Driven By Scientific Truth

Timothy Gardner, Riffyn’s Founder and CEO, is a scientist who pioneered the field of synthetic biology. He was previously Vice President of R&D at Amyris, where he led the engineering of yeast strain and process technology for bio-manufacturing of renewable chemicals. Tim has been recognized for his pioneering work by Scientific American, the New Scientist, Nature, Technology Review, and the New York Times. He also serves as an advisor to the European Union Scientific Committees, Imperial College London, and the Boston University Engineering Alumni Advisory Board. He holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.

Loren is Vice President of Science at Riffyn, focused on providing customers with the best experience they can have in implementation, training, and utilization of Riffyn Nexus. Prior to Riffyn, he was Director of Quality, Analytics, and Manufacturing at Bolt Threads. He also worked as a Senior Scientist at Amyris in Quality and Analytical Chemistry, and as a Scientist at Nitto Denko Technical Corporation where he led Analytical Chemistry within the pharmaceutical CMC group. Loren has a PhD. in Materials Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a Bachelors is in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College.

Natalie has focused her career on the intersection of people, process and software. Prior to joining Riffyn, she held roles in strategy, operations, and client service at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Core Informatics, and Deloitte Consulting. Natalie led the definition and implementation of the global operating structure for Thermo Fisher’s corporate-level digital science transformation initiative, and the creation and implementation of the marketing strategy for Core Informatics. Natalie holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Jean-Claude is Vice President of Finance and Operations at Riffyn. Previously, Jean-Claude was the VP of Finance at Womply, a 160 person SAAS financial technology company that served small and medium sized businesses. Prior to that, he headed supply chain operations at Amyris, where he built the company’s contract manufacturing footprint in the US and Europe, managed global supply chain operations, and led strategic planning and M&A due diligence. He is also the Founder and co-owner of Skuut, the leading balance bike company for kids ages 3 to 5. Jean-Claude holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, a Bachelors in Sociology from Harvard University, and is a CPA.

Jan Schiffman is the VP of Engineering at Riffyn. Jan has spent his career leading engineering and technology teams at both startups and established enterprise software firms, focused on advanced analytics, business intelligence, real time market data and trading systems. In addition to the US, Jan has lived and worked in both the UK and Japan and most recently he served as VP of Engineering for TIBCO Data Science, based in San Francisco. Jan studied Computer Science at Rutgers University and when he’s not in front of a computer, you can find him behind a drum kit.

Stephanie brings experience in life science marketing, product management, and e-commerce, blending data-informed marketing, and creative strategy to drive customer acquisition and growth. She began her career at Illumina and has led marketing and product management at several life-science startups, where she was instrumental in successful product positioning and go-to-market. Her work led to the expansion of a product line later acquired by Wafergen (now Takara Bio) and the rebranding of a rapid DNA business (now part of ThermoFisher). With e-commerce entrepreneurship under her belt, Stephanie has a deep understanding of building a strategic digital marketing program to hook the right audience while turning customers into brand advocates. Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley, a Management of Technology Certificate from Haas School of Business, and a Bachelor in Biochemistry from UMass — Amherst.

Midnight Wilkinson is a business administration professional with over a decade of experience in both Human Resources and executive office administration. Midnight has worked in many different industries, including construction and manufacturing but has focused on technology startups for over 5 years and is continually excited by the energy in this sector. A strong believer in the power of positive thinking in the workplace, Midnight is committed to building a culture of growth, integrity, and balance. She grew up in San Francisco (via South America) and is now a resident of the East Bay and enjoys communing with nature as well as the joys of urban living equally.

Andrew Dalton brings over a decade of successful commercial leadership experience in Life Science. He specializes in complex enterprise sales methodologies and has led Sales and Marketing teams in startups, SME, and large blue chip corporations in the form of Abbott, GE, and Hitachi. As a former professional rugby player, Andrew is keen to harness the synergy between team sports and business — inspiring and aligning customers and colleagues with strategic outcomes for critical top-value business deliverables. He continues to stay ahead of new strategies and technology trends while keeping his mind and body sharp as a long-distance swimmer, with an English Channel crossing under his belt. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business Management and Marketing from Nottingham Trent University as well as a Bachelor of Science from University of Brighton.