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Meet The Team
5Metis Team
Cody Averette, B.S.
Cody received his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from East Carolina University. While in school he worked as a contractor for Bayer CropScience in Pikeville, NC. After graduating in 2019 he went and worked for Syngenta in RTP as a contractor. (Hover to Read More)
Cody received his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from East Carolina University. While in school he worked as a contractor for Bayer CropScience in Pikeville, NC. After graduating in 2019 he went and worked for Syngenta in RTP as a contractor. His passion for agriculture research and growing crops comes from his time spent working on his family farm where he farmed 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans alongside his dad and brother in Renston, NC. At 5Metis, Cody is the greenhouse manager where he is responsible for management and oversight of the 5Metis greenhouse facility.
Katie Clements, M.S.
Katie received her B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her biology degree was focused on antibiotic discovery from bacterial isolates in the Cape Fear River. Working in the antibiotic discovery field as an undergraduate lead to her research within the Drug DISCOvery laboratories as their lead cell culturist and subsequently her MS degree in marine science with a (Hover to Read More)
Katie received her B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her biology degree was focused on antibiotic discovery from bacterial isolates in the Cape Fear River. Working in the antibiotic discovery field as an undergraduate lead to her research within the Drug DISCOvery laboratories as their lead cell culturist and subsequently her M.S. degree in marine science with a concentration in microbiology. During her master’s degree Katie worked with bacteria isolated from various parasitic infections of marine invertebrates within the Cape Fear. Several of these bacterial isolates were uncovered to contain antiviral, antitumor, or antibiotic properties. Publication(s) of these works are expected within the next two years. Katie joined the 5Metis team in March of 2022 as a Research Associate of the R&D team within the company. When not in the lab Katie can often be found hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains with friends, reading, or watching a classic film.
Larry Creemer, M.S.
After receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan Technological University Larry began working as a Medicinal Chemist at Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals in Indianapolis. He then finished his M.S. in Organic Chemistry from Purdue University and joined the Natural Products Discovery group at Eli Lilly and Company working on Spinosyn analogs for both Lilly and DowElanco. (Hover to Read More)
After receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan Technological University Larry began working as a Medicinal Chemist at Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals in Indianapolis. He then finished his M.S. in Organic Chemistry from Purdue University and joined the Natural Products Discovery group at Eli Lilly and Company working on Spinosyn analogs for both Lilly and DowElanco. This ultimately led to the co-invention of the commercially successful naturalide insectide spinetoram. Larry finished out his time at Lilly in the chemistry discovery and early development at Elanco Animal Health. Larry the discovery chemistry effort at Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva), investigating new Active compounds, and then moved to regulatory chemistry making C14 radio tracers, metabolites and reference standards and eventually became an External Technology Manager. Since September of 2021 he has been the Senior Director of Chemistry for 5Metis, Inc., designing and executing the Medicinal Chemistry Program while directing the overall chemistry efforts of the company. In August of 2024, he became a Senior Research Fellow for 5Metis, Inc., advising and overseeing the Synthesis Programs for the company. He has 16 U.S. Patents, 18 peer reviewed publications and 5 book chapters to his credit, currently.
Rich Gianni, MBA
Rich has over 35 years of experience in Accounting and Finance, including 25 years in technology start-up companies. He is a CPA and holds a B.S. in Accounting from University of Steubenville and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. (Hover to Read More)
Rich has over 35 years of experience in Accounting and Finance, including 25 years in technology start-up companies. He is a CPA and holds a B.S. in Accounting from University of Steubenville and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Prior to joining 5Metis, Rich served as the CFO of Boragen, contract CFO of Advanced Animal Diagnostics, CFO of Ziptronix Inc., CFO at nTouch Research, and VP of Finance and Administration at Celotek. At 5Metis, Rich is responsible for all aspects of Finance and Administration.
Brian Green, Ph.D.
