ORIGIN MATERIALS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Public and Institutional Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Initiatives
Ben Freireich has more than a decade of experience in the chemical and process industries. Dr. Freireich is a leading industry expert in both product and process research and development for solid materials. Prior to Origin Materials, Dr. Freireich served as the Technical Director of Particulate Solid Research, Inc. (PSRI) where he led applied process research efforts for a consortium of over thirty multinational corporations. He was previously a Research Scientist in Core R&D at The Dow Chemical Company, where he served as subject matter expert responsible for product and process development over a wide range of businesses, products, and technologies. Dr. Freireich is a specialist in particle technology with expertise in particle design, powder flowability, mixing, fluidization, size enlargement, attrition, and other areas of solids engineering, and has authored sections of Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook. He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University studying manufacturing processes involving solid materials. Dr. Freireich also holds a Master of Science in Engineering from Purdue and graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Member of the Audit Committee
- Independent Director / Audit Committee
Mr. Rogerson has four decades of executive experience leading private and publicly held specialty chemical companies. He served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hexion Inc., a leading global producer of adhesives and performance materials, from July 2017 until his retirement in January 2023. Previously, he served from December 2008 to April 2017 as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office at Chemtura Corporation, a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of engineered industrial specialty chemicals. Mr. Rogerson also served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Hercules Incorporated from December 2003 until November 2008. He currently serves as independent board chair of PPL Corporation and on the boards of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital. He also previously served on the boards of Ashland Global Holdings Inc., the Society of Chemical Industry and the American Chemistry Council. Mr. Rogerson holds a chemical engineering degree from Michigan State University, and continues to serve on the Michigan State University College of Engineering Alumni board and on the advisory board of the Michigan State University Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Department.
David Ballow has over 20 years of experience in the chemical processing industry. He is a Chemical Engineer originally from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area and is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University. He has experience leading teams on capital projects of many sizes and stages of development including international and domestic projects. Prior to joining Origin, he was a Process Technology Manager at Burns & McDonnell where he focused on developing successful capital projects from concept to front end design often evaluating many options to develop an optimized project scope.
Job Titles:
- VP of Procurement and Supply Chain
Job Titles:
- Director of Commercial Operations and Planning
Job Titles:
- Senior Technical Director, R & D
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Independent Director / Audit Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee / Member of the Compensation Committee
Mr. Stephanou brings over thirty years of experience in manufacturing operations and engineering, including his current role as CEO of IPS (Integrated Project Services), an engineering and construction services provider to the life sciences sector. Previously, he served as Vice President and Head of Engineering and Projects at Merck & Co., Inc., a position he held from 2015 to 2023. Prior to joining Merck, he held various leadership positions at Bayer Corp. for over a decade, including roles as Vice President of Engineering and General Manager, Vice President of Global Asset Management, Vice President and Plant Manager for Manufacturing and Technology, and Regional Director of Engineering and Maintenance. Mr. Stephanou joined Lyondell Basell Industries N.V. in 1988 and held a variety of supervisory positions with the company before being named Manager of Maintenance and Reliability in 2000. Mr. Stephanou holds a mechanical engineering degree from Drexel University.
John Bissell co-founded Origin Materials in November 2008 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of its board of directors since inception. Mr. Bissell has extensive experience in R&D, engineering, and business development in the chemical industry. In 2008, Mr. Bissell received the People, Prosperity, and the Planet Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and in 2014, he was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Energy & Industry category. Mr. Bissell holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
John Bissell co-founded Origin Materials in November 2008 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer - now co-Chief Executive Officer - and a member of its board of directors since inception. Mr. Bissell was trained as a chemical engineer at UC Davis, and has extensive experience in R&D, engineering, and business development in the chemical industry. He's been recognized by the US EPA, Forbes, and the University of California for his professional and technical contributions. Finally, he's raised over half a billion USD in capital, and took Origin Materials public in 2021.
