Protealis appoints David Buckeridge as chairman and Marc Ballekens as non-executive director to its board

Protealis, the recently started breeding company focusing on sustainable protein crops for Europe, today announced the appointment of David Buckeridge and Marc Ballekens to its board as non-executive directors. After the successful closing of the 12 Mio A-round in July 2021, the addition of international experience in seed marketing and business strategy is another important steppingstone for the ambitious start-up.

David Buckeridge is a well-known veteran in the seed industry. As the former CEO of Advanta Seeds (at the time the worlds’ 5th largest