Six distinguished members join board with diverse backgrounds, signaling industry’s expansion into new markets
WASHINGTON (August 19, 2016) – The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the U.S. algae industry, today announced the election of six members to its Board of Directors for the 2016-2018 term. ABO also welcomed Jacques Beaudry-Losique, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development for Algenol as the new board chair, and David Hazlebeck, Founder and CEO of Global Algae Innovations as vice chair. The new and re-elected board members join twelve other distinguished members that are already serving terms on the board.
ABO’s board guides the organization in its mission to educate the general public, policymakers and industry about algae’s great potential to address many of the food, water, health, sustainability and energy security issues facing the world today. Board members support the organization in advocating for policies that can accelerate the development of commercial markets for products made from algae.
ABO’s board is comprised of representatives from multiple sectors of a growing and diverse industry, including academia, nutraceuticals, food, feed, energy, and pharmaceuticals. The newly elected board members are:
- Amha Belay, CTO, Earthrise Nutritionals
- Genet Garamendi, Senior Vice President, TerraVia
- Raffi Mardirosian, Vice President, Joule Unlimited
- Stephen Mayfield, Director, California Center for Algae Biotechnology
- Leslie van der Meulen, General Manager, BioProcess Algae LLC
- Xun Wang, President, Triton Algae Innovations, Ltd.
- Ross Zirkle, Director of Molecular Biotechnology, DSM Nutritional Products
“ABO’s board of directors sets the organization’s agenda and plays an integral role in moving the algae industry forward,” said Matt Carr, Executive Director of the Algae Biomass Organization. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Jacques and David in their new leadership positions, and welcome our newest members that are expanding ABO’s impact to every corner of our industry. I would also like to extend my gratitude to outgoing board chair Martin Sabarsky of Cellana for his efforts to recruit new members and expand ABO’s advocacy work.”
In addition to education and outreach efforts with policymakers, ABO produces and hosts the industry’s premier global conference, the Algae Biomass Summit, which will be held in Phoenix, Ariz. from October 23rd through October 26th.
About the Algae Biomass Organization
The Algae Biomass Organization (ABO) is a 501 c(6) non-profit whose mission is to promote the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae. Its membership is comprised of people, companies and organizations across the value chain. More information about ABO, including its leadership, membership, costs, benefits and members and their affiliations, is available at the website: www.algaebiomass.org.
