Management

Jennica is the Plant Manager for Lixea’s pilot plant in Bäckhammar, Sweden. She has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, over a decade of experience in the pulp and paper industry and 5 years in a leadership role. She has an extensive background in different positions and in various industries, which has helped her to develop skills in process management, business development and sales.

Robert has 25 years of professional experience in strategic and financial management, both as a senior corporate manager and as private equity/investment banking manager. Robert has worked in various industries, including chemicals, in several countries - UK, Austria and Hungary among them. He has led multinational operations as group CFO, worked for AIG, HSBC and Templeton while retaining an extensive background in smaller, privately-owned companies and funds as a partner. Previously, Robert has helped to transition small enterprises into modern SMEs, which included implementing efficient IT systems, organising new financing and M&A transactions.

Janis is a Chemical Engineer supporting the scale-up and design of the Dendronic process and working on cellulose and lignin properties and applications. He has 5 years of
consultancy experience within the field of Environment and Water, with a particular
focus on process optimisation and support, technology evaluation, as well as
scientific/quality strategy development. Janis completed his master’s degree at
Heriot Watt University where he worked on valorisation of lignocellulose derived

intermediate compounds.

Brendon has 20 years of experience as a consulting chemical engineer with a strong background in process modelling and scale-up of new technologies. He is particularly focused on identifying the most efficient methods of delivering and monetising technical innovations.

Paul has experience of value generation in public market and private equity environments. His sector exposure includes chemicals/fine chemicals, FMCG manufacturing, electrical equipment and life sciences/biotechnology with recent focus on sustainable technologies. His current positions include being CEO of Biome Technologies plc, Chair of the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum and Chair of the UKRI/BBRSC’s Bioscience for Renewable Resources and Clean Growth Strategy Advisory Panel.

Jason is Professor in Sustainable Chemical Technology at Imperial College’s Chemical Engineering Department. He leads a team of 30 researchers working in the field of biorefining, with a focus on industrial application. He has obtained more than £10 million in research support, including several projects under commercial development. His overall research vision is to develop sustainable, solvent-based chemical processes based on biorenewables that have real-world impact improving everyday life.

Agi obtained her PhD from Imperial College in 2011. She originally developed the Dendronic process and has since continued working on it at Imperial College in Jason’s team and is now heading her own research group at Imperial College’s Chemistry Department where she investigates novel lignin materials. In 2015 she was awarded the President's award of excellence for outstanding early career researcher and in 2016 the Sir William Wakeham Award for having made a significant contribution to her research field.