Nature’s Fynd CEO and leadership

Mark loves exploring science to find groundbreaking ways to benefit mankind. True to his curious nature, he journeyed to Yellowstone National Park and later discovered an extremophile microbe in samples taken from the hot springs. This microbe eventually grew to become the nutritional fungi protein, Fy. As a leading expert in extremophile organisms, it’s no surprise that his deep knowledge has led NASA, the National Science Foundation, the USDA, and the EPA to seek him out. When Mark isn’t researching extremophiles, he likes to mountain bike, backcountry ski, and strum guitar.

Matthew is passionate about leveraging technology to deliver a sustained impact on the planet and society. This enthusiasm led him to Nature’s Fynd after working in venture capital and banking. As a venture investor in early-stage companies focused on agriculture and energy, Matthew experienced firsthand the struggles and rewards of commercializing technologies that both challenge convention and create sustainable solutions that disrupt the food industry in a positive way. He enjoys building towards audacious goals using his innovative spirit- just ask him about completely remodeling his home in his spare time.

Jim’s belief is simple: live modestly and leave the world in a better place than you found it. He does this by preparing food from his own garden and through his work at Nature’s Fynd. With over thirty years of working as an entrepreneurial leader and his expertise in fermentation technology, Jim helped create the breakthrough method used to grow the nutritional fungi protein, Fy. This innovative spirit comes from a family of creators. With a woodshop on his family’s farm and an uncle in the business of wood lathes, Jim also loves woodturning to craft stunning bowls from reclaimed wood.

Karuna is an accomplished brand builder with 25 years of success transforming the world’s most iconic brands. She is a strategically driven business leader who excels at creating a long-term vision and leading teams to grow brand equity, sales and profit across diverse industries. Broad experience from brand building and sales/retail channel experience at P&G to entrepreneurial experience as an insight-driven innovation consultant to creative agency management at Arc/Leo Burnett. Award-winning strategist and persuasive speaker with an outstanding industry reputation. Inspiring team leader who is passionate about identifying and developing talent, building performance driven cultures and empowering teams.

Karuna was the lead strategist on the wildly successful P&G Always #LikeAGirl campaign, which won 14 Lions at Cannes Festival 2015. Karuna was most recently President, Groupe Client Lead at Publicis Groupe charged with driving innovation, growth and business/digital transformation across key Groupe clients. Prior, she was U.S. President and Chief Strategy Officer at Arc Worldwide, Publicis Groupe’s key Commerce Agency. Previously, she was EVP, Business Director & Global Planning Lead for Arc Worldwide and the architect of the \'Shopper Back\' philosophy which has driven significant revenue growth for the agency. She was the overall Business Lead of P&G North America for Arc leading shopper, digital and e-commerce.

Prior to joining Arc, she managed her own consulting firm providing branding, strategy and innovation services to brands including Sunny Delight and Sara Lee. Previously, Karuna spent over a decade in brand management at P&G working on brands such as Jif, Folgers and Duncan Hines.

Areas of expertise include Brand Building, P&L Management, Insights, Customer Journey Mapping, Strategic Planning, Innovation, Omnichannel Marketing, Social/Digital/eCommerce Strategy, Channel Marketing, Retail Strategy and Design, Agency Management.

I have 28 years of experience in the biotechnology industry as a scientist and leader. I have strong technical expertise in microbial strain engineering for enzyme, protein, chemical or peptide production as well as microbiology. I have experience in protein engineering, microbial fermentation, biochemistry, DNA sequencing and other adjacent areas. Other expertise includes managing and leading research and development departments and sites, strategic planning, product and portfolio management, technology and opportunity scouting, external collaborations, people development, mentoring and coaching, team building, leading research projects, and driving for results.

Mark loves exploring science to find groundbreaking ways to benefit mankind. True to his curious nature, he journeyed to Yellowstone National Park and later discovered an extremophile microbe in samples taken from the hot springs. This microbe eventually grew to become the nutritional fungi protein, Fy. As a leading expert in extremophile organisms, it’s no surprise that his deep knowledge has led NASA, the National Science Foundation, the USDA, and the EPA to seek him out. When Mark isn’t researching extremophiles, he likes to mountain bike, backcountry ski, and strum guitar.

Matthew is passionate about leveraging technology to deliver a sustained impact on the planet and society. This enthusiasm led him to Nature’s Fynd after working in venture capital and banking. As a venture investor in early-stage companies focused on agriculture and energy, Matthew experienced firsthand the struggles and rewards of commercializing technologies that both challenge convention and create sustainable solutions that disrupt the food industry in a positive way. He enjoys building towards audacious goals using his innovative spirit- just ask him about completely remodeling his home in his spare time.