Our Team

The Better Meat Co. team in a kitchen, holding plates of food and supplies, with a large sign that says "The Better Meat Co."

Our team includes experts with decades of experience in the food and agriculture industry. All of us are united in our mission to reduce humanity's footprint on the planet by building a more sustainable food system.

executive Team

The Better Meat Co. leadership te standing and talking in front of a large poster of three sliders with minced meat, onions, and chopped onions on top, on a dark plate. The people are smiling and wearing company shirts that say 'The Better Meat Co.'.

From left to right: Nikhil Prashar (CFO), Moran Farhi (EVP of Tech), Paul Shapiro (CEO), and Andrea Choe (VP of Ops).

Senior leadership

Josh Rogers a beard and short hair in an indoor setting with blurred shelves in the background.

Josh Rogers

Vice President of Engineering

  • Has over a decade of experience in fermentation technologies and processes

  • Former process engineer at Bayer Crop Science, Joule Unlimited Technologies, and Millipore, where he used his expertise to facilitate process and mechanical design for scale up efforts

  • Six years at The Better Meat Co.

Jacqueline Samson with dark brown hair, wearing a gray jacket over a black shirt, standing outdoors with trees and greenery in the background.

Jacqueline Samson

Director of Plant Operations & Engineering

  • Former engineer at an industrial fermentation facility with a background in chemical engineering

  • Additional experience in food manufacturing and pharmaceutical process development

  • Three years at The Better Meat Co.

Man with a beard and a checkered shirt taking a selfie in a lab with a microscope and a computer monitor in the background.

Jonathan Thurston

Sr. Director of Industrialization & Regulatory Affairs

  • Fermentation scientist, process engineer, and industrialization manager at Bayer Crop Science for over 20 years

  • Primary expertise involves scaling up fermentation processes from the benchtop to industrial scale

  • Six years at The Better Meat Co.

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Hanshu Ding, PHD

Principal Scientist

  • Former scientist at Novozymes for 20+ years, expert in fermentation science.

  • Former Principal Scientist at Natures Fynd

  • PHD in food biochemistry from UC Davis

  • Three years at The Better Meat Co.

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Shirley Stone

Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

  • 18 years experience in food/beverage QA

  • BRC, SQF, and PCQI certified

  • Co-authored 17 publications in textbooks & scientific journals

  • Three years at The Better Meat Co.

Madeleine Mcdougall with curly brown hair, blue eyes, and a smile, wearing a cream jacket with black trim, against a neutral gray background.

Madeleine McDougall

Vice President of Business Development

  • Spent 5.5 years at Anheuser Busch, both in venture arm and commercializing novel ingredients from spent brewers grain

  • MBA from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management

board of directors

Paul Shapiro with short brown hair in a dark polo shirt standing outdoors with trees and greenery in the background.

Paul Shapiro

Steve Jurvetson smiling with light brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a light blue collared shirt, against a black background.

Steve Jurvetson

  • Co-Founder of Future Ventures 

  • Led founding investments in Planet Labs, SpaceX, Tesla, Hotmail, and Skype

  • Exited portfolio companies represent $1.7 trillion of aggregate value creation

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Beena Goldenberg

  • Former CEO of Hain Celestial Canada

  • Former CEO of Cultivate Ventures

  • Chairperson, Food & Consumer Products of Canada

  • Chairperson, Plant Based Foods of Canada

  • CEO of The Supreme Cannabis Company

A middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses smiling outdoors, wearing a checkered shirt, with green foliage in the background.

Glenn Hickman

A woman smiling in a greenhouse surrounded by green plants and gardening supplies.

PAM Marrone

  • Serial entrepreneur in agriculture biotechnology

  • One of 22 women who founded and led companies to be listed on public stock exchanges

  • Founder of AgraQuest, Marrone Bio Innovations, and more