We’re on a mission to change our food system

A successful entrepreneur with 13 years of experience in FMCG and food and beverages.

Alex co-founded UK based chilled food business Scratch Meals Ltd in 2009 –
a business with UK and international distribution across a portfolio of brands and own label business.

In 2018, Alex joined the management team of EMMAC Life Sciences as Head of Wellness (Consumer Goods Division).

Through securing key private label partnerships with international retailers such as WBA and leading the business through the regulatory pathway for Novel Foods as well as steering a portfolio of brands, Alex helped grow the business which later sold to CuraLeaf in March 2021.

An experienced capital markets professional with 18 years’ expertise in the management and financing of growth companies internationally.

Ed has been pivotal in raising over £750m in equity and debt for growth companies and is currently CEO of AIM quoted Seed Innovations Ltd, a VC that has a track record of successful investment in the tech and life sciences space.

Ed co-founded EMMAC Life Sciences, which raised over $50m in equity. As co- founder and member of the executive senior management team, Ed was pivotal in helping lead the business from start up to its eventual sale for $400m in March 2021

20 years of experience in senior finance and business roles in both start-ups and large multinationals.

Co-founder and CFO of EMMAC Life Sciences, a European medical cannabis start-up. Played a pivotal role in scaling the business, raising over $50m, and growing the business through M&A and organic investment to become Europe’s leading cannabis company. The business was acquired in March 2021 by CuraLeaf.

Tom spent 10 years at Royal Dutch Shell where he led a long-term divestment program for downstream businesses in Latin America and was responsible for driving the development of a new LNG into the transport business.

A Qualified Chartered Accountant.

Chris is a Professor of Bioprocess Engineering and Director of the Centre for Integrated Bioprocessing Research (CIBR) in the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath.

Chris joined the Dept. in 2011 as a research fellow, becoming a Reader in 2016, and a full Professor in 2019.

Chris has published over 90 peer reviewed journal papers in the area of sustainable alternative foods and bioproducts.

He has a strong record in research funding receiving over £7.5M in public/private funding.

Chris developed Clean Food Group’s proprietary technology and technology platform.

Jim Mellon is an author, entrepreneur, and investor with interests in a number of sectors.

After leaving Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, he worked in Asia and the United States in two fund management companies, GT and Thornton, before establishing his own business in 1991. This business continues today, but Jim no longer works as a fund manager and is, instead, focused on biotech, clean food, and property, with other business interests managed by his family office, the Burnbrae Group.

Jim is Chairman and co-founder of Juvenescence, a non-executive director of Condor Gold, Portage Biotech Inc, Bradda Head Limited, Chelsea Avondale Limited, Agronomics Limited, and is executive Chairman of Manx Financial Group, which owns Conister Bank. Jim has written several books, including Wake Up!, Juvenescence, and Moo’s Law.

Andrea has been a consultant to the food industry since 2018, advising companies on their research and innovation strategy and helping the translation of ideas into viable business plans.

Andrea has extensive experience as an executive in the food industry, with a 30 years career at Mars Global Chocolate, in a number of roles in the research & development and purchasing departments.

In the role of Director of Science he championed a global strategy to address the health & wellbeing issues facing the chocolate category and resulting in the launch of nutritionally improved versions of Mars iconic brands.

Andrea has centred his work around novel processes for improving the organoleptic properties of chocolate products, by improving key ingredients, cocoa beans, nuts, oils & fats, dairy, and integrating genetic, biochemistry, food structure, flavour and process research.

Andrea is particularly interested in addressing the sustainability issues and opportunities of the food system and recently obtained a certificate of Business Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge.

Darren completed his PhD at Imperial College, investigating intracellular trafficking in mammalian cells and the African trypanosome. After completing his doctoral studies, Darren worked in the City of London for 2 years advising biotechnology and Internet companies on financial communication strategy as they sought initial public offering (IPO) on UK and European equity markets. He then returned to research, working on cell and gene therapy.

As an Associate Professor at UCL, Darren’s research is focused on the industrial application of synthetic biology for the re-design of living cells for improved upstream and downstream bioprocessing. His expertise is in the use of molecular biology, intracellular trafficking and protein engineering to design cells with useful functions that are also robust to industrial environments. His research experience spans working with Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris and tissue culture in the fields of biopharmaceutical manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, whole cell biocatalysis, tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting.