Leaders on a Mission

Thanks to Todd Rands, CEO of Elo Life Systems for coming onto this week’s leaders on a mission podcast. Todd emphasized Elo’s mission and vision to solve big global health issues, such as the obesity crisis, and how he is growing a next-generation ingredient company that can take rare sugars that exist in nature, and re-create them naturally, leveraging modern advancement in biotechnology and bree...

Thanks to Maria Cho, CEO of Triplebar, for a great discussion on this week's leaders on a mission podcast. As the CEO of an early-stage venture-backed Synthetic Biology Company, Maria spoke about her entrepreneurial journey and the excitement and uniqueness of early-stage environments building high-performance teams aligned with a mission to help provide solutions for a healthier world. With...

I feel inspired after talking with Ali Wing, CEO of Oobli, on this week's Leaders on a Mission podcast. Oobli is on a mission to change the world with sweet proteins and has created a breakthrough precision fermentation platform to unlock the power of sweet proteins in foods. Ali shares her vision and mission for the company, discussing the future of sweet-tasting foods without the chronic di...

With over 70% of the world’s wild fish stock depleted due to overfishing, Aquaculture has become a necessity, ensuring demand for fresh fish consumption is met. On this week’s episode of leaders of a mission, I discussed with Stian Rognlid, CEO of Aquaticode, his vision for innovation using Artificial Intelligence to solve significant Aquaculture challenges, whilst providing cost-efficient alterna...

Thanks so much to Josh March, CEO and co-founder of SCiFi Foods, for coming onto this week’s Leaders on a Mission podcast to share his unique journey. Josh has been obsessed with cultivated meat since he read about it in a science fiction book over fifteen years ago. Using a unique scientific approach, SCiFi Foods is the first company in the world to successfully grow beef cells in suspension, all...

Congratulations to Ari Melamud, and the Incredo team (formerly Doumatok) on their recent Series C investment. I had the great pleasure of hosting Ari on this week’s episode of Leaders on a Mission, where we discussed the company’s unique approach and technology in making great-tasting foods whilst curbing the overconsumption of sugar. Ari reflects on his responsibility, deep purpose, and fulfillme...

Thanks to Dr ilan Samish, CEO and Founder of Amai Proteins, an Israeli Foodtech start-up that has developed the first sugar substitute that tastes just like sugar by redesigning sweet proteins found in the jungle and producing them for mass consumption. As an expert in computational protein design & genetics with a stellar academic career, he followed his heart and passion moving into the star...

I loved this week’s leaders on a mission conversation with Michelle Zhu, CEO and co-founder of Huue, a biotechnology start-up making sustainable dyes such as indigo blue – Think denim, and instead of using toxic chemicals, they turn sugar into a dye.  When Michelle met up with an old friend Tammy Hsue from their Stanford days and started learning about the usage of toxic chemicals for color produc...

Thanks so much to Rob Hranac, CEO of Pattern Ag for coming on this week’s leaders on a mission show. By utilizing breakthroughs in genomic sequencing Pattern provides predictions about next seasons pest, disease and fertility risk to crops.  Rob talks through the importance of healthy soils which are critical not just for food production, but also for climate change mitigation. Rob outlines some o...

 It was a delight to discuss the opportunities for decarbonizing the chemical industry with Matt Lipscomb, CEO and Founder of DMC Biotechnologies. Matt talks through some fundamental lessons from the early 2000s biofuel journey and the opportunities for precision fermentation to accelerate the journey to Net Zero. Matt talks through his journey and vision in building a scalable biomanufacturing pl...

What a pleasure to be joined on this week's leaders on a mission podcast by climate and food tech entrepreneur Nick Halla. We had a great discussion,  covering his unique journey as the first employee of Impossible Foods. Nick talks about his passion for building a more environmentally sustainable world and the opportunities that food and agriculture have to make a massive impact in helping r...

What a pleasure having Andre Menezes, CEO and Co- Founder of Next Gen Foods come onto this week’s leaders on a mission podcast. We discussed his deep passion for learning, growing businesses across a myriad of sectors, and  the exciting growth and opportunities for Next Gen foods to deliver exceptionally tasty plant based foods, making it easy for consumers to do good for the planet. Having closed...

