Team

Matt, our Operations Manager, is an Ithaca native and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. He splits his time between overseeing company operations and developing new materials and processes. In his spare time, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, cycling, and hiking.

Wayne has served as a legal advisor to Zymtronix and its affiliates since April 2020. He serves as an Executive in Residence with the McGovern Family Center for Ventures in the Life Sciences for Cornell University at both the Ithaca and New York City campuses. Since February of 2014 he has been in solo private legal practice, and previously served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Novartis Finance Corporation from January 1997 until January 2014. He has also served in a variety of legal positions both with Novartis Corporation and affiliates, Sandoz Corporation, its predecessor, and with other companies and law firms since August 1975. He has been a member of the New York Bar since January 26, 1976.

Gary, our CFO, has over 30 years of CPA and operational experience. Beginning at Price Waterhouse, he then worked as Chief Auditor for a SEC-listed global manufacturer, then project lead for a worldwide implementation of SAP finance and controlling models. He was then made Director of Finance for Europe, then North American followed by International with global operations control over all financial manufacturing systems.

Alex is our Research and Development Manager, responsible for optimizing enzyme immobilization and integration with various carrier materials. Alex grew up in Liechtenstein and moved to Davis, CA in 2001 to study Chemistry. After receiving his PhD in Chemistry at Cornell University in 2011, he conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford and UC Berkeley with a focus on protein and bioactivity sensor development. In his free time, Alex enjoys open water swimming, hiking, and seeing his daughter grow up.

Joseph is our Materials Development and Quality Lead, responsible for designing functional materials and optimizing custom transformations for integration into the technology portfolio. Prior to joining Zymtronix, Joseph worked at Boston College and Voxtel, where his efforts were focused on developing next-generation materials for applications in energy and electronics/spintronics. He received his PhD in Materials Chemistry from Oregon State University and a BSc in Biochemistry from St. Edward’s University. Joseph enjoys trying new foods, playing music, puzzle games, and lounging.

Megha Cila received her Bachelors and Masters in Chemistry and Organic Chemistry respectively from Delhi University. She came to the United States in 2010 and attended the University of Idaho, where she received her PhD in Chemistry. In 2015, she moved to San Diego, CA to do her postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute developing a versatile phosphorylating reagent. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dog Edy to the dog park and watching her son get bigger with each day.

Fabian Giska obtained his PhD in protein biochemistry from Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. He was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego, Cornell University and Yale University. During his work, Fabian developed his skills in protein biochemistry, molecular biology and mass spectrometry. In his free time, he likes running, hiking, and watching soccer games.

Jon grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and got his Bachelors in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. He obtained his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied natural product biosynthesis. Jon completed a dual appointment postdoc under the supervision of Dr. Michael C. Jewett and Dr. Martin D. Burke where he developed a cell-free directed evolution platform and engineered enzymes for unnatural function. In his free time, Jon enjoys live music, swimming, rock climbing, and hockey – Go Canes!

Ian graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Materials Engineering and has about 2.5 years of research experience focusing on functionalizing polymeric materials in biomedical and environmental applications. In his free time, he enjoys learning to play guitar, playing tennis, and hammocking.

Andrew Cook graduated from SUNY Buffalo with a B.S. in  Biological Sciences. He spent two years working in pre-clinical drug development, mainly specializing in protein expression and purification.

Frenchie has over 20 years of experience as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry, with most of her career involved in quality control and chemical analysis. At Zymtronix, she works on enzyme reaction optimization and analyzing the purity and stability of our ingredients and products.

Keith is the Lead Chemical Engineer for Zymtronix and is a PhD process engineer with over six years of experience in scaling up bench-top R&D into pilot and commercial scales. During his career, Keith has worked with a wide range of materials such as catalysts, polymers, commodity chemicals, and nanomaterials, such as metal oxides and ceramics.

Joseph is a Chemical Engineer at Zymtronix with experience in process development and technology transfer, having successfully scaled technologies from the laboratory to pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing. His specialties include polymer composites and additive manufacturing.

Brandon is a Junior Chemical Engineer at Zymtronix. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Kansas, majoring in Chemical Engineering and minoring in Business. Before joining Zymtronix, Brandon worked at a spirits distillery making craft whiskeys and vodka. His hobbies include playing piano, reading, going on runs with his dog, and training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Natalia is a Junior Chemical Engineer at Zymtronix. She completed her BSc in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University. Prior to joining the Zymtronix team, she worked with an academic research team assisting their investigation of magnetic microspheres. She also interned at LORD Corporation as a technical support student associate, working closely with customers to ensure quick and satisfactory service.