Brian was a co-founder of 5Metis and now serves as the CEO and CSO. Previously, he was also a co-founder of AgriMetis where he was the VP of R&D. At AgriMetis, Brian was a co-inventor on key IP sold to multinational corporations, built a high performing R&D team, assisted in deal negotiations, and supported fundraising rounds totaling more than $30 million. (Hover to Read More)
Brian was a co-founder of 5Metis and now serves as the CEO and CSO. Previously, he was also a co-founder of AgriMetis where he was the VP of R&D. At AgriMetis, Brian was a co-inventor on key IP sold to multinational corporations, built a high performing R&D team, assisted in deal negotiations, and supported fundraising rounds totaling more than $30 million. Prior to AgriMetis, he worked at Acidophil, where he was involved in various aspects of company creation and management, including leading the research programs of ZuvaChem (merged with BioSyntha). Earlier in his career, he conducted postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University after receiving his doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco. He in an inventor on 10 US patents or PCT applications and has authored 10 peer-reviewed articles, including a first author Science publication.
Yuba Kandel, Ph.D.
Dr. Yuba Kandel received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tribhuvan University, Nepal then joined the Nepal Agriculture Research Council. After more than four years of plant pathology research in Nepal, he went on to receive his Ph.D. from South Dakota State University. His Ph.D. research evaluated germplasm and mapped QTLs for resistance to bacterial leaf streak of wheat. (Hover to Read More)
Dr. Yuba Kandel received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tribhuvan University, Nepal then joined the Nepal Agriculture Research Council. After more than four years of plant pathology research in Nepal, he went on to receive his Ph.D. from South Dakota State University. His Ph.D. research evaluated germplasm and mapped QTLs for resistance to bacterial leaf streak of wheat. Yuba joined Iowa State University as a postdoctoral research associate then research scientist in plant pathology, conducting research on plant diseases for nearly nine years. At ISU his research was focused on evaluating fungicides in field and in controlled environments as a part of developing best disease management practices for soybean and corn diseases. Yuba’s research has aided many commercial growers, crops scouts and agribusiness employees in decisions that impact yield of farming operations and economics.
Yuba has authored several peer-reviewed and extension publications and is a recipient of the 2022 Professional and Scientific Research Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. At 5Metis, Yuba works as a research scientist in crop protection R&D team. Outside of work, Yuba enjoys playing ping pong and volleyball.
Shengyou Long, M.S.
Shengyou received his B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from Beijing Agricultural University in 1988 and then went on to work as an associate professor and director for pesticide process and discovery, which earned its $20M project at Hunan Research Institute of Chemical Industry (HRICI) in China. (Hover to Read More)
Shengyou received his B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from Beijing Agricultural University in 1988 and then went on to work as an associate professor and director for pesticide process and discovery, which earned its $20M project at Hunan Research Institute of Chemical Industry (HRICI) in China. In 1999, he moved to the USA where he was a visiting scholar at North Carolina State University, focused on insect hormone analog synthesis and its bioactivity study. Then after, he gained many years of experience in process chemistry and drug discovery in pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, Shengyou came back to the pesticide industry as a formulation chemist where he developed challenging and market competitive pesticide formulations at ADAMA. Shengyou joined 5Metis in December 2021 as a lead formulation chemist.
He is an inventor on several patents.
Megan Mackowiak, PMP
Megan holds her B.S. in Food Science from North Carolina State University and began her career in Food Safety & Quality Assurance. Megan then returned to NCSU to earn a Masters in Microbial Biotechnology, a degree that integrates science and MBA-level coursework with real-world industry experience. (Hover to Read More)
Megan holds her B.S. in Food Science from North Carolina State University and began her career in Food Safety & Quality Assurance. Megan then returned to NCSU to earn a Masters in Microbial Biotechnology, a degree that integrates science and MBA-level coursework with real-world industry experience. While in the program, she joined Boragen as a Safety & Compliance intern, before transitioning to a full-time Program Manager upon graduation. She joined 5Metis as a Program Manager, where she planned and organized programs across multiple market segments to align the science progression with the business objectives. She obtained her Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification, and she also studied under Timothy Pastoor, Ph,D, to specialize in Regulatory Safety. Today, Megan is 5Metis’ Regulatory Safety Program Manager, where she combines her program management capabilities with planning and executing 5Metis’ toxicity testing program. In her free time, she likes to cook, paint, and read.
