her brother suffering from an unknown learning disability. Her parents, both medical doctors, could not get an accurate diagnosis for their son. In her search to understand the molecular mechanisms behind diseases, she applied to study at the University of Oxford. In 2008, she was granted the Reach Oxford Scholarship and graduated with a master’s in biochemistry in 2012. In 2015, the St Hilda’s alumna worked as an undergraduate tutor at Oxford while completing a PhD in pathology, specializing in oncology and cancer biology.In 2018, she worked on a rare cancer project as EIT Health Business Innovation fellow for a year. She left academia and joined a three-month bioentrepreneur bootcamp in Munich and a one-month Lev8 Woman Program at her alma mater’s Oxford Foundry. She joined EY-Parthenon in London as a strategy consultant in April 2019.In 2019, Mumtaz also met the iLoF co-founding team at the EIT Health Wild Card venture-building program. iLoF is a medtech startup that focuses on personalized medicine through the use of AI and photonics to create optical fingerprints in a cloud-based library to gather and manages disease biomarkers and biological profiles.She joined iLoF as COO and co-founder in December 2019 and left her full-time consultancy role at EY in March 2020.
Mehak Mumtaz grew up in Pakistan and decided to study biochemistry when she saw her brother suffering from an unknown learning disability. Her parents, both medical doctors, could not get an accurate diagnosis for their son. In her search to understand the molecular mechanisms behind diseases, she applied to study at the University of Oxford. In 2008, she was granted the Reach Oxford Scholarship and graduated with a master’s in biochemistry in 2012. In 2015, the St Hilda’s alumna worked as an undergraduate tutor at Oxford while completing a PhD in pathology, specializing in oncology and cancer biology.In 2018, she worked on a rare cancer project as EIT Health Business Innovation fellow for a year. She left academia and joined a three-month bioentrepreneur bootcamp in Munich and a one-month Lev8 Woman Program at her alma mater’s Oxford Foundry. She joined EY-Parthenon in London as a strategy consultant in April 2019.In 2019, Mumtaz also met the iLoF co-founding team at the EIT Health Wild Card venture-building program. iLoF is a medtech startup that focuses on personalized medicine through the use of AI and photonics to create optical fingerprints in a cloud-based library to gather and manages disease biomarkers and biological profiles.She joined iLoF as COO and co-founder in December 2019 and left her full-time consultancy role at EY in March 2020.
Advisor, board member, co-founder of NovoNutrients
Brian Sefton has been co-founder, a board member and a part-time advisor at NovoNutrients, a San Francisco-based biotech manufacturer of alt-protein produced from fermentation and CO2 since it was founded in 2017. In 2009, he co-founded research entity Oakbio, from which NovoNutrients evolved, and was its President and CTO. Sefton was CTO and President at NovoNutrients and also co-CEO and Chief Scientist at Oakbio until 2021 when he became the CEO at San Francisco-based fermentation commercialization startup Sincarne. Between 2005 and 2011, Sefton was also CEO at pharma research company Pharmadyn, working on drugs development for Alzheimer's Disease, and, for three of those years, was also Managing Partner of Stratsyn, a consultancy specializing in creation, development, management and fund raising for not-for-profit organizations. Sefton’s earlier posts include: directing nanotechnology commercialization and investment company Nanosig for three years, CEO of Silicon Valley’s Fastlane, a high-profile pioneer in real-time network traffic and security analysis for six years; and, simultaneously, being CEO at Bluebox Communications, developing high-end network security applications and appliances for Fortune 500 companies and the US government.Sefton holds an MBA from Santa Clara University in California and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley
Brian Sefton has been co-founder, a board member and a part-time advisor at NovoNutrients, a San Francisco-based biotech manufacturer of alt-protein produced from fermentation and CO2 since it was founded in 2017. In 2009, he co-founded research entity Oakbio, from which NovoNutrients evolved, and was its President and CTO. Sefton was CTO and President at NovoNutrients and also co-CEO and Chief Scientist at Oakbio until 2021 when he became the CEO at San Francisco-based fermentation commercialization startup Sincarne. Between 2005 and 2011, Sefton was also CEO at pharma research company Pharmadyn, working on drugs development for Alzheimer's Disease, and, for three of those years, was also Managing Partner of Stratsyn, a consultancy specializing in creation, development, management and fund raising for not-for-profit organizations. Sefton’s earlier posts include: directing nanotechnology commercialization and investment company Nanosig for three years, CEO of Silicon Valley’s Fastlane, a high-profile pioneer in real-time network traffic and security analysis for six years; and, simultaneously, being CEO at Bluebox Communications, developing high-end network security applications and appliances for Fortune 500 companies and the US government.Sefton holds an MBA from Santa Clara University in California and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley
Chairman of the Board, co-founder, co-inventor of NovoNutrients
Russell J. Howard has been co-founder and chairman of the board at NovoNutrients, a San Francisco biotech manufacturer of alt-protein produced using fermentation and CO2, and the research company Oakbio, since the latter’s foundation in 2009. During this period, for a year, Howard also worked as head of commercial strategy at Genome.One, a genetics startup. Howard is also on the board of executives of two Australian pharma companies, Immutep and NeuClone. Previously, between 1997 and 2009, he was CEO at California-based Maxygen, dedicated to the commercialization of molecular breeding and gene shuffling in protein. The year before that, Howard was president and scientific director at global pharma giant GSK in Santa Clara, and between 1994 and 1996, he held the same position at AFFYMAX Research Institute, working on new drugs research. Howard also held long-term research positions, heading up the laboratory at Palo Alto’s DNAX Research Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology for six years, and earlier spent nine years at Bethesda’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) working on identifying new malarial pathogens. The doctor of biochemistry from the University of Melbourne has over 140 peer-reviewed publications. Following his studies, Howard spent three years undertaking postdoctoral research at Australia’s WEHI (formerly the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research).
