Leadership Team

Dr. Glenn E. Nedwin, Ph.D. has over 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical and industrial biotechnology industries. He is an accomplished senior executive with domestic and international experience in new market identification, innovation, research & development, business planning, strategic positioning, operations, P&L, sales & marketing, involving both start-up, growth and billion-dollar organizations. Dr. Nedwin has held a number of varied scientific, corporate development and senior management positions, most notably as President of Novozymes, Inc., and as Executive Vice President of the Genencor Technical Enzymes Divisionof Danisco (acquired by DuPont in 2011).Dr. Nedwin was CEO of Taxon Biosciences, Inc., (acquired by DuPont in April 2015). Dr. Nedwin received his B.S. degree in Biochemistry from S.U.N.Y./Buffalo and a Ph.D. inBiochemistry from U.C. Riverside. He did a post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular Biology at Genentech, Inc. Dr. Nedwin also holds a M.S. Degree in the Management of Technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Wilson Mak is an enzymologist and chemist, with over a decade of specialized experience in the realms of enzyme discovery, engineering, and production. His expertise bridges the crucial gap between enzyme science and its functional applications at the bench, connecting them to a commercially viable path that propels products into the marketplace. Wilson's knowledge base spans computational enzyme design and machine learning, extending through wet-lab molecular biology, protein expression, and assay development. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University - Hawaii. Furthering his academic pursuits, he earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California Davis, with a specific focus on bio-organic chemistry.

Courtney McHugh is a seasoned senior executive with over a decade of experience in incubating, launching, and scaling venture-backed consumer product businesses. She began her career as an Entertainment Attorney specializing in television packaging before transitioning into the venture capital space with Michael Ovitz's family office. Courtney has a proven track record of guiding high-profile teams and entrepreneurs through the full business lifecycle—from idea generation to successful exits through business plans, crafting go-to-market strategies, and driving innovation for celebrity-founded brands. Her work consistently bridges the gap between creative vision and business execution, ensuring long-term growth and success.

Joao Paulo is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of leadership experience across multinational industrial companies. His diverse background spans the biotechnology, beverage, mining, sugar mill sectors through fermentation, where he has consistently driven operational excellence and innovation. He brings a robust track record in managing high-performance teams—leading up to 200 employees—with a strong focus on meritocracy, continuous improvement, and people development. Joao excels in manufacturing and process development, with a core expertise in chemical engineering and a strategic application of Lean methodologies to streamline operations and enhance productivity at plant sites. He has played a pivotal role in securing industry certifications and preparing facilities for plant evaluation programs.

Fernando is a regulatory affairs expert who has over 25 years experience with effectively obtaining product approvals in the health, wellness and life science sectors on a global basis. Product approvals have included dietary supplements, food additives, nutraceuticals, cosmetic ingredients, specialty chemicals, and animal feed ingredients. Earlier regulatory achievements included strategic approvals of renewable hydrocarbon aviation turbine and diesel fuels which included authoring of new technical standards. Fernando has specialized in the design and implementation of strategic go-to market regulatory pathways for biotech product launches in the Americas, Europe, China, ASEAN and Australia-New Zealand regions. Fernando has obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with emphasis on Combustion Sciences at the University of California, Irvine and has achieved the EPA Sustainable Futures Training Program for new chemical registrations.

Adam L. Lunceford is a seasoned intellectual property attorney with over a decade of experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural innovation. He currently serves as IP Counsel at Amplifye, where he develops and implements patent strategies, manages complex IP portfolios, and supports partnerships and research collaborations. With a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UCLA and a J.D. from UC Davis, Adam applies deep scientific and legal expertise to help organizations align their IP strategy with evolving R&D and business objectives.

He has held key roles at Loam Bio, Booth Udall Fuller, Heliae Development, Bayer CropScience, and Cooley LLP, consistently supporting clients with patent prosecution, IP due diligence, and strategic counsel. Admitted in California, Arizona, and before the USPTO, Adam is known for driving cross-functional collaboration and providing practical, business-oriented solutions to protect and maximize the value of intellectual assets.

Kelley is a seasoned office administrator with over 10 years of experience leading and optimizing office operations in diverse sectors, including construction and funeral health services. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated exceptional skill in streamlining administrative processes, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering team collaboration for startups as well as established companies. She earned her degree in Business Administration and is currently pursuing a higher degree from California State University Sacramento in Business Management.

Tomo has spent over 17 years working on how to make proteins through fermentation, helping bring innovative products to market in the food, cosmetic, and homecare industries. He specializes in downstream process development and making sure new production processes are ready to scale up and run smoothly at manufacturing sites around the world. So far, he’s helped tech transfer over 30 processes to manufacturing partners across the U.S., Europe, and India. Before joining Amplifye, Tomo led the downstream processing team at Geltor, where he helped scale and launch more than a dozen products used in cosmetics and personal care. At Perfect Day, he worked on improving how animal-free dairy proteins are made—focusing on reducing costs and making the final products taste a lot better.