CELLUCOMP - Key Persons
Christian is an early investor in CelluComp and is now executive director and CEO. Prior to CelluComp, Christian held the position of CEO at EDUN, a company developing socially responsible and sustainable clothing and owned, in part, by LVMH . Christian has direct experience working with farmers and producing and marketing finished products. Christian has also held senior management positions with Ralph Lauren, Lacoste (Directeur Générale) and Disney Consumer Products (European Licensing Director) and has extensive experience in product development, manufacturing, marketing and licensing. Christian graduated from Princeton University
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- Founder
- Head of Technology
David is an engineer who has carried out extensive work in moulding bio-composite materials and has published many articles in this subject, including in the Royal Society of London. David studied for his undergraduate degree in Zoology at the University of Reading where he received 1st class honors. He later received his PhD from the University of Reading where he specialised in the Biomechanics of Genetically Modified Plant tissues. Along with Eric, David has managed and operated the CelluComp business from the beginning.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Head of Technology
- Chartered Scientist
Eric is a Chartered Scientist, an MBA graduate (Henley), has a Doctorate in the Synthesis and Characterisation of Liquid Crystal Polymers from the University of Reading and is a member of the Royal Chemistry Society. Eric held Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at the University of Reading in the Centre for Polymer Science (Optical switching) and the Centre for Biomimetics (Mutable Collagen), before joining DERA as a Senior Scientist. Eric has also worked as an independent consultant and has run CelluComp from the beginning, along with Dr David Hepworth.
After graduating in synthetic organic chemistry and biophysical chemistry at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Jan began his professional career at DSM's corporate R&D division before moving into marketing and business research. In 1989 he moved to DSM Fine Chemicals as Business Research and Development Manager. In 1996 Jan began with Wood Mackenzie in Edinburgh, Scotland, to set up a consultancy practice in the fine chemicals area. Jan left Wood Mackenzie in 1999 to create his own consulting company and has established Jan Ramakers Fine Chemical Consulting Group. Jan is a member of the Society of Chemical Industry, the American Chemical Society and is a GlobalScot as well as a member of the Investment Group of Chemical Sciences Scotland.
John is a private investor and was previously VP of research for Fidelity Management and Research Co. While there he led a research team responsible for the strategic direction and priorities of FMR research and spent much of his time investing in India. Prior to that, John worked as a senior equity analyst and director of research for Pioneer Asset Management, Boston. John also held the same job at MA. Montgomery Asset Management based in San Francisco. John completed a Graduate School of International and Public Affairs degree at Columbia University in New York, and did his undergraduate degree at Colgate University. John speaks fluent Japanese and has lived several years in Japan.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors
- Principal and Former Chairman of the Brattle Group
Michael Cragg is a principal and former Chairman of The Brattle Group which is an international economic consulting firm with 500 employees in 13 offices in North America, Europe, Chin and Australia. He is an expert witness who regularly testifies on economic and financial issues in antitrust, tax and securities cases. Dr. Cragg began his career as a Professor of Economics at Columbia University and the UCLA Andersen School of Management. He was also a consultant at RAND, and a Senior Economist in the Capital Markets Section of the Milken Institute. His research has been sponsored by a range of institutions and foundations including the NSF and NIH. Aside from being a director of The Brattle Group, he is also a director of DemandQ which is an integrated SaaS company that provides electricity demand management.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors
- CapAgro As Managing Partner
Tom Espiard joined CapAgro as Managing Partner in July of 2018. Tom brings 12 years of VC and Private Equity investment and portfolio management experience with funds and institutional investors in Canada and in France across various sectors. During this period, he oversaw the deployment of more than C$6bn of private capital in the form of direct investments, co-investments and fund investments and he successfully participated in the launch of a Venture Capital fund in Canada, that he managed until 2017. Prior to that, Tom spent 10 years in M&A and Financing with Canadian and U.S. Investment Banks in Canada primarily in the Tech and Telecom sectors. During this period, he helped companies raise more than C$800M of public equity financings and execute C$7.6bn worth of mergers and acquisitions. Tom served on several boards of portfolio companies, general partnerships and financial institutions in Canada, the U.S., France and in South Africa. Thomas holds a B.A.A from HEC Montreal and an MBA from McGill University.