Meet The Ecovia Renewables Team

Jeremy Minty, PhD, Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Jeremy Minty is a biotechnology entrepreneur dedicated to addressing the global problems of fossil fuel dependency and climate change. Jeremy co-founded Ecovia Renewables with the mission to develop and commercialize cost-effective routes for producing high-performing biobased ingredients and materials. He earned his undergraduate and doctorate degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan under the direction of Dr. Xiaoxia “Nina” Lin.

Kousay Said, MBA, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Kousay Said previously served as the Senior Vice President- Commercial and Strategy, at Leggett & Platt Automotive.  Prior to that, he was the President and CEO of GreenMantra Technologies, the Chief Commercial Officer of Sirrus, LLC, and Managing Director of Dow Solar Solutions.

Kousay studied mechanical engineering, holds an MBA from Oakland University, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Wharton.

Amy Wirth, MBA, Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Amy Wirth joined Ecovia’s team in December 2021.  She specializes in working with entrepreneurial, growth-oriented companies.  Previously, she worked 15+ years at Ford Motor Company where she had the opportunity to work within their business incubator for several years.  There she supported internal startups and the acquisition and integration of several entrepreneurial companies.  Amy earned her MBA from the University of Michigan, and a dual BBA degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Pittsburgh.

Samuel Kohley, Innovation Manager

Mr. Samuel Kohley's research experience includes developing new methods in antibody production as a part of the Michigan Synthetic Biology team. Previously, Sam promoted the American Chemical Society on Michigan’s campus and was a member of the University’s Students for Clean Energy club. Since joining Ecovia Renewables in November of 2015, Sam has worked every role Ecovia has to offer, from fermentation to polymer chemistry. He now oversees new application developments of Ecovia biopolymers. Sam is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biochemistry.

Chao Peng, PhD, Research Scientist — polymer Chemistry

Dr. Chao Peng is currently a Research Scientist intern at Ecovia Renewables, focusing on the development of scalable chemistries and processing methods for the Ecovia Biopolymers products. Chao has a strong research background in polymer chemistry. Before joining Ecovia Renewables, Chao was a research assistant at the University of Akron and his research focused on the development of functionalized polyurethanes for antimicrobial applications. Chao graduated from the University of Akron with a Ph.D. degree in Polymer Science.

Pranav Ubhe, MS, Bioprocess Engineer

Mr. Pranav Ubhe is currently a Bioprocess Engineer at Ecovia Renewables, focusing on the development of sustainable scalable processes for Ecovia’s biopolymer products. Prior to joining Ecovia, Pranav has worked at Kerry Ingredients as a Fermentation Scientist, where he led process improvement initiatives to increase production rates and profitability for the fermented ingredients division. During his time at ADM, he collaborated with R&D to successfully optimize reactor design for ADM-DuPont’s FDME technology. He also worked at Abengoa Bioenergy as process engineer, where he led optimization initiatives on pretreatment technology for ethanol production using cellulosic biomass. His academic experience includes working in Dr. Hans Blaschek’s lab on projects to improve ABE (acetone-butanol-ethanol) fermentation with a goal to improve productivity and yield for advanced biofuel application. Pranav holds a B.S. in Biotechnology Engineering from the VTU University in India and M.S. in Bioprocessing and Bioenergy from University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign.

Eric Traub, Research Associate - Fermentation R&D

Mr. Eric Traub is a Research Associate in Fermentation R&D at Ecovia Renewables. He has previously worked at Dow Agrosciences performing research with filamentous actinobacteria in both High Throughput Strain Improvement and Systems Biology. While there, Eric gained valuable experience in conducting experiments around small scale fermentations and performing omics-related analysis of various strains. He has also worked with MSU Biotechnology Institute gaining valuable experience in performing fermentations on a pilot-plant up to production scale with both aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Eric received his Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry from Saginaw Valley State University in 2013.

Erica Peris, Bioprocess Engineer

Ms. Erica Peris is a Bioprocess Engineer, supporting research efforts to optimize downstream processing and biopolymer products at Ecovia. Erica has held internship roles as a process engineer in the consulting and consumer goods manufacturing industries. Her past research experience was centered on the downstream purification of vaccines via membrane filtration, and she wrote her undergraduate honors thesis on factors impacting the sterile filtration of glycoconjugate vaccines. Erica graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Jason Stansell, MS, Controller

Mr. Jason Stansell is an outsourced Controller/CFO that specializes in working with startups and small businesses. Mr. Stansell initially worked in public accounting for over 5 years, auditing both public and privately held companies throughout the Midwest. After leaving public accounting, Mr. Stansell worked for a local development firm that specialized in project development for stadiums, arenas, and other destination centers. Jason oversaw the budget for nearly $500M in ongoing projects including Lambeau Field, The Edgewater Hotel, and the PPL Center in PA. Prior to his current role, Jason worked with manufacturing firms in need of turnaround accounting services and cash management. Jason holds a Masters in Public Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant in Wisconsin.