Jim Mellon
Jim Mellon is a British entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist with a wide range of interests. Through his private investment company, Burnbrae Group, he has substantial real estate holdings in Germany and the Isle of Man, as well as holdings in private and public companies.
Jim’s investment philosophy is underpinned by careful analysis of new industries or major shifts in markets. This includes the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, as foreseen in the first book Jim co-authored entitled Wake Up!, and subsequently in the book Juvenescence which marked the beginning of a rush of capital into the nascent field of ageing research and also led to the formation of the company Juvenescence with his partners. Juvenescence is a leading biopharma company in the commercialisation of therapies to slow, stop and reverse aging.
More recently Jim authored the book Moo’s Law, focusing on investment opportunities in the field of cellular agriculture - the production of proteins and materials directly from cells. Jim co-founded Agronomics to invest in a portfolio of leading companies in cellular agriculture and is its largest investor.
Jim sits on the Board of Trustees of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). He is also a trustee of Biogerontology Research Foundation and is an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College at the University of Oxford, where he has established the Mellon Centre for Longevity, and Jim also sits on the Advisory Board of the Milken Institute’s Centre for the Future of Aging.
Sean Hsu
Ravi Jhala
Ravi Jhala serves as the Global Head of Commercial at Perfect Day, a consumer biology company on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow by developing new ways to make the foods you love today — starting in the dairy aisle. In his role, he is responsible for leading the commercial team in bringing and fostering sustainable business partnerships with companies big and small who are using our protein as a tool to reach their sustainability targets, greening the supply chain together.
Ravi is passionate about food innovation, with nearly two decades of experience managing product development, R&D, and commercialization functions. His expertise touches every element of the food industry, including product and process development projects for global leaders in retail, food service, and food ingredients. His ability to work seamlessly with supply and demand chain functions has allowed his teams to move quickly and efficiently towards significant breakthroughs.
Ravi joined Perfect Day as the Head of Food Development, before being promoted to lead the Commercial team. He joined from Schreiber Dynamix Dairies, where he served as the Head of R&D and Product Development, responsible for new product development and innovations. Prior to that, he held R&D roles at Chobani, Wells’ Enterprises and Sargento Foods, and was a key driver of the most significant discoveries and products at these food leaders.
Ravi earned his MS in Food and Biomaterials Processing from South Dakota State University and his Bachelor’s in Dairy Technology from Anand Agricultural University. He is passionate about the future of animal-free food and Perfect Day’s vision of building a more equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all of us.
Leonardo Aquino
Leo Aquino is the Head of R&D for Unilever Foods & Refreshment in North America. He is focused on making sustainable living commonplace and transforming the Food system at scale through technology and boldly healthier innovations behind big brands. He brought to market post-consumer recycled bottles and jars for Hellmann's® and Talenti ® as well as plant-based innovations across Hellmann’s®, Ben & Jerry’s® and Breyers®.