Timothy Pastoor, Ph.D.
Dr. Pastoor earned his Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Michigan, is certified by the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and has over 40 years of experience in the field of toxicology, human health risk assessment, and regulatory affairs. (Hover to Read More)
Dr. Pastoor earned his Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Michigan, is certified by the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and has over 40 years of experience in the field of toxicology, human health risk assessment, and regulatory affairs. Tim is past president of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) where he collaborated with academic, government, industry, and NGO scientists to resolve difficult health and safety issues. Tim retired from Syngenta in 2015 and was lured out of retirement by 5Metis’ fascinating boron-based science and the fast pace of molecule discovery by the company’s highly skilled and dedicated scientists. A perfect day for Tim outside of his professional pursuits is to fly-fish and play tennis on the same day, or take a long hike with his wife, Denise.
Josh Saunders, MS
Josh embarked on an academic journey at North Carolina State University where he pursued double majors in chemistry and polymer chemistry. His passion for innovation led him to explore the cationization of cotton, a fascinating project aimed at enhancing the dyeability of cotton knit fabrics. Building on this foundation, he furthered his education by obtaining a Master's in Polymer Chemistry, delving into the synthesis of novel supramolecular polyamides. (Hover to Read More)
Josh embarked on an academic journey at North Carolina State University where he pursued double majors in chemistry and polymer chemistry. His passion for innovation led him to explore the cationization of cotton, a fascinating project aimed at enhancing the dyeability of cotton knit fabrics. Building on this foundation, he furthered his education by obtaining a Master's in Polymer Chemistry, delving into the synthesis of novel supramolecular polyamides.
In October 2024, Josh took an exciting step in his career by joining the 5Metis team as a research associate within the R&D department. When he's not immersed in groundbreaking research, you can find him indulging in his favorite pastimes - gaming, reading, and enjoying captivating anime series.
Jason Speake, Ph.D.
Jason has a long history of success in leading discovery chemistry efforts. After obtaining his Ph.D. in chemistry at Indiana University, he spent many years in medicinal chemistry leading discovery teams at GlaxoSmithKline, Targacept, Scynexis, Avista, and Cambrex resulting in multiple clinical candidates across a variety of therapeutic areas. (Hover to Read More)
Jason has a long history of success in leading discovery chemistry efforts. After obtaining his Ph.D. in chemistry at Indiana University, he spent many years in medicinal chemistry leading discovery teams at GlaxoSmithKline, Targacept, Scynexis, Avista, and Cambrex resulting in multiple clinical candidates across a variety of therapeutic areas. In 2020, Jason transitioned to agricultural chemistry upon joining Oerth Bio to lead the discovery of targeted protein degraders for use in crop protection, before ultimately joining 5Metis in May 2024. Jason has over 50 patents, patent applications, and publications.
Murray Spruill, J.D., Ph.D.
Murray has extensive experience developing working with clients to develop patent portfolios, in- and out-licensing, and providing opinions on freedom to operate and patentability. He was a former partner at Alston & Bird, LLP, where was a co-leader of the Intellectual Property Patent Group and the leader of the Biotechnology, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Team. (Hover to Read More)
Murray has extensive experience developing working with clients to develop patent portfolios, in- and out-licensing, and providing opinions on freedom to operate and patentability. He was a former partner at Alston & Bird, LLP, where was a co-leader of the Intellectual Property Patent Group and the leader of the Biotechnology, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Team. On multiple occasions Murray has earned the Raleigh-Durham Area Lawyer of the Year Award for Biotechnology Law and he has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology Law. Murray received his Ph.D. in Genetics from North Carolina State University and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Luke Steere, Ph.D.