Joshua Lee - Chief Legal Officer
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Its Corporate Counsel
Joshua Lee joined Origin Materials as its Corporate Counsel in February 2018 and has served as General Counsel since December 2020 and Secretary since February 2020. Prior to joining Origin Materials, Mr. Lee was an attorney at Miller Barondess, LLP from September 2016 to February 2018, and at Irell & Manella LLP from August 2009 to September 2016. Mr. Lee received a B.A. in Economics and German from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Southern California and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Origin 's Board of Directors
Karen Richardson has served as the Chair of Origin's board of directors since June 2021. Ms. Richardson has a breadth of experience in the technology services industry and currently serves as a non-executive director of BP plc and Exponent. Ms. Richardson served as a director of Worldpay from 2018 until July 2019. Prior to this, Ms. Richardson was an independent non-executive director of Worldpay Group plc. Ms. Richardson also served as a non-executive director at BT Plc from 2011-2018. Prior to her time at Worldpay and BT, Ms. Richardson held a number of senior sales and marketing roles in technology companies, including her tenure as Chief Executive Officer at Epiphany Inc. between 2003 and 2006. Ms. Richardson has also served as an advisor to Silver Lake Partners and has served on a number of private company boards, including i2 Holdings, Ayasdi LLC, Hackerrank, Convercent, Inc., Virtuoz, and Hi5 Networks, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee
- Independent Director
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee / Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Kathleen B. Fish has served on Origin's board of directors since June 2021 and as Chair of the Compensation Committee since February 2023. Ms. Fish served as chief research, development and innovation officer of Procter & Gamble from February 2014 until December 2020. Prior to this, Ms. Fish served as vice president of the Global Fabric Care R&D organization at Procter & Gamble from January 2009 to January 2014, and as vice president of the Global Baby Care R&D organization at Procter & Gamble from November 2003 to November 2008. Ms. Fish joined Procter & Gamble in 1979 as part of its Product Development (R&D) organization. Ms. Fish is currently a member of the USA Swimming and Balchem Board of Directors.
Mako Masuno has over 9 years of experience with Origin Materials and over 20 years of experience in the chemistry industry. Dr. Masuno has strong expertise in natural product biosynthesis and biomimetic synthesis, pathway development and optimization, and structure/property relationships which Dr. Masuno developed during his time as a professor in the chemistry department at Sacramento and Westmont colleges in California. Dr. Masuno was a significant contributor to the development of Origin Materials' furanic platform process and scale-up to para-xylene production. Dr. Masuno currently has 14 publications, 4 pending patents, and 5 provisionally filed patent applications. Dr. Masuno is responsible for the overall research and development of Origin Materials' technology. Dr. Masuno has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from UC Davis, and a B.S. in Chemistry from Westmont College.
Mr. Plavan brings 30 years of successful leadership and board governance experience in public and private companies in the ag-tech, medical device, cell therapy, and healthcare industries. Prior to joining Origin, from May 2022 to October 2023, Mr. Plavan served as Chief Executive Officer and currently serves in the board of IngredientWerks, Inc., a leading molecular farming company specializing in the development of plant-based animal protein ingredients for the $6B alternative protein and food ingredient markets. Previously, Mr. Plavan held executive roles, including CFO for publicly traded Arcadia Biosciences during their transformation from an agricultural biotechnology research firm to a revenue generating, on-trend consumer food products company. Prior to joining Arcadia, Mr. Plavan spent a decade in the executive suite with publicly traded Cesca Therapeutics, Inc. where, during his stint as CFO, he led the financing for the development, manufacture and commercial introduction of the Res-Q stem cell therapy device into the spinal surgery market. Previous to that, Mr. Plavan held positions as VP of Finance within McKesson and manager, audit & advisory at Ernst & Young. He is a California certified public accountant and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Job Titles:
- Senior VP of Accounting and Finance
Ms. Haley, age 53, is an experienced financial professional with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry and extensive expertise in budgeting, accounting, corporate financial planning and analysis, and internal controls. Prior to her appointment as Interim Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Haley served as the Company's Senior Vice President of Accounting and Finance since January 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Haley held several financial leadership roles at Arcadia Biosciences Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company, including Chief Financial Officer from September 2019 to January 2023, Controller from November 2014 to August 2019, Director of Accounting from 2010 to 2014, and Accounting Manager from 2005 to 2010. Ms. Haley received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Arizona.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Independent Director / Audit Committee
