Our Team
The Executive Team
John Denniston
Executive Chairman
Economist, graduated from the University of Michigan, and holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) in Ann Arbor. A former Senior Partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins (KP), where he co-founded and co-ran the firm’s $1 billion Green Growth Fund, which invested in sustainability companies in their growth stage.
Tony Salas
Chief Executive Officer
Biologist with MS and a PhD in Crop Science from North Carolina State University, and MBA from the Krannet School at Purdue University in Food and Agribusiness Management. Experience includes being active in startups, mergers, and acquisitions in over 500 medium and large size projects and companies in global food and agribusiness sectors.
Gisela Camminati
Chief Finance Officer
Agricultural economist and PhD in rural development. Experience in managing ̴$1bn of debt/equity funds in the ag and food sector. Former Officer of Corporate Finance at Grupo Macro and Banco de Crédito and agribusiness consultant for IADB, IFC, FAO, CAF, DEG, FMO, and GIZ, amongst others. Proficiency in governance for corporate structures, and assessment and reporting of ESG and impact indicators.
Christian Fernández
Chief Administrative Officer
Economist with a Master’s degree from INCAE. Administrative and financial corporate executive with more than 20 years of corporate experience (Exalmar Corp, Grupo Brescia, Sociedad Agricola Viru, and BPO). Expert in back office structures and ERP implementation, as well as process design to increase transparency and generate efficiency in corporate financial structures. Founder of the Peruvian Finance Association of Lima.
Brandon Woods
Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing, client relations, and global business development specialist with an MBA from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. Nearly 15 years of entrepreneurship, executive leadership, and strategic management experience, while building and implementing global go-to-market strategies in both product and service industries in China, the United States, and Latin America.
Iván Loyola
Impact Manager
Forest engineer with post-graduate studies in business, ecology, and the environment. Experienced indigenous community and environmental impact manager. Former science researcher in forest biotechnology and facilitator in adult education for the Vancouver schoolboard. Specialist in community relations and negotiations in rural areas, with experience in the mining, forestry, and fishing industries. Award-winning short story writer, entrepreneur, and wine connoisseur.
John Denniston
Executive Chairman
Economist, graduated from the University of Michigan, and holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) in Ann Arbor. A former Senior Partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins (KP), where he co-founded and co-ran the firm’s $1 billion Green Growth Fund, which invested in sustainability companies in their growth stage.
Tony Salas
Chief Executive Officer
Biologist with MS and a PhD in Crop Science from North Carolina State University, and MBA from the the Krannet School at Purdue University in Food and Agribusiness Management. Prior to Shared-X, he was active startups, mergers, and acquisitions, with experience in over 500 medium and large size projects and companies in the global food and agribusiness sectors.
Gisela Camminati
Chief Finance Officer
Agricultural economist and PhD in rural development. Experience in managing ̴$1bn of debt/equity funds in the ag and food sector. Former Officer of Corporate Finance at Grupo Macro and Banco de Crédito and agribusiness consultant for IADB, IFC, FAO, CAF, DEG, FMO, and GIZ, amongst others. Proficiency in governance for corporate structures, and assessment and reporting of ESG and impact indicators.
Christian Fernández
Chief Administrative Officer
Economist with a Master’s degree from INCAE. Administrative and financial corporate executive with more than 20 years of corporate experience (Exalmar Corp, Grupo Brescia, Sociedad Agricola Viru, and BPO). Expert in back office structures and ERP implementation, as well as process design to increase transparency and generate efficiency in corporate financial structures. Founder of the Peruvian Finance Association of Lima.
Brandon Woods
Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing, client relations, and global business development specialist with an MBA from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. Nearly 15 years of entrepreneurship, executive leadership, and management experience, while building and implementing global go-to-market strategies in both product and service industries in China, the United States, and LATAM.
Iván Loyola
Impact Manager
Forest engineer with post-graduate studies in business, ecology, and the environment. Experienced indigenous community and environmental impact manager. Former science researcher in forest biotechnology and facilitator in adult education for the Vancouver schoolboard. Specialist in community relations and negotiations in rural areas, with experience in the mining, forestry, and fishing industries. Award-winning short story writer, entrepreneur, and wine connoisseur.
iQBiotech Leadership
José Antonio de Cote
President & Chief Science Officer
Entrepreneur, scientist, head researcher, and product formulation expert, with a degree in biochemistry from the Univ. de Córdoba and executive management from Santelmo Business School. Former Head of Molecular Diagnostics for Newbiotechnic in Seville, where he worked on the proteomics and functional genomics, as well as the go-to-market strategies for his own innovations. Experienced in biostimulant and biopecticide product development and implementation.
Matthew Starr
Regional Trial Manager
Pursuit of a graduate degree in Crop Sciences from North Carolina State University to explore innovative biostimulants’ ability to improve crop performance. Nearly 15 years of experience in soil science and water quality, further building expertise and gaining innovative techniques to increase crop productivity, while implementing sustainable regenerative agriculture practices. A military background instilled valuable leadership skills and experience.
Nampi Foods Leadership
Patrick Vasquez de Velasco
Chief Executive Officer
Leader of global CPG business operations, brand development, and growth strategies with an MBA from Cornell. Former executive of global operations in supply chains of different industries for over 15 years, holding top level executive positions in billion-dollar companies (Husky, Honeywell, Sodimac Homecenter), while managing large regional teams in multiple geographic locations.
Luis Carlos Medina
Commercial VP Consumer Products
Engineer and entrepreneur with an MBA from the IESE Business School. More than 20 years of commercial and business experience in global companies in the F&B industry and FMCG sector. Specialist in the functional, specialty, superfood, and organic food and beverage markets, as well as in the development of new portfolios and penetration into new markets and sales channels.
Bananica Leadership
Miguel Angel Popolizio
Chief Executive Officer
Entrepreneur and agriculture engineer with an MBA and over 30 years of experience in building, managing, and accelerating large-scale ag-projects. Leader in implementing innovative regenerative agricultural techniques, as well as commercializing specialty crops for export to specialty and organic fresh markets around the world. Award-winning expert in innovative farm recycling systems to reduce plastic waste and operational costs.
Bruno Wenzel
Operations Manager
Commercial development leader and expert in supply chain management. Over 10 years of agribusiness sector experience in supply chain management and supervision of agricultural fields for small and medium sized farmers associations, with an emphasis on organic products for export to fair trade markets.