Our team
Plant-Powered Innovation.
Biotech Expertise.
Dr Peter Luebcke
Chief Executive Officer
Peter has a considerable experience in science, innovation and commercialising intellectual property. With a chemistry degree and physics PhD, Peter has worked in a variety of roles from university spin-out company formation, investment and technology transfer though to tier 1 product development consultancy across multiple healthcare, cosmetic and consumer products and also managing numerous successful grant applications and subsequently coordinating the resulting R&D projects. Peter also worked in several start-up companies coordinating investment, business planning and commercialisation activities in parallel with clinical trial design, product formulation and IP licensing.
Andrew Shearer
Chief Operating Officer
Andrew is an experienced angel investor and business development advisor with a background in agriculture, life sciences, and biotech. After managing his family’s farming business, he transitioned to supporting startups, investing in a natural products company in 1998 and later joining a larger life sciences firm as Innovations Liaison Manager. With extensive knowledge of the UK’s biotech, agritech, and medtech sectors, Andrew excels at building connections between SMEs and academia, offering strategic guidance to early-stage companies. He is adept at business development, securing non-dilutive funding, and promoting innovation through his consultancy and professional networks.
Harry Ross
Chief Technology Officer
Harry has a background in industrial biotechnology with many years of laboratory technician and R+D experience. For three years as a Process Development Scientist with Valogen, Harry maintained and optimised the company's pilot plant to produce bioactive hydrolysates from proteinaceous biomass, create new IP and support compositional analysis testing. As CTO, Harry assists in setting up of grants to further new innovations, on-going scale up of the process and the continued operation of the pilot plant.
Howard Munt
Director Food, Flavour & Nutrition
Howard is a Food Scientist with a long career in Food and Flavour ingredient product development and a specialty of Natural Plant-Based Ingredients for Food and Pet Food. Technical Project Management, Regulatory & Compliance and Purchasing support have featured in both leading-class multinational and dynamic Startup food ingredient companies. Managing research programs successfully to launch healthy and sustainable products that taste delicious is my passion!
Darryl Kirsh
Chief Financial Officer
Darryl is a highly experienced leader in corporate restructuring and private equity, having served as the former leader of KPMG’s Corporate Restructuring Practice. He also held key roles as managing partner at Catalis Partners and EVM/Monitor Private Equity. With over 30 years of experience as an early-stage technology investor, Darryl has been instrumental in building and scaling innovative businesses. As a repeat founder with two successful exits, and four additional exits as an investor, his deep industry knowledge and strategic expertise have consistently delivered value for the companies he partners with.
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