Team Category: Team

Inventor of much of our foundational RNA production technology, Drew joined GreenLight at its outset more than a decade ago following his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where his graduate work centered around engineering microbes to maximize production of plasmid DNA for use in human and animal health applications. Drew is an author of peer-reviewed publications in the fields of metabolic engineering, bacteriology, and biotechnology. He holds many issued and provisional patents pertaining to cell-free bioprocessing and biocatalysis of various compounds, including many focused on nucleotide and RNA production for agriculture and human health. Drew led the original proof of technology and development work on our dsRNA production platform and its various raw materials. He has also established and run various R&D functions to support both our plant health and human health pipelines during discovery and early-development phases.

Susan guides GreenLight’s continued growth through proactive financial, strategic, and operational leadership.

She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of GLB’s finance and accounting operations. Susan brings 25 years of experience in financial positions across the biotech, consumer packaged goods, and consulting industries. Most recently, she served as financial consultant to a range of life science companies with Danforth Advisors. For five years, Susan was responsible for finance, accounting, and human resources for the commercial-stage life sciences organization Aushon Biosystems Inc., as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Treasurer.

Previous experience includes finance, accounting, and commercial roles at SeraCare Life Sciences Inc., Procter & Gamble, and PwC. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth Graduate School of Business.

Carole is responsible for the process development and manufacturing of products from GreenLights science and innovation.

During Carole’s career she has held progressively more responsible positions in biotechnology with a specific focus on fermentation-based commercial manufacturing, including process development, worldwide manufacturing and global supply chain management. Previously, she was a senior vice president of global supply at Genencor International and continued at that position following its acquisition by Danisco AS. She oversaw industrial biotechnology-based manufacturing strategy, growth and implementation during a period that saw the doubling of manufacturing infrastructure through acquisition, expansion, and new plant construction in the U.S., Asia, South America, and Europe. Carole holds an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester and  bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering, biochemistry, and cell and molecular biology.

Marta is a co-founder of GreenLight and leads the company’s Human Health business.

Under her leadership, Greenlight is developing a multiple mRNA-based drugs approach, including efforts around rapid pandemic response for vaccine; antibody therapies; affordable gene therapies, for which her group got a grant for SCD from the Gates Foundation; and has closed multimillion dollar deals with industry partners in the pharmaceutical, food, and agricultural space.

Since the company’s creation, she has had multiple roles as a founder from business development to fundraising to new business creation. Prior to joining GreenLight, Ortega-Valle was an entrepreneur in residence at Kodiak Venture Partners in Boston, where she started GreenLight with her co-founders Andrey Zarur and James Swartz. She started her career in management, strategy, and technology consulting at Accenture, where she held leadership positions in the US and in Europe, closing and leading consulting engagements for life sciences and consumer goods multinationals.

Ortega-Valle was selected to be part of the Accenture IPO team in 2001, then led the Business Intelligence unit in Paris. She is a board member at GaneshaLab and participates in MIT’s Innovation Teams, a flagship program that explores how to take technologies to impact. She holds an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan Fellows Program at the Sloan School of Management, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from ETSEIB (UPC) Engineering School of Barcelona.

Mark joined GreenLight with a number of R&D leadership roles and a solid track record for improving and optimizing product and project portfolios.

He led UPL’s transformation in the New Technology space using Platforms selected from many worldwide VC-funded companies.

While overseeing the building of the OpenAg Center in RTP and assembling a world class team of scientists, he came to know about GreenLight’s mission, which naturally falls in line with Mark’s experience and values. At Arysta LifeScience he was appointed as the first ever VP of R&D and Regulatory and oversaw a multi-year program that increased the value of the R&D portfolio five-fold and doubled the contribution of BioSolutions. In doing so, he created more than $2 billion of pipeline value. He also had the opportunity to become Chemtura’s Head of R&D for North America and then became the Global Head of R&D and Regulatory.

The first half of Mark’s 25-year career was spent discovering and developing new products and trying wherever possible to leverage biological solutions or smart delivery systems to minimize chemical usage. Mark has had a wide range of experiences in both agricultural R&D and crop protection.

Thomas heads corporate affairs for GreenLight, including marketing, communications, and government affairs.

Thomas joined GreenLight from The Commons Project Foundation, where as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer he led the launch of high-profile global digital services, including CommonHealth and CommonPass, data-sharing platforms that protect user privacy. He also led the launch of the CommonTrust Network, run in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and the U.S.–focused Vaccination Credential Initiative.

Prior to that, Thomas led 1,000+ member global marketing and communications teams based out of the U.S., Europe and Asia. These roles included Global Chair, Digital at Edelman, Global Principal for Ogilvy Consulting, and Global Managing Director for [email protected] Clients included MSD Merck, Philips, McKinsey, Nestlé, and Samsung.

For nearly two decades Thomas was a foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times and International Herald Tribune based out of Asia, Europe and the United States. He covered the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, rare diseases in Africa, the 2004 U.S. presidential race, economics, and technology.

Dave Kennedy leads GreenLight’s legal and compliance function.

He’s been the chief legal officer of public and private companies for the last 15 years, most recently as General Counsel of Criteo S.A (NASDAQ: CRTO), the world’s largest pure-play advertising technology company.

Previously he was the chief legal and compliance officer at Infosys (NYSE: INFY), JDA Software (NASDAQ: JDAS), and Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ). Dave began his professional career with IBM, where he held various legal leadership roles across several business units.

Dave has extensive experience with Corporate Governance, Securities and Compliance, IP protection and monetization, and government and regulatory interaction. Dave earned his JD and bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut.