Ernst Van Orsouw

CEO

Ernst joined as Chief Executive Officer in 2021. Previously he was at Genus, the global leader in livestock genetics, where in commercial roles he was responsible for bringing to market disease resistant animals developed with gene editing.

Whilst at Genus, he was also a board member of the US-based Center for Food Integrity, a not-for-profit organisation with the mission of building trust in the food system, with farmers, retailers and consumer advocacy organisations as members.

Earlier in his career Ernst spent 10 years at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), establishing its agribusiness practice. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Delft University.

Deepika Rajesh

CSO

Deepika joined as Chief Scientific Officer in 2023, bringing over 25 years of biotech and academic experience. She has worked at UW Madison, Cellular Dynamics International (now FujiFilm Cellular Dynamics) and Notch Therapeutics, contributing to pioneering stem cell and iPSC research.

Deepika has led multi-disciplinary teams in developing iPSC banks and commercially launching multiple cell types for therapies, holding 20+ stem cell-related patents.

Deepika holds a PhD from the University of Mumbai and a post-doctoral fellowship in oncology from UW Madison.

Tom Phillips

CCO

Tom joined as Chief Commercial Officer in 2022 and leads our commercial activities. Previously he was an independent advisor, working with cultivated meat companies and investors on strategy, business development and fundraising.

Earlier in his career in worked in food and agriculture in West Africa with AgDevCo, managing an impact investment fund.

Tom has prior experience at McKinsey, where he focussed on sustainability topics. He holds a degree in Engineering from Durham University.

John Clinkenbeard

COO / CFO

John joined in 2019 and has held several leadership roles. With over 25 years of experience in finance and investment, he specialises in business scale-up, complex change delivery and programme management.

Previously, John ran his own consulting business and earlier worked at Ernst & Young in investment consultancy across the UK and USA. He holds an MBA from the University of Edinburgh.

Britt Tye

VP Quality

Britt joined in 2022 and leads our efforts in cell banking, quality management and lab operations.

With over 20 years of previous experience in human pluripotent stem cells, Britt has held roles in manufacturing, quality control and assurance, and brings a strong health and safety background.

She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, where she researched hematopoietic stem cells.

Jef Pinxteren

VP Development

Jef joined in 2024 and leads our media and process development efforts. With over 20 years of experience in academia and industry, he has specialised in optimising cell cultures for biopharma and cultivated meat.

Before joining us, he worked at Meatable on scale-up and technical transfers. He holds three patents and has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles.

Jef earned his PhD from the University of Antwerp and completed an EMBO fellowship at University College London.

Joe Mee

VP Cell Innovation

Joe joined in 2019 and leads our stem cell derivation and differentiation efforts. With over 20 years of experience, Joe is a pioneer in stem cell technology, having received his PhD from the National Institute for Medical Research, London.

He has held various leadership roles in biotech, from startups to publicly traded companies. Joe is the lead inventor on early iPSC patents and holds three other patents. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles throughout his career.