Innovation in the fields of robotics, autonomy, and deep learning across agriculture, was the focus of this week's leaders on a mission podcast with Paul Mikesell, CEO and Founder of Carbon Robotics, a mission-driven company pioneering sophisticated artificial intelligence technology, to help farmers improve crop quality and yield. As an entrepreneur and engineer, Paul spent over 20 years sca...

Thanks so much to Steve Meller, CEO of CH4 Global, for coming on this week’s leaders on a mission podcast. Steve has a unique energy and is vastly experienced in many different fields and disciplines.  With time ticking, and a rapid transformation in greenhouse gas emissions needed to limit climate disaster, Steve talks through CH4’s mission and vision to drastically reduce ruminant methane emissi...

What a pleasure to welcome Yonatan Golan, Co-Founder, and CEO of Brevel, an Israeli FoodTech startup, on this week's leaders on a mission podcast show. Yonatan shares his passion for improving the world through sustainable nutrition and cutting-edge science. Yonatan talks through his vision of leading Brevel from a startup to a global innovation player, seizing up opportunities in using micro...

Great discussion on all things innovation in the food industry with Sharon Walbert, VP of Global Innovation at Bunge Loders Croklaan, on this week's leaders on a mission podcast. We spoke about some of the significant changes and trends within the food industry and how the industry is attracting new generational talent, with people attracted to creating an impact on changing the food system t...

Great conversation on this week's leaders on a mission podcast with Co-Founder and CEO of 3 Bar Biologics, Bruce Caldwell. Having spent 20 years at P&G, I was intrigued by his journey into the start-up world of Ag Tech, the soil microbiome, and his vision for a healthier world. Bruce gives some great insights into how shifting the fermentation paradigm has created an opportunity to develo...

As an internationally recognized leader in the AgTech world, I could have spoken for hours with AN Michiels on this week's leaders on a mission podcast. As a  passionate promotor of innovation within  AG Tech, An talked about the latest developments within Agriculture and how modern advances in Biotechnology and Breeding technologies are helping to drive a healthier and more sustainable futur...

Check out this week's leaders on a mission podcast with David Bucca, CEO, and Founder of Change Foods. Having worked for over 13 years in the aerospace industry, David made a significant career change in 2017 to realign his professional purpose with his purpose. David talks through his vision for Change Foods, a US -Australian start-up with a laser approach to developing real dairy foods that...

Thanks to JF Dechant, CEO, and co-founder of Elicit Plant, for coming onto this week's leaders on a mission show.  Elicit Plant is an Ag tech innovator, producing plant-derived molecules that protect crops from drought.  JF talks about his vision and mission and how the company is helping farmers manage adverse and worsening weather conditions.  Coming from a career within the security and so...

Another fantastic conversation on this week's leaders on a mission podcast with Virginia Corless, CEO of MoA Technology, a disruptive Ag Tech company. Virginia explains MoA's mission to feed the world's growing population efficiently, safely, and sustainably. Virginia presents the massive challenges farmers face managing herbicide-resistant weeds and how MoA was created to solve thi...

What a great pleasure to host Debbie Yaver, Chief Science Officer of Nature's Fynd, on this week's leaders on a mission podcast, where we went deep into the world of microbes and protein expression. We explored Debbie's career and leadership journey and her passion for science. We spoke about innovation and the exciting technologies helping companies like Nature's Fynd feed the...

What a pleasure to host Jason Kakoyiannis, Managing Partner and creator of Ferment Co, a company creation studio dedicated to the next wave of synthetic biology product companies. Jason has been building companies at the edge of possibility, and we explored his unique background (not many end up in Biotech with a Ph. D. in art history), his unique perspective on the future of Synthetic Biology, an...

A big thank you to Rachel Konrad for coming on to this week's leaders on a mission podcast. Having spent the last decade of her career leading communications for some of the world's most disruptive companies, from Tesla, to Impossible Foods, she has lots to share about building world-class disruptive companies committed to making the world a better place. She shares her fascinating story...

In this episode, I am joined by Giovanni Battistini, innovation champion and founder of Phenotap, a disruptive wellness technology company. He reflects on his career, which took him through designing military systems from the navy and into the world of nutrition and wellness, talking through some of the principles of leading innovation across different industries. Gio explained some of the challen...