Lygos Appoints Van Walsem as COO and Elevates Weber to CBO

Appointments support commercialization and scale-up opportunities for sustainable solutions

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lygos, Inc., a sustainable specialty chemicals company, announced today that it appointed Johan Van Walsem to the role of Chief Operating Officer, and promoted Rich Weber to Chief Business Officer, both reporting to Eric Steen, CEO. Walsem will be responsible for managing the company’s operations. Weber will be responsible for the planning and execution of commercial and business development activities.

Van Walsem returns as COO after serving as President and COO of Sierra Energy Corporation. He holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and a MBA from the University of South Africa. He has 30 years of experience that includes leading the development, manufacturing and commercialization of a specialty PHA business. Prior to this, he led technology development and engineering to improve operating metrics and introduce new products at a lysine production plant with capacity of 25 million pounds.

Weber joined Lygos in October of 2022 as the Sr. Vice President of Business Development. In this role he’s led the commercial organization, including the launch of Soltellus, a sustainable, water soluble polymer with applications in home care, agronomy, and water treatment; and the signing of several commercial deals, including one recently announced with CJ CheilJedang. He earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and completed his BS in Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has 20 years of industry experience including commercializing PLA products with Cargill and Natureworks.

“Johan and Rich are exceptional talents with strong track records of developing teams and delivering results,” said Steen. “They’re ideal leaders to continue our transformation into a commercially driven company, delivering high-performing, sustainable solutions at scale.”

The appointments are effective immediately.

About Lygos

Lygos is a pioneering sustainable specialty chemicals company, leading the world’s transition toward better, cleaner, and more sustainable products. We have built a proprietary and fully integrated platform of the most advanced technologies across synthetic biology, industrial chemistry, and application development to rapidly deliver market relevant solutions to some of the world’s biggest sustainability challenges. With a pipeline of high-performing, innovative solutions, Lygos is paving the way for generations of new sustainable solutions for our world.

For more information, visit www.lygos.com