OUR PEOPLE

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.