Nelson has served as our senior vice president of Research and Development since October 2015, after joining Geno in October 2011 as our vice president of Research and Development. Nelson leads R&D from ideation through technology transfer as well as continues to advance our technology platform. From 2000 to 2011, Nelson held several roles at Verenium Corporation (formerly Diversa Corporation), including vice president, R&D from 2008 to 2009, sr. vice president, R&D from 2009 to 2010 and head of R&D starting in 2010 when Verenium’s biofuels business was acquired by BP Biofuels Corporation. From 1996 to 2000, he was fermentation scientist and manager, R&D Biologics with Calbiochem-Novabiochem. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami, School of Medicine. Nelson was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, Department of Cell and Development Biology and a Howard Hughes fellow at the University of California, San Diego, Department of Pharmacology.

Amy has served as our vice president, people and culture since August 2018. Amy is the longest-serving employee at Geno after Christophe Schilling, since joining the firm in 2001. Amy leads all people and culture initiatives focused on a philosophy of purpose and trust, while driving processes for a high-performance organization. As a member of Women in Bio Executive Roundtable, Amy is passionate about mentoring female scientists and engineers into leadership roles, as well as speaking publicly on culture and emotional intelligence (EQ). She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Carlos joined our board of directors in July 2015 as executive chairman. From 1973 to 2009 he was at UOP LLC, now a Honeywell company. He served as chairman, president and chief executive officer from 2005 to 2009, strengthening UOP’s position as the leading licensor of chemistry-based technology to oil and gas firms worldwide. Carlos is also a distinguished associate at FGE, a global energy consultancy, and serves on the board of directors of the Gas Technology Institute. He is a member of the Global Advisory Board of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and serves on the advisory board of the Chemical Engineering Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a board member of the Loker Institute at the University of Southern California. Previously, Carlos served as an independent director for Ivanhoe Energy from 2010 to 2015 (and executive chairman from 2011 to 2015), independent director for Gevo from 2010 to 2015, and president and CEO of the National Institute of Clean and Low Carbon Energy from 2009 to 2011. Carlos holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky.

Sasha joined Geno in January 2021, where she is VP of Impact (Sustainability, Government Affairs, Corporate Communications, ESG Investor Relations and PR). Prior to joining Geno, Sasha led Sustainability at Beautycounter, where she built the beauty brand’s responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging and climate action programs. From 2015 to 2018, she was the director of corporate social responsibility and impact at Josie Maran Cosmetics. Sasha is also the founder of Resilience, an impact agency that works with CPGs and private equity firms and funds to consult on ESG and risk mitigation. Sasha has a master’s degree from the United Nations Mandated University for Peace in responsible management and sustainable economic development and a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology with a concentration in finance from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2016, Sasha was awarded GreenBiz’s 30 Under 30 and in 2019 was honored on Assent’s Top 100 in CSR list. Sasha also serves as the chair of Surfrider Los Angeles, Pando Populus’ CSO Taskforce and B Corp’s Climate Collaborative Working Group on Sustainable Packaging.

John joined Geno in May 2022, with over 30 years of global experience in technology commercialization, licensing, international project development and execution, and manufacturing. He is a proven executive leader of technology-focused businesses with a track record of driving growth through innovation and a customer-centric philosophy. From 1992 to 2021, John was with UOP LLC, now a Honeywell company. During his tenure, John led several global technology businesses in key market verticals including Refining, Petrochemicals and Gas Processing. From 2018 to 2021, John served as UOP’s president & CEO, where he led their strategic pivot to become a global leader of sustainable technology solutions. Through that pivot, John led the successful incubation and launch of sustainable technology solutions and new business models in the areas of plastics recycling, carbon capture, renewable fuels and energy storage. John holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil & environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He also currently serves as an advisory board member for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Engineering.

Tom has served as Geno senior vice president, Finance and chief financial officer since December 2018 and joined the Geno team back in 2010. Tom brings over 20 years of public and private experience. Prior to Geno, he was executive director of finance and controller at Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX). Previously, he was director of finance and controller at Instromedix, a technology-based manufacturing company. He started his career in audit services at PwC. Tom has a B.A. in business economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a certified public accountant.

Priti has led our Strategy and Corporate Development function since November 2018, initially as senior director, and promoted to vice president in August 2020. In 2016, she helped form our Bioengineering Solutions business, and was named its director in 2017. Within this role Priti developed multiple product opportunities and helped build commercial partnerships. Priti joined Geno in 2006 as a research scientist. Her work has earned several patents related to feedstock utilization, pathways for biosynthesis of chemicals and metabolic engineering of microbes for achieving high product yields. Priti earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Christophe co-founded Geno in 1998 and was named CEO in May 2009, where he leads Geno’s mission to accelerate the transition to more sustainable materials. Christophe is Chair Emeritus of Biocom, the largest advocacy organization for California’s life sciences sector and serves on BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section Governing Board. He is also a member of YPO, an international leadership organization for chief executives, and previously served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology. Christophe holds a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego and earned a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.