Arnaldo Pérez Altuve joins our Business Development team with a background in Industrial Engineering. He has prior experience in product management, marketing, and consulting. He recently graduated with MBA and MEng degrees from Cornell University in 2020.

Stéphane, our Chairman of the Board, invented the Zymtronix core technology and remains the science and engineering lead of the company. His research at Cornell has been focused on microbial ecology, microbial and enzymatic activities, and nano-biotechnology methods to develop bioconversion processes for sustainable and renewable energy and products. He holds an MSc in Soil Science, Microbial Ecology, and Molecular Biology from the University Henri Poincare (Nancy, France). During his PhD, he studied plant-microbe interactions and dynamics applied to the conversion and biodegradation of toxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH).

Wayne has served as a Board member since January 2016. He serves as an Executive in Residence with the McGovern Family Center for Ventures in the Life Sciences for Cornell University at both the Ithaca and New York City campuses. Since February of 2014 he has been in solo private legal practice, and previously served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Novartis Finance Corporation from January 1997 until January 2014. He has also served in a variety of legal positions both with Novartis Corporation and affiliates, Sandoz Corporation, its predecessor, and with other companies and law firms since August 1975. He has been a member of the New York Bar since January 26, 1976.

Rob has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2015. His leadership experience in successfully building and transforming businesses around the world includes more than two decades in senior executive roles, devoted to the formulation and implementation of strategy, to leading and coaching the development of organizations, and to leading their effective globalization. He was educated at Cornell University where he earned a BSc in Engineering and Applied Physics and an MBA. Selected for a scholarship in the Louvain–Cornell exchange program, he also earned a MSc in Applied Economics from Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Michael joined the Board of Directors upon retiring from his position as CTO at Tate & Lyle. During his tenure at Tate & Lyle, he provided innovative solutions to complex strategic and tactical issues and successfully commercialized award winning, relevant new products. He has 30+ years of business and scientific leadership matching emerging technologies with customer insights and developing leading-edge products from discovery to commercialization. He also collaborated with Innovation Leadership to develop extraordinary talent into highly productive teams.

Adam joined the Zymtronix Board of Directors in 2020, after almost 30 years with Novozymes where he was President for North America until November 2019. He started with Novozymes in 1991, holding numerous roles from Recovery Engineer, Supply Chain Director for the Americas, Global Capacity Planning and North America leadership. Holding a bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, his global expertise in enzyme innovation, markets, production, sales, and logistics is unrivaled and will be instrumental in the next phase of growth of Zymtronix.

Dr. Hughes completed his undergraduate studies at the University of New Brunswick in 1994 and then completed a PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Toronto. In 2002, he started working at Merck Frosst by joining a newly formed satellite Process Chemistry group. In 2013, Dr. Hughes assumed a position as VP of Business Development and Alliance Management at Codexis. In 2016, Dr. Hughes returned to R&D at Merck, assuming his current position as a Principal Scientist in the Process Chemistry organization.

Soren has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, Denmark and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Since 2016 he has been member of the Scientific Advisor Board of Mimetics Bioscience. Soren’s work with industrial enzymes and biotechnology has spanned 41 years of international experience in Novozymes A/S. His experience ranges from general management of international subsidiaries over sales and marketing management, to management of technical service laboratory activities, customer service and logistics.

Tony is a chemist and enzymologist by training. He received his PhD from Imperial College London and completed post-doctoral studies under Professor Sir Alan Fersht FRS at the University of Cambridge. Tony is a seasoned biotechnology executive, with over 25 years of experience and leadership roles in both R&D and Business Development. In addition, Tony has experience with scale-up and regulatory approval of algal derived products, including novel food ingredients.

Dr. Huqiu Zhang is a chemist with over 25 years of professional product stewardship experience in the chemicals, materials, food & beverage, and consumer products industries, including work with large corporations operating worldwide. She brings with her advanced expertise in chemical safety and regulatory compliance consulting services for manufacturers, processors, and packagers. She started her career with GE Plastics, managing their global food contact and healthcare programs, and was the Director of Packaging, Scientific, and Regulatory Affairs at Coca Cola. She received her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Mike Arbige is a 40-year veteran in the field of biotechnology and has served in many roles throughout his career, most recently as the Vice President of R&D for Dupont’s biosciences group. Mike and his teams have helped create more than 300 products in the fields of animal health and nutrition, human health and nutrition, home and personal care, household cleaning, fuels, grain processing, foods, textiles, microbial control, and the materials industry. Mike is a Microbial Physiologist and Microbial Geneticist by training and received his PhD from the University of New Hampshire.