Vision

After a successful international career with renowned biotech companies in Europe and California, Philippe now brings his extensive knowledge of the sector, his management skills and business acumen to lead Fermentalg to success.

Gilles has been a technology venture capitalist for over 20 years. During these years he has held positions as Partner at Société Asset Management and since 2012 as Deputy Director of the Ecotechnologies, City of Tomorrow and French Tech Acceleration division (€800M under management) of Bpifrance.
During his career Gilles has completed about thirty transactions in France and abroad and is currently a director of Axeleo, Fermentalg, Ynsect, Vulog, Stanley Robotics, Sabella, Naïo Technologies and Tallano Technologie.

Stéphane Villecroze is a founding partner of Demeter Investment Managers.

He is or has been a member of the supervisory boards or boards of directors of numerous participations of the funds managed by Demeter, including IES Synergy, Panosol, Burgeap IGIP, Altawest, Sunna Design, Ynsect, etc.

Between 2001 and 2005, Stéphane was Director of profit centers at Veolia Environnement and participated in the “executive program” of the group in 2004-2005.

From 1994 to 2001, he was head of territorial services for the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Regional Planning, in charge of construction and operation activities in the road, port and airport sectors. He also directed interdepartmental water missions.

In 1994, Stéphane collaborated with Olivier Dupont, Lionel Cormier and Sophie Paturle within the BTP Capital fund, working mainly in the eco-industry sector.

Fabienne Saadane-Oaks, with 30 years’ experience in general management in France and the United States, has headed ABF Ingredients, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, since 2015. She has recognized managerial expertise, having worked in major international groups such as Sanofi, Rhodia, Degussa, DuPont, and Danisco. Saadane-Oaks has played a crucial role in several major acquisitions and is skilled in strategy, investments and human asset management. A graduate of ENSTA and ESSEC, she is bilingual and active in several professional associations.

Nathalie Vallier is a finance and ESG consultant with over 20 years of experience in international finance within renowned groups. She joined Fermentalg as a Non-Executive Director – Chair of the Audit and CSR Committee, bringing her expertise in finance and social and environmental responsibility.

After nearly ten years specializing in business law in international law firms, Audrey MENASSE joined Danone in 2010 as a Corporate Lawyer, and is currently Director of Corporate Governance and Law.

Audrey MENASSE is a graduate of the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas (DESS in Notarial Law and DEA in General Law) and Columbia University (LL.M). She is a lawyer at the Paris and New York bars.

Caroline LEBEL has been Investment Director in Bpifrance Investissement’s Large Venture team since 2019, after joining Bpifrance in 2013 in the Mid Cap teams

teams (development capital).

She started her career with General Electric in the Finance Management Program and then on the Corporate Audit Staff (France – Ireland – USA), she then joined the strategy consulting firm L.EK. Consulting and worked on strategic due diligences for companies and investment funds, including the Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement.

Caroline LEBEL is a graduate of ESCP Europe.

President and COO in 1982, and CEO in 1992of DDW, The Color House is a global manufacturer of Natural and Caramel Colors used in the food and beverage industries and operates 13 plants around the world. Over 80% of our sales are outside the U.S. Each day, our products color over 2 billion servings of foods and beverages on a global basis.  In 2021, the company was sold to Givaudan, a global flavor and fragrance house.  

Engineer Agro Paris Tech – MBA EM Lyon, has an international career spanning more than 25 years in the Food and Ingredients industry. Pierre has worked for ARD, Mars, Danone and Kemin in key operational and purchasing positions with a focus on innovation.
He then covered an Operating Partner and COO role for the investment fund Platinum Equity. Previously, he managed the Biscuits Bouvard group, where sales doubled in 8 years.
He has been CEO and Director of Fermentalg since June 2023, and Chairman of Carbonworks since June 2024.

A graduate of HEC Paris and holder of a law degree, Bertrand spent over 20 years in finance management positions in industrial and commercial companies in France, Europe and the United States before joining Fermentalg, where he oversees finance, information systems and legal affairs to support the company’s growth and transformation.

With ten years’ experience in biotechnology, covering research and development (R&D), industrialisation and production, Guillaume is now head of operations at Fermentalg. He coordinates the industrialisation of our products and ensures their competitiveness. His team guarantees the operational excellence and premium quality of our ranges.

With over 25 years’ international experience in managing analytical development and quality control teams in a number of fields, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food supplements, Christine and her team develop methods and propose analytical tools to support product development and monitor product quality.

With over 20 years’ worldwide experience in the B2B dietary supplements and omega-3 industry, including 10 years in charge of sales at KD Pharma Group – the world leader in Omega-3 – Nico is responsible for business development in the dietary ingredients and dietary supplements segments.

With 20 years’ experience in applied research, and a versatile profile combining strategy and scientific expertise, Sonia has led innovative projects from development to marketing. Her missions today are focused on supporting the product range and technical relations with customers.

With almost 20 years’ technical and scientific expertise in the development of biotechnology-based products and a wealth of international experience in managing R&D teams, Rodrigo directs and coordinates Fermentalg’s research and development activities.

An expert in all areas of algae-based product development with extensive experience as Scientific Director, Hywel provides strategic direction to the R&D teams at the heart of Fermentalg’s mission and leads the intellectual property and regulatory teams ensuring product access to markets.