Oliver J. Ratcliffe, Ph.D., M.B.A. - President

Oliver co-founded genXtraits with Dr. Hellens and Dr. Libby, and currently serves as the firm's President and CTO. He is an executive leader with more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences sector. He also serves on the Boards of Clue Genetics Inc. and Bene Seeds, Inc. Oliver has a deep network of professional contacts, including amongst the investment community, and a proven track record in attracting financing, building innovation teams, and executing transactions. From 2014-2019, Oliver was Vice President of Business Development at Koch Biological Solutions, a business unit within Koch Industries focused on biologically based agricultural inputs. Before Koch, Oliver was on the executive team of Mendel Biotechnology, Inc., where he was Senior Vice President of R&D for more than a decade and then President, immediately prior to the sale of Mendel's R&D operations in 2014. Whilst at Mendel, Oliver led a research team of more than 70 scientists and was responsible for large funded collaborations with both Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science. Oliver has both a technology background as well as a formal business training. He holds a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics from the John Innes Centre at the University of East Anglia in the UK and an executive MBA from the Judge Business School at Cambridge University. Oliver is a dual UK-US citizen who is primarily based in California.

Hans E. Holtan, Ph.D. - Head of Research Operations

Hans is a research leader with over 20 years experience starting and managing projects in diverse biotech environments. As Research Director, Hans has spent recent years developing new product opportunities for Zymergen, a leader in synthetic biology. There he demonstrated a passion for building strong integration between technical and commercial teams and built programs that work effectively and motivate cross-functional teams to get the job done.

Previously, at Koch Biological Solutions, Hans led multiple functional groups with responsibilities for expression studies, physiology, trials, automation, and more. He also played a key role in establishing the know-how that enabled Mendel Biotechnology to identify effective genes for crop performance. Before moving to industry, Hans served on the faculty at San Francisco State University, establishing and managing a research resource center. He received doctoral and postdoctoral training at the University of California at Berkeley, where he defined traits related to cellular indeterminacy in tomato and developed search algorithms for novel protein sequences.

Between launching new research projects, you may find Hans at home building new shelves, or out taking photos of eclectic performance art in a forgotten corner of the Bay Area.

Omer Ayfer - Head of Information Technology

Omer currently runs a consulting business that offers fractional CIO services for startup companies, with a focus on information security and cloud based infrastructure. He has spent the last decade in “head of IT” roles at several biotechnology organizations ranging from molecular diagnostics to agriculture. Previously he was a programmer working on improving the interface between scientists and compute resources. In addition, Omer is a frequent speaker at executive education programs offered by the Haas School of Business in Berkeley, and is an Adjunct Professor at Merritt College where he teaches a variety of courses in the premier cybersecurity program at the community college level. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from Purdue University. When not in front of a computer, he can be found cooking elaborate meals with his two sons and wife in Oakland, California.

Jeff Libby, Ph.D. - Head of Intellectual Property

Jeff brings many years of patent management to our unique IP estate. He is a patent professional adept in bringing together science and strategy to develop a robust intellectual property portfolio. In his prior role at Mendel Biotechnology, Jeff fostered a broad range of US and international patents for gene trait technology in crops. Jeff has a background in biochemistry and microbial genetics and holds a PhD in the field of microbiology from Cornell University. Following his graduate studies, he was a member of the faculty in the Department of Microbiology at Miami University. His research interests concerned the study of virulence factors and the detection and analysis of pathogens using silicon-based biosensors. After switching gears to the corporate world, he has spent several decades in early-stage life sciences companies. After roles in R&D leadership, Jeff entered the field of patent law and was appointed to the position of Director of the Patent Group at Mendel Biotechnology in Hayward, California. Jeff also brings some eclectic mycological experience to the company, as he regularly consults for a group making Rhone-style wines.

Andrew MacBride - Head of Computational Biology and Genomics

Andrew brings extensive experience in the areas of computational biology, genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, and has led the development of computational platforms for genomic analysis at Station X (later acquired by Roche), Veracyte, and Convergent Genomics. He is a two-time startup founder, with 30 years of previous experience at Sun Microsystems, Apple, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and Workday. Andrew holds a BA in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, graduate certificates in both Bioinformatics and Nanoscale Materials Science from Stanford University, and will complete his MSc in Nanomedicine from the University of Oxford in 2024.