Russell J. Howard has been co-founder and chairman of the board at NovoNutrients, a San Francisco biotech manufacturer of alt-protein produced using fermentation and CO2, and the research company Oakbio, since the latter’s foundation in 2009. During this period, for a year, Howard also worked as head of commercial strategy at Genome.One, a genetics startup. Howard is also on the board of executives of two Australian pharma companies, Immutep and NeuClone. Previously, between 1997 and 2009, he was CEO at California-based Maxygen, dedicated to the commercialization of molecular breeding and gene shuffling in protein. The year before that, Howard was president and scientific director at global pharma giant GSK in Santa Clara, and between 1994 and 1996, he held the same position at AFFYMAX Research Institute, working on new drugs research. Howard also held long-term research positions, heading up the laboratory at Palo Alto’s DNAX Research Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology for six years, and earlier spent nine years at Bethesda’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) working on identifying new malarial pathogens. The doctor of biochemistry from the University of Melbourne has over 140 peer-reviewed publications. Following his studies, Howard spent three years undertaking postdoctoral research at Australia’s WEHI (formerly the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research).
Co-CEO and co-founder of Pula
Dutch-born Rosa Goslinga has spent most of her career working in Africa and speaks five languages, including Swahili. She graduated in business, economics and international development at the University of Amsterdam in 2004. She also completed a master’s in political economy of development at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in 2005.In 2006, she worked as an economist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda where she realized there was an urgent need for small-scale farming insurance to protect the local farmers’ livelihoods against natural hazards.In 2008, she joined Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) in Kenya, where she initiated a pilot Kilimo Salama in Nairobi as program director. The program was a success, starting with 185 farmers taking up index insurance and growing to be the largest in Africa with over 185,000 participants. Goslinga also met and started working with Thomas Njeru, the lead actuary for UAP Insurance for the Kilimo project.In 2013, with investors backing her project, she developed and patented a system and method for providing a site-related weather insurance contract. She left SFSA in 2014 and went on to set up Kenya’s pioneering insurtech Pula with Njeru as co-founder in 2015.Both are now co-CEOs of the Nairobi-based startup, education and helping over 4m small-scale farmers to protect their livelihoods from environmental hazards with tailor-made micro-finance and insurance products.
Dutch-born Rosa Goslinga has spent most of her career working in Africa and speaks five languages, including Swahili. She graduated in business, economics and international development at the University of Amsterdam in 2004. She also completed a master’s in political economy of development at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in 2005.In 2006, she worked as an economist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda where she realized there was an urgent need for small-scale farming insurance to protect the local farmers’ livelihoods against natural hazards.In 2008, she joined Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) in Kenya, where she initiated a pilot Kilimo Salama in Nairobi as program director. The program was a success, starting with 185 farmers taking up index insurance and growing to be the largest in Africa with over 185,000 participants. Goslinga also met and started working with Thomas Njeru, the lead actuary for UAP Insurance for the Kilimo project.In 2013, with investors backing her project, she developed and patented a system and method for providing a site-related weather insurance contract. She left SFSA in 2014 and went on to set up Kenya’s pioneering insurtech Pula with Njeru as co-founder in 2015.Both are now co-CEOs of the Nairobi-based startup, education and helping over 4m small-scale farmers to protect their livelihoods from environmental hazards with tailor-made micro-finance and insurance products.
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Despite a lack of infrastructure and threats from middlemen, Aruna continues to help Indonesian fishing communities find buyers for their catch and manage their money better.
Amartha CEO and founder apologizes for Covid-19 letter that mixed government work with his business
Andi Taufan retracted the letter, saying haste to support Covid-19 prevention program led to administrative errors, after public uproar and allegations of conflict of interest
A Q&A with the Veniam founder and CEO
Ruangguru, Amartha founders made aides to Indonesian President
Seven young leaders appointed to assist President Joko Widodo in non-ministerial tasks, with an emphasis on innovation
Gojek CEO resigns to join Indonesia's new cabinet; named education minister
Nadiem Makarim was confirmed as Indonesia's education and culture minister and will become "a passive shareholder" in Gojek
Aurora Tech AI: Helping new parents sleep at night, and not on the job
When employees become new parents, the challenges they face can lead to sleep deprivation and a loss of productivity at work. Aurora Tech AI says it has a solution
AgroCenta: Providing market access and credit to African smallholder farmers
AgroCenta’s platforms empower Ghanaian subsistence farmers, especially women, boosting productivity and sales with e-payments, micro-credits and insurance, and direct connections to buyers, cutting out the intermediaries
The death of Wazypark: A tale of too much money, and no business model
It was an investors’ and media darling. But the story of Wazypark got bitter in 2017, when management disputes and ballooning losses culminated in the startup’s final days
Neil Shen: The super unicorn hunter
His bet on ByteDance, the startup that gave the world TikTok, helped Neil Shen top this year's Forbes Midas List. But for Shen, even in that deal he once made the wrong call
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