ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, December 16th, 2020— Ecovia Renewables Inc., a Michigan-based biotechnology company focused on the research and development of high-performing biobased materials and ingredients, today announced the addition of two key personnel to its leadership team. This month Mr. Kousay Said joined the company as Chief Strategy Officer to lead partnering and fundraising efforts for advancing Ecovia’s portfolio of polyglutamic acid-based products. Separately, Mr. Marc Gillin joined Ecovia’s board of directors.

Mr. Said is a serial entrepreneur and experienced executive in the green chemicals space, having served as President and CEO of GreenMantra Technologies, a clean technology leader that produces value-added synthetic waxes, polymer additives, and other chemicals from recycled plastics. He also served as the Senior Vice President- Commercial and Strategy, at Leggett & Platt Automotive, Chief Commercial Officer of Sirrus, LLC, and Managing Director of Dow Solar Solutions.

Mr. Said and Mr. Gillin add to the strength and diversity of Ecovia’s management team, with demonstrated track-records that span entrepreneurship, scale-up and commercialization, and corporate strategy,” says Dr. Jeremy Minty, CEO of Ecovia. “We are looking forward to an exciting next chapter of Ecovia’s development together.”

Mr. Gillin will replace Ms. Caroline Drouart on Ecovia’s board of directors. Mr. Gillin has extensive experience with growing international specialty chemicals businesses. He is currently Sales Director at Seppic, a worldwide designer and supplier of specialty ingredients for health and beauty care. He was previously General Manager of Seppic North America and Seppic Asia and CEO of Seppic Inc.

Both Mr. Said and Mr. Gillin will be instrumental in commercialization activities for the Ecovia platform which centers around efficient production of polyglutamic acid, a water-soluble and water swellable peptide. Used in a variety of applications, Ecovia’s product families including AzuraBase, an active cosmetic ingredient, and AzuraGel, a biobased and biodegradable superabsorbent material.

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About Ecovia Renewables Inc.

Ecovia Renewables Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the research and development of high-performing biobased ingredients and materials. The Ecovia platform was inspired by Dr. Nina Lin and Dr. Jeremy Minty’s pioneering research on engineering microbial ecosystems at the University of Michigan. http://www.ecoviarenewables.com.