OUR PEOPLE
THE OCEANIUM TEAM
We have made tremendous progress on all fronts since OCEANIUM was formed in 2018 – thanks to our passionate, dedicated and just plain brilliant team of Kelpers. We work hard, think creatively, have impact!

Karen Scofield Seal
CEO & Co-Founder
Karen has 25+ years of strategic planning, partnership development, brand building and marketing communications experience in New York and London with organisations including (RED), Comic Relief, NFL and USTA. Prior to co-founding OCEANIUM, Karen was founder of LUCZA, an international ecommerce business. Karen was a finalist in The Economist’s Women and the Ocean: Changemakers Challenge. Most importantly, Karen is passionate about ensuring the seaweed industry grows in a sustainable manner.

Dr. Charlie Bavington
CTO & Co-Founder
Charlie has a Ph.D. in BioChemistry from Edinburgh University and over 20 years of experience in marine biotechnology research & development taking products from conception through to pilot trials. Prior to OCEANIUM, Charlie founded Glycomar, a biotechnology company focusing on research and development of marine-based products for the healthcare, pharma, personal care and nutritional markets. Charlie is an inventor on 5 patents and author of 15 peer-reviewed research papers and book chapters.

John Seal
Chief Financial Officer
John is an experienced investment manager with 25+ years of experience in finance. Prior to OCEANIUM, John was Head of Direct Lending at Aberdeen Standard Investments. John co-founded and was MD of New Amsterdam Capital (NAC), a boutique investment firm. John has raised capital, advised and invested in startups as since 2010.

Mike Roberts
Chief Operating Officer (Interim)
Mike is a project and programme director with 25 years of experience in the food, dairy, and beverage industry and international factory start-ups, applying his expertise to companies including Procter & Gamble, United Biscuits, Dairy Crest and Cargill. He has most recently acted as Chief Operating Officer at SEP Professional Services from 2019 to 2021.

Alfie Kidner
Research Associate

Bethany Robb
Corporate Affairs & Marketing Associate

Cynthia Maneuf
Financial Controller

Dr. Iain Moore
Food Scientist

Dr. Ian Vallance
Materials Innovation Scientist / Project Manager

Jessica Thorne
Corporate Affairs and Impact Manager

Joanne Robinson
Scientist / Project Manager

Marissa Nicolais
Business Development Director

Neil Waslidge
Research Associate

Peter Gibson
General Manager

Raminta Kazlauskaite
R&D Manager

Reice Kerr
Research Associate

Ron Pirrie
Microbiologist / Process Scientist

Sofia Alexiou
Project Manager

Stuart Currie
Senior Process Engineer
OUR ADVISORS

Andrew Ross
Andrew was Executive Vice President for Strategy, New Business Development & Integration at the Estée Lauder Companies, leading Estée Lauder’s growth strategy for 6 years across geographies, products and sectors. He also has 30 years of experience in consulting with McKinsey & Company and working directly with Fortune 300 public companies on global growth, brand equity and strategic execution. He’s now a board and investment advisor in beauty, consumer goods and retail.

Daniel Skaven Ruben
Daniel Skaven Ruben is Head of Strategy & Special Projects at Swedish plant-based cheese startup Stockeld Dreamery. Previously he was a consultant to The Rockefeller Foundation Food Initiative during 2017-2021, working to advance a more sustainable food system. Daniel has also worked as a technology and innovation expert for the World Bank in Washington D.C. and served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. He is a mentor, venture partner and advisor in the foodtech and agtech sector, curates the newsletter FoodTech Weekly, and co-hosts The Appetizer podcast.

Jeff Davison
Jeff is an investor with Green Angel Syndicate and joined the Board as a Non Executive Director following Green Angel Syndicate’s participation in OCEANIUM’s Seed II fund raise. Jeff’s career has been in the marine environment focusing on energy and sustainability, and he has lived and worked in some of the most environmentally sensitive locations around the world. In addition to an investor’s perspective, Jeff brings experience of capital project definition, delivery and safe and environmentally respectful operations.

Stephanie Lind
Stephanie is the Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of Elohi Strategic Advisors, a firm she founded in early 2015. She works closely with emerging natural and sustainable food and beverage companies, as well as their venture capital and private equity investors. Before returning to Elohi Strategic Advisors in January 2019, Stephanie led the global sales initiatives for Impossible Foods. She has impressive experience, spanning over 25 years working for Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo, Sysco, McDonald’s as well as small, privately owned businesses.

Stephen Catling
Stephen has spent his whole career in the food and food ingredients sector. Formerly a food scientist and chemist, Stephen is currently a board advisor, non-executive director, industry consultant and specialist advisor to investors in the food ingredients, flavours, nutrition and health sectors, from start-ups to large companies. Previously, Stephen spent a decade as Group CEO of ABF Ingredients and prior to that he was Divisional President at Danisco A/S, both leading food ingredients businesses with a global presence. He also chairs the board of two charities in the UK.

Michael Orye
Michael is Regional CEO for Faerch, a European packaging company on a mission to make food packaging circular. He brings a wealth of experience from the packaging industry where he has worked for over 20 years in various leadership roles, including 17 years with global packaging leader, Amcor Ltd. Michael has lived and worked in four continents: Asia, America, Europe and Africa, and currently calls the Netherlands his home.

Todd Beckman
Todd is the CEO of Verb Biotics, a recent Ginkgo Bioworks spin-out company. Prior to joining Verb, Todd was the co-founder and COO of NextFoods, the makers of GoodBelly probiotics. At GoodBelly, Todd spearheaded innovation, sales and supply chain. Before establishing GoodBelly, Todd was an integral part of the success of at White Wave, in the launching and scaling of Silk Soymilk. Todd was responsible for strategic planning and integration of White Wave, Horizon Organic and Dean National Brands post acquisition. Todd also spent 13 years at Tetra Pak.
JOIN THE TEAM
OCEANIUM is an exciting, growing business. Open job positions are posted below.

QA Assistant
Full time, fixed term – start date ASAP
Application deadline: Rolling
At OCEANIUM, we recognise the value of a diverse team and we are committed to and encourage applications from people with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds.
Thank you for your interest in OCEANIUM, and we look forward to hearing from you.