Pia Heidenmark Cook has served on Origin's board of directors since June 2021. Ms. Cook has also served as Chief Sustainability Officer at Ingka Group (IKEA), from 2017 to August 2021. Prior to this position, she served as head of Sustainability in IKEA Retail & Expansion for the IKEA Group from 2011 to 2017 and as head of Communications for the IKEA Foundation from 2008 to 2011. Prior to joining IKEA in 2008, Ms. Cook served as Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Rezidor Hotel Group from 2001 to 2008. Ms. Cook currently serves on the boards of Bupa, MAX Burgers AB. and, from January 2023, Decathlon SA. Ms. Cook also serves as senior advisor to Teneo and the DO Group. Ms. Cook has previously served as co-chair of The Retailers' Environmental Action Programme and as chairman of the tourism branch of the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum. Ms. Cook has received a Technical Licentiate degree and a M.Sc. in Environmental Management from the University of Lund, Sweden, and a M.Sc. in International Business Administration and Economics from Uppsala University, Sweden.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Compensation Committee
- Independent Director / Audit Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee / Member of the Compensation Committee
Mr. Tripeny brings over three decades of significant operational, strategy, and M&A experience, extensive knowledge of the manufacturing, technology, and materials science industries, and a background in international corporate finance. Since 2022, he has served as a director at Mesa Laboratories, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacturing of life science tools and critical quality control solutions. During his 36-year career with Corning, Incorporated, a global leading innovator in materials science, Mr. Tripeny held various, progressive leadership roles in the areas of corporate accounting and finance, including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer. He also served on the board of Hardinge Inc. from 2012 to 2018 and as a Financial Analyst for GKN Automotive Inc. from 1981 to 1985. Mr. Tripeny holds an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and is a member of the Financial Executives Institute and the Institute of Management Accounting.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - CEO
Rich Riley has served as Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Origin Materials since October 2020. Mr. Riley has been an advisor to and investor in Origin since 2010. From April 2013 to January 2019, Mr. Riley was the Chief Executive Officer of Shazam Entertainment Ltd, a leading mobile music application that was acquired by Apple Inc. in 2018. Mr. Riley served as an industry advisor to KKR & Co. L.P., a leading global investment firm, from 2013 to 2022. Mr. Riley was an executive at Yahoo! Inc. from Jan 1999 to Sept. 2012 with roles including EVP, Americas and SVP & MD, EMEA Region. He joined Yahoo! when it acquired Log-Me-On.com, where he was the Co-Founder and Managing Member. Mr. Riley began his career as an investment banking analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Riley was a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Featured in Forbes 40 under 40 Ones to Watch and included three times in Billboard Magazine's Power 100 list. Mr. Riley is a Trustee at St. Luke's school, a member of the advisory Board for the Entrepreneurship Department at the Wharton School and a member of the Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America, Connecticut Yankee Council. Mr. Riley received a B.S. in economics with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Co - Founder
Ryan Smith co-founded Origin Materials in 2008 and has served as Chief Technology Officer since inception. Mr. Smith has deep expertise in intellectual property protection, chemical and materials technology strategy, business development, and new product development within the chemical industry. Mr. Smith received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee
- Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Independent Director / Audit Committee
William Harvey served as a member of Origin Operating's board of directors from June 2017 to June 2021 and as a member of Origin's board and the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee since June 2021. Mr. Harvey served from July 2009 to December 2016 as the President of DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers (P&IP), a global business unit of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc. Mr. Harvey became a member of the board of directors of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., the North American subsidiary of a Japanese multinational auto and truck parts manufacturer, in June 2017. Since March 2011, Mr. Harvey has served on the board of directors of Kennametal, Inc., a public supplier of tooling and industrial materials. In March 2020, Mr. Harvey joined the Management Board of Huber Engineered Woods LLC, a manufacturer and supplier of wood products and a wholly-owned subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corporation. Since March 2021, he has been a member of the board of Clean Chemistry, Inc, a small start up company owned by Black Bay Energy Capital. As a part of that assignment, Mr. Harvey sits on Black Bay's Advisory Board which reviews strategic investment opportunities. Mr. Harvey received an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University.