Metabolix, Inc. - Company - Management Team

The challenges of producing and commercializing a new family of bio-based polymers have required the assembly of a cross-disciplinary team with expertise in molecular biology, genetic engineering, industrial fermentation, chemical engineering, and polymer chemistry. This unusual combination of skills is to be found at only a few Fortune 500 companies and, in those companies, is typically not found coherently focused on a single program.

Richard P Eno, President and Chief Executive Officer

Richard P. Eno has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director since March 2008. Mr. Eno has more than twenty five years of professional experience in the chemicals and energy business. Prior to joining Metabolix, Mr. Eno served as Vice President, Leader Global Oil & Gas Sector at CRA International, a leading provider of management consulting services and economic and financial expertise to global companies. Earlier in his career, he held various roles at Arthur D. Little and Chevron Corporation. Mr. Eno holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Houston and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Joseph Hill, Chief Financial Officer

Joseph Hill has been our Chief Financial Officer since April 2008. Mr. Hill has more than twenty years of professional experience in finance, including more than fifteen years of experience at the executive level. Prior to joining Metabolix, Mr. Hill served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer at Amicas, Inc., the leading independent provider of radiology image and information management solutions. At Amicas, Mr. Hill was responsible for all finance, accounting, investor relations, treasury, tax, administration, IT and infrastructure. Prior to that, he was vice president and CFO at Dirig Software, a privately held provider of application performance management software systems. And Mr. Hill previously served as vice president, CFO and Director of Maconomy, a publicly traded provider of web-based business management solutions with more than 70,000 users worldwide. In this role, Hill was responsible for all finance, accounting, treasury, tax, administration, and infrastructure of this public company with offices in eight countries. Mr. Hill has a B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant College and a M.S.F. from Bentley College

Dr. Oliver P. Peoples, Chief Scientific Officer, VP R&D

Dr. Oliver Peoples, Chief Scientific Officer of Metabolix, leads our R&D organization which includes 14 Ph.D. scientists in molecular biology, genetics, and plant biology. Dr. Peoples first identified the genetic pathways for Mirel production in living organisms while at MIT. He is a founder of Metabolix and serves on the Board of Directors.

Robert C. Findlen, VP Sales and Marketing

Robert C. Findlen is Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining Metabolix, Mr. Findlen worked at GE Plastics as product market director, and then as vice president and director for LNP Americas Commercial Business. LNP Engineering Plastics was acquired by GE Plastics in March 2002. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Findlen held a number of positions at LNP Engineering Plastics, most recently, from 1998 to 2003, as vice president of sales and marketing.

Brian Igoe, Vice President and Chief Brand Officer

Brian Igoe is Vice President and Chief Brand Officer. Before joining Metabolix, he was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Oco, Inc., a managed software company. He has extensive experience in marketing and promotions as well as over 25 years in product development for companies such as Reebok and Nike. As owner of his own marketing and development company, he worked with clients such as Canada Dry and ASICS Corporation. At Metabolix, he will be managing the branding to position Bioplastic in the marketplace.

Dr. Robert Whitehouse, Director of Applications Development

Dr. Robert Whitehouse, our Director of Applications Development, has over 30 years of experience developing and marketing specialty polymers for highly technical applications. Dr. Whitehouse is also responsible for the development of new applications and markets for Metabolix's Mirels. He also directs the company's external projects in applications research.

Dan Gilliland, Director of Business Development

Dan Gilliland, Director of Business Development, has over 25 years in marketing and sales of specialty polymers and materials. He is responsible for positioning and introducing Metabolix’s products in the marketplace.

Ben Locke, Director of Government Programs

Benjamin Locke is the Director of Government Programs at Metabolix, where he has established a $20 million portfolio of Government programs focused on using agricultural resources to replace petrochemical based polymer systems. He interacts with federal and state lawmakers and leaders to guide policy and legislation in favor of bioproducts, renewable resources, biomass energy, and agriculture-based industrial systems, and he has successfully steered language in key legislation in favor of biobased, renewable products.

Mr. Locke is also responsible for all sales and marketing of Metabolix bioplastic to Government segments. He has established key test and evaluation programs within the Department of Defense for several applications of bioplastic, which will lead to adoption and sales of products to the Army and Navy. He works closely with the other members of the Metabolix sales and marketing team to position bioplastic as an attractive alternative to petrochemical plastics.

Prior to joining Metabolix in 2001, Mr. Locke was Vice President of Research at Innovative Imaging Systems, a high-tech R&D company. He was responsible for development and implementation of growth strategies for funding of specialty electronic systems for the Government.

Mr. Locke has a B.S. in Physics from the University of Massachusetts, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, and an MBA in corporate finance from Boston University.

Dr. Kristi Snell, Team Leader of Plant Metabolic Engineering

Dr. Kristi Snell, our Team Leader of Plant Metabolic Engineering, directs the company's internal plant projects and manages the company's external projects with universities to develop systems for Mirel production in plants. Dr. Snell earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University and studied as a post doctoral associate at MIT working in the field of Mirel biosynthesis.

Dr. Tom M. Ramseier, Associate Director of Microbial Development

Dr. Tom M. Ramseier, Associate Director of Microbial Development, leads the metabolic engineering team for the production of Mirel Bioplastic in microbes. He received his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland and has over 20 years experience in microbial strain development, genomics, and bioinformatics.

Dr. Yossef Shabtai, Senior Fermentation Scientist

Dr. Yossef Shabtai, Senior Fermentation Scientist, has a Ph.D. in microbiology from Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and more than 30 years’ experience in fermentation technology for the production of bioproducts and biopolymers using a variety of microorganisms. He directs the development of fermentation processes for the production of Mirel bioplastics, and oversees related applied microbiological activity, analytical support, and quality control for the manufacturing group.

Dr. Kevin Sparks, Principal Processing Engineer

Dr. Kevin Sparks, Principal Processing Engineer, has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He directs Technical Development and Pilot and Manufacturing Operations for Polymer Recovery.

Debra Darby, Brand Director

Debra Darby, Brand Director, has 22 years of marketing and sales experience including seven years as a private marketing consultancy working with multinational brands. She is responsible for the planning, implementing and management of brand and marketing communications.