A native of Michigan, Luke received his B.S. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and his PhD from Michigan State University. His graduate research focused on plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere, soil microbe population dynamics as they relate to soil-borne plant diseases, and the implementation of next-generation sequencing and spatial/temporal geographical information into integrated pest management. (Hover to Read More)
A native of Michigan, Luke received his B.S. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His graduate research focused on plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere, soil microbe population dynamics as they relate to soil-borne plant diseases, and the implementation of next-generation sequencing and spatial/temporal geographical information into integrated pest management. His post-doctoral research on fungicide resistance management and applied field biology for new product development eventually led to a career in crop protection chemistry discovery and development. At 5Metis, Luke leads the crop protection R&D team located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Outside of work, Luke enjoys golf and fly fishing.
Steve Tuttle, B.S.
Steve is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and member of the board of directors of 5Metis since June 2024. Currently he also serves as President and CEO of AgriMetis LLC, following years of global agriculture business experience and expertise. In addition, he has been a member of the board of directors of JRJ company (Gowan) since 2018. (Hover to Read More)
Steve is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and member of the Board of Directors of 5Metis since June 2024. Currently he also serves as President and CEO of AgriMetis LLC, following years of global agriculture business experience and expertise. In addition, he has been a member of the board of directors of JRJ company (Gowan) since 2018. Steven has more than 35 years of global agricultural business experience and expertise, including a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology, agriculture and renewable energy industries. Steven is skilled in business strategy, development and organizational planning. His experiences include building, running, developing and leading global businesses. Specifically, within the Agricultural Segment he has held several sales, marketing and commercial management roles. One of Steven’s responsibilities has been as global business director for the insecticides and fungicide portfolios within Dow AgroSciences. In addition, he has had responsibility as global business director for the Bioscience platform, Ventures & Business development and Alternative Energy Business (AEB) within The Dow Chemical Company. Steven served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Kokam LLC. He has travelled globally since 1994 and lived for 6 years in Tokyo Japan. He earned a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University.
Xunhai Zheng, Ph.D.
Dr. Xunhai Zheng received his M.S. degree in the field of natural product chemistry from the China Pharmaceutical University, and then earned his Ph.D. degree from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy Science. (Hover to Read More)
Dr. Xunhai Zheng received his M.S. degrees in the field of natural product chemistry from the China Pharmaceutical University, and then earned his Ph. D. degrees from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy Science. Xunhai joined the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) as a postdoc and then as a research fellow in nuclear magnetic resonance group, conducting research on HIV reverse transcriptase conformational changes. Since 2015, he joined Bayer Cropscience in trait discovery as a protein biochemist, and then BASF in microbe discovery as a scientist III, focusing on novel functional gene identification, expression, characterization, also developing new analytical assays and approaches to support the pipeline discovery. As a diligent and innovative senior scientist and protein biochemist, Xunhai offers more than 10 years’ experience in R&D with a solid background in protein biochemistry, organic chemistry, analytic chemistry and biophysics. ​
At 5Metis, Xunhai works as a Senior Analytical Chemist in the crop protection R&D team. He currently has 2 U.S. Patents, and 14 peer reviewed publications (10 first-authors). Outside of work, his hobbies include playing ping-pong, fishing and gardening.
5Metis Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
Stephen Benkovic, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephen (Steve) J. Benkovic is an Evan Pugh University Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University. (Hover to Read More)
Dr. Stephen J. Benkovic is an Evan Pugh University Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University. His research has focused on the assembly and kinetic characteristics of the protein machinery that is responsible for DNA replication; the importance of dynamic coupling of proximal and distal residues in the catalytic cycle of dihydrofolate reductase; the intracellular observation of de novo purine biosynthesis, the collaborative development of novel sound based technologies for studying cellular communication, and development of boron therapeutics. He has been recognized by awards including the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the National Medal of Science, and the National Academy of Science Award in Chemical Sciences. He is also a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Philosophical Society.
Philip Goelet, Ph.D.
