Our Team
Our multi-talented team brings together different backgrounds and expertise.

Dr. Michael Boot
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
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Dr. Panos Kouris
Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer
Panos holds a MSc. and PhD in Chemical Engineering (specialty in lignocellulosic biomass conversion) from Eindhoven University of Technology. In 2017, he co-founded Vertoro, a spin-off company with the mission to valorise the IP generated during his PhD research.
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Within Vertoro, he is responsible for all technological developments and to successfully scale-up the production of Crude Lignin Oil, a platform product that has the potential to decrease the carbon footprint of the chemical industry and energy sector.
Panos has been selected as 2018 Young European Talent in the category ‘Science’, from the Nederlands. In 2021, he won the Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award, which is an incentive prize for encouraging talented pioneers to persevere, show courage and leadership on the road to achieving their dream for a more sustainable society.

Mr. David Samad
Chief Commercial Officer
David, who graduated in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder and holds an MBA from INSEAD, is a solutions-oriented business developer and investment professional.
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Mr. Derk Smid
Head of Business Development
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Prof. Emiel Hensen
Scientific Advisor
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Wendy. hyett
Team Leader Laboratries
Wendy studied (Bachelor’s degree) organic chemistry in Rotterdam before starting her career at DSM Innovative Synthesis (part of the Life Sciences division) working on new, sustainable processes to produce antibiotics.
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In 2007 she joined DSM’s Material Science Center where she worked on a wide range of projects for the different business units in DSM’s Materials division, including DSM Resins & Functional Materials and DSM Advanced Solar, and as a result built up a lot of knowledge and expertise in polymer chemistry and the analysis and characterization of polymers.

Norwin Zuidema
Project Manager
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Louk Moberts
Lead Operations Engineer
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Louk has held a wide range of positions, starting as a process technician, to supervisor, to production engineer and assistant plant manager. His experience encompasses several companies who, like Vertoro, are unique and superior in their process segments. His last position was at a PET recycling company, where he had a leading role in installing, starting, and improving the pilot plant.

Dr. David Lao Martil
Process Engineer Biorefinery
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Wout Ludema
Plant Manager
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Marjolein Van Den Boom
R&D technician