Advisory Board

Nancy Sullivan

Nancy Sullivan leads the Illinois Ventures team in fundraising, investment strategy, and limited partner relationships. A key advisor to startups, Ms. Sullivan assists companies in obtaining venture capital funding, recruiting management teams, and advising on business development and commercialization matters. Prior to joining Illinois Ventures, she served as Senior Director of Business Development for an early-stage […]

Abhay Borkar

Germán Bollero

Dr. Germán Bollero assumed his position of Associate Dean for Research in the College of ACES and Director of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station in January 2018. An award-winning teacher and researcher, Bollero previously served as head of the Department of Crop Sciences before accepting his new role in the Office of Research. Bollero is […]

Chris Guske

Chris has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. He is an accomplished Biochemical Engineer and Functional/Project manager, with 28 years of industrial biotechnology experience in food, nutraceutical, specialty, and commodity chemical segments. He has worked at CP Kelco, NutraSweet, and, most recently, Tate & […]

José Leboreiro

Jose Leboreiro is Vice President, Process and Chemical Research, at Archer Daniels Midland Company. In this role, he is responsible for guiding the technical aspects of the process development team. He works across business-unit lines to help set the technical strategy for process related projects as well as supports business development groups from a technical […]

Pauline Teunissen

Dr. Pauline Teunissen is Global Applications Leader for Grain Processing at IFF in Palo Alto, CA. In this role she is responsible for the development of the R&D strategy and management of the research project portfolio directed towards the Grain processing industry. Research is focused on the development of new and improved enzymes and yeast […]

J. Eric Lee

Eric has 35 years of experience in the fermentation and bio-processing industry. Having successfully fulfilled roles related to fermentation optimization, strain selection, process scale-up, and manufacturing. Eric has led several teams to development & commercialization of novel fermentation-based products over the course of his career. Additionally, he has extensive expertise in business development and market […]

David Ziskind

As a strategic leader in the food manufacturing sector, David has a client-focused and solutions-oriented approach that centers on manufacturing scale-up, risk management, and strategic planning. He brings engineering, project management, and leadership expertise with cross-functional teams to food innovation capital projects, helping companies sustainably solve their manufacturing infrastructure challenges.