Philip has extensive experience as a scientist, entrepreneur and investor. After completing a Ph.D. on sequencing Tobacco Mosaic Virus at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK and a postdoctoral fellowship on learning and memory at Columbia University, NY, he turned his attention to biotechnology. (Hover to Read More)
Philip has extensive experience as a scientist, entrepreneur and investor. After completing a Ph.D. on sequencing Tobacco Mosaic Virus at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK and a postdoctoral fellowship on learning and memory at Columbia University, NY, he turned his attention to biotechnology. Since 1990 he has co-founded and invested in a number of biotechnology companies including Molecular Tool, Inc. (acquired by Orchid Biosciences), RiboTargets, Plc. (merged with Vernalis), Population Genetic Technologies, Arginetix (acquired by AstraZeneca), ZuvaChem and AgriMetis. In parallel he co-founded Acidophil LLC, an innovation partnership, with Nobel Laureate Sydney Brenner, and Red Abbey Venture Partners, a health care private equity fund, with Frank Bonsal and Matt Zuga.
Peter Hertl, Ph.D.
Peter is a product safety and regulatory expert with 30 years professional experience in the registration of chemicals and genetically modified organisms. Peter holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and completed executive leadership coursesat Harvard Business school and IMD Lausanne. (Hover to Read More)
Peter is a product safety and regulatory expert with 30 years professional experience in the registration of chemicals and genetically modified organisms. Peter holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and completed executive leadership coursesat Harvard Business school and IMD Lausanne. In 1988, after completing his academic training (Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry awarded by the University of Tübingen, he joined the Agrochemical industry. In his first role he and his team focused on human and environmental exposure assessment to agrochemicals. Peter has specific technical expertise in human and environmental exposure and effects, data generation and risk assessment, including mechanistic, probabilistic, stochastic models and methods as well as geospatial analyses. Peter has held numerous management and senior management positions with Syngenta, Novartis and Sandoz, with department sizes up to 900 professionals. As a senior manager he was accountable for:
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The co-creation and implementation of a unique product safety testing and data acquisition strategy with key outcomes in cost and time to market reduction resulting in a significant positive impact on product portfolio value.
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Key contributions to re-engineering and implementing a product invention strategy that ensured the optimum design and selection of molecules for commercial development, resulting in an industry leading innovation pipeline.
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Development of an end-to-end business model for the Safety and Regulatory function in close cross functional stakeholder collaboration including the design and establishment associated processes and governance.
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Current activities: In addition to leading the regulatory and safety function for Invaio - a Cambridge, MA based start up - Peter serves on two boards: a Swiss based NGO providing home and education to orphans in Nepal and a global CRO providing services to the Agricultural firms.
Andrew Plant, Ph.D.
Andrew Plant has more than 30 years of experience in the crop protection and animal health industries in a variety of research and development roles spanning multi-national companies and startup enterprises. He has made numerous contributions as a scientist and as a leader to active ingredient invention, process research, and product development. (Hover to Read More)
Andrew Plant has more than 30 years of experience in the crop protection and animal health industries in a variety of research and development roles spanning multi-national companies and startup enterprises. He has made numerous contributions as a scientist and as a leader to active ingredient invention, process research, and product development. Andrew is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Animol Discovery Inc, and his previous roles include Chief Technology Officer at AgriMetis, Director Drug Discovery at MSD Animal Health, Head of Research Chemistry at Syngenta, and Head of Lawn & Garden R&D at Syngenta. Andrew has a B.Sc. in chemistry and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Liverpool, UK.
David Spring, Ph.D.
David is currently a Professor at the University of Cambridge within the Chemistry Department. He worked with Sir Jack E. Baldwin (University of Oxford) and Stuart L. Schreiber (Harvard University), before he joined the faculty at the University of Cambridge in 2001.
David is currently a Professor at the University of Cambridge within the Chemistry Department. He worked with Sir Jack E. Baldwin (University of Oxford) and Stuart L. Schreiber (Harvard University), before he joined the faculty at the University of Cambridge in 2001. David’s research spans the disciplines of chemistry and biology through the synthesis of molecules, which are applied to problems in the life sciences. In particular, he has focused on diversity-oriented synthesis, new synthetic methodologies and chemical biology in order to discover new, biologically-functional molecules. He has co-authored around 250 journal articles. His group’s laboratory has been awarded a number of research prizes including the Royal Society of Chemistry’s “Corday-Morgan Award”. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He has collaborated with many international companies in the chemical industries.
