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Brian Thompson, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Chief Executive Officer

Brian received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University before continuing his research in microbiology in his postdoctoral work at the University of Missouri. While at the university, Brian co-discovered key processes that would become the VersaShield® platform technology of Elemental Enzymes.

As President and CEO, Brian is focused on growing Elemental Enzymes into a company that can take complex developing technologies from bench to market. He has worked to establish partnerships with key academic and industry partners to identify and validate next-generation solutions for a variety of industries.

Katie Thompson, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Chief Operations Officer

Katie studied molecular and cellular biology at the University of Missouri and received her Ph.D., specializing in the characterization of proteins involved in signaling.

Katie has performed several key roles in her 10+ years at Elemental Enzymes, including running the day-to-day operations, product development and expansion of the innovation pipeline, investor and partnership establishment as well as driving of the strategic mission and culture development of Elemental Enzymes.

Ashley Siegel, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Chief Science Officer

Ashley brings a multidisciplinary background to Elemental Enzymes. Ashley has performed extensive research in muscle regeneration, enzymatic optimization and developmental biology. After completing her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri, Ashley was a research fellow at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. She has experience in oncology modeling, genome editing, cell motility and microbial cell interaction.

Ashley joined Elemental Enzymes as a Senior Scientist Adviser, providing input on technology diversification and niche marketing, and has transitioned into the role of  Chief Science Officer to focus more on product development, patent writing and product efficacy.

Keith Reding, Ph.D.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs

Keith brings over 27 years’ experience in the agricultural regulatory and compliance industry to Elemental Enzymes.

Before joining Elemental Enzymes, Keith worked for USDA as a regulatory bio technologist and then 23 years at Monsanto working in various regulatory roles including affairs, policy, and compliance.

Keith oversees the development and implementation of international and domestic regulatory strategies as our Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Keith received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia where he studied soil microbiology, microbial physiology and microbial ecology.

Bret Gygi
Technical Services Lead

Bret brings 20 years of experience in many agricultural fields ranging from horticultural production, agricultural microbiology research to seed treatment development.

Bret will lead the Elemental Enzymes technical services team in the US, trialling and developing additional innovations from the field towards commercialisation. Bret is excited at the potential for Elemental Enzymes to bring a step-wise change to agriculture, using biochemistry and developing products with well-understood modes of action to solve specific problems – plus a transformative approach, using ‘nature’s own machinery’  to solve big problems in nutrient availability, plant defences or new modes of pesticidal action.

Elsa Smith, aPHR
Human Resources Manager

After joining the company in 2015 as our Office Assistant, Elsa grown with us into her role as Human Resources Manager. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville and after joining EE, attended Webster University to receive her Masters in Human Resource Management.

In her years at EE, Elsa has implemented many of the benefits and programs we have today. Currently, Elsa leads HR activities including providing leadership and guidance to management on strategic staffing plans, compensation, benefits, training and development, payroll, employee relations, and performance management.