Robert J. Steffens, Ph.D.
Robert holds a M.Sc. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Applied Entomology (University of Mainz and Giessen resp.) He is a results oriented former executive with Bayer CropScience (retired 2018) with more than 30 years of exceptionally broad international and domestic experience in research, development, and technical market support. (Hover to Read More)
Robert holds a M.Sc. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Applied Entomology (University of Mainz and Giessen resp.) He is a results oriented former executive with Bayer CropScience (retired 2018) with more than 30 years of exceptionally broad international and domestic experience in research, development, and technical market support. He held numerous positions with increasing responsibilities in Europe, Africa, South-America and the USA. Last he served as VP and Head of Development for Region North-America with Bayer. Robert is recognized for effective leadership skills, strategic thinking, strong technical expertise across all indications as well as market knowledge and grower needs. He has a proven record of identifying opportunities, e.g., with new technologies early and accurately, developing strategies together with all involved disciplines, successfully implementing action plans and accomplishing bottom-line results. Robert now enjoys working with start-up companies as a technical advisor focusing on the biological/technical fit and business potential of innovative candidates in all stages. He is known for frank and clear input and recommendations to boards, R&D, Marketing and Business Development.
Mark Zettler, Ph.D.
Mark Zettler is a recognized technology leader and strategist with more than 30 years of experience in the pre-harvest and post-harvest food and agricultural sciences sectors. (Hover to Read More)
Mark Zettler is a recognized technology leader and strategist with more than 30 years of experience in the pre-harvest and post-harvest food and agricultural sciences sectors. He held numerous global leadership roles across R&D and New Business Development for Dow Chemical and Dow AgroSciences in the discovery, development, IP protection, registration and launch of new active ingredients, traits, and formulated products. Mark was instrumental in the carve-out of AgroFresh from Dow Chemical into a standalone, international, publicly traded company via a Special Purchase Acquisition Company (SPAC). As Vice President of R&D, Innovation and Regulatory, he led the development of market leading technologies for crop stress management and the shelf-life extension of fresh produce and ornamentals, including ethylene control products, predictive genomics, machine learning and blockchain. Mark has a passion for building strategic partnerships with customers, startups, accelerators, research institutes, and investors. As proprietor of AgroAdvisors International Inc, he now serves on Boards of Directors and Scientific Advisory Boards for multiple companies. He also leads startup companies through their international product development processes and global expansion. Mark holds a PhD in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University.
5Metis Board of Directors
John Atkin, Ph.D.
Board Member
John Atkin was Chief Operating Officer of Syngenta from its creation in 2000 until his retirement in 2014. He is currently chairman of AgBiTech, a biologicals company and was recently appointed to the board of AgroFresh, a leader in post-harvest solutions. (Hover to Read More)
John Atkin was Chief Operating Officer of Syngenta from its creation in 2000 until his retirement in 2014. He is currently chairman of AgBiTech, a biologicals company and was recently appointed to the board of AgroFresh, a leader in post-harvest solutions. Since 2015 John has been a board member of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, and from 2011 he has served on the board of Driscoll's, a U.S. based global fresh produce company.
Roger Kemble, Ph.D.
Board Member
Roger served a number of leadership roles for Syngenta including President of Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., retiring in 2012. Prior to that, he held management positions at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Allelix Crop Technologies and Allelix Inc. (Hover to Read More)
Roger served a number of leadership roles for Syngenta including President of Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., retiring in 2012. Prior to that, he held management positions at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Allelix Crop Technologies and Allelix Inc. In parallel, he had an academic career as Professor at University of Toronto, adjunct Professor at University of Waterloo and Assistant Professor at Kansas State University. Post-doctoral research was performed at University of Florida and the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge following a Ph.D. from King's College, London. In "retirement", Roger has served on the board of directors and/or advisory boards of Agbiome, AgriMetis, AgTech Accelerator, Boragen and Vindara including terms as CEO of AgTech Accelerator, Boragen and Vindara. Roger is President of Kemble Advisors LLC and serves on the board of the United Way of Greater Triangle.
Yogesh Mago
Chairman of the Board
Yogesh Mago is a Senior Advisor to Ospraie Ag Science LLC, the venture arm of Ospraie Management LLC, a commodities investment firm. He has over 15 years of experience in public and private equity investing globally. (Hover to Read More)
Yogesh Mago is a Senior Advisor to Ospraie Ag Science LLC, the venture arm of Ospraie Management LLC, a commodities investment firm. He has over 15 years of experience in public and private equity investing globally. Yogesh also serves on the Board of Directors of Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp., a NASDAQ-listed company which is a fully integrated provider of crop productivity solutions designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality. Yogesh is also on the Advisory Board of Girl Rising, the nonprofit organization behind the worldwide social action campaign for girls' education and empowerment. Previously, Yogesh was a Senior Investment Analyst at hedge funds Ospraie Management LLC and Merchants' Gate Capital LP. In those roles, he sourced and oversaw portfolio investments across five continents in a variety of industries, including agriculture, travel, consumer, industrials, and real estate. He began his career in the Investment Banking division at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., in New York City
Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D.
Board Member
Lucy is a Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford School of Medicine where she holds the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Chair in Cancer Research, and is the Director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. (Hover to Read More)
Lucy is a Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford School of Medicine where she holds the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Chair in Cancer Research, and is the Director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Pacific Biosciences, Inc. She co-founded the anti-infectives discovery company, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, that was sold to Pfizer in 2016. She co-founded a second company, Boragen, in 2017. Lucy has been the recipient of multiple honors, including: election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Philosophical Society. Her work established a systems engineering paradigm underlying cell differentiation that has yielded fundamental insights into the living cell and garnered her multiple awards including the FASEB Excellence in Science Award, the Selman Waksman Award from the National Academy of Sciences, The Canada International Gairdner Award, The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, The Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award, The Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, the Dickson Prize in Science and President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Science in 2013.
Cindy Smith
Board Member
Cindy has over 25 years of global agricultural business management experience in regulatory, marketing, sales, public and government affairs roles. She has spent most of those 25 years working for Gowan Company, LLC. (Hover to Read More)
Cindy has over 25 years of global agricultural business management experience in regulatory, marketing, sales, public and government affairs roles. She has spent most of those 25 years working for Gowan Company, LLC. She served for several years as Chief Operating Officer of Gowan’s Global Marketing companies. Cindy also spent four years working for AMVAC as Senior Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs. She has successful experience obtaining and defending EPA registration of synthetic and biological pesticides. Cindy has strong relationships and extensive experience working with regulators, policy makers and agricultural commodity groups. She has been appointed to EPA Federal Advisory Committees and State Agricultural Advisory Boards. She plays a leadership role on many CropLife America committees. Cindy admits to be an Orange Theory addict and really enjoys golfing.
Steve Tuttle, B.S.
Steve is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and member of the Board of Directors of 5Metis since June 2024. Currently he also serves as President and CEO of AgriMetis LLC, following years of global agriculture business experience and expertise. In addition, he has been a member of the board of directors of JRJ company (Gowan) since 2018. (Hover to Read More)
Steve is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and member of the Board of Directors of 5Metis since June 2024. Currently he also serves as President and CEO of AgriMetis LLC, following years of global agriculture business experience and expertise. In addition, he has been a member of the board of directors of JRJ company (Gowan) since 2018. Steven has more than 35 years of global agricultural business experience and expertise, including a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology, agriculture and renewable energy industries. Steven is skilled in business strategy, development and organizational planning. His experiences include building, running, developing and leading global businesses. Specifically, within the Agricultural Segment he has held several sales, marketing and commercial management roles. One of Steven’s responsibilities has been as global business director for the insecticides and fungicide portfolios within Dow AgroSciences. In addition, he has had responsibility as global business director for the Bioscience platform, Ventures & Business development and Alternative Energy Business (AEB) within The Dow Chemical Company. Steven served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Kokam LLC. He has travelled globally since 1994 and lived for 6 years in Tokyo Japan. He earned a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University.
5Metis Executive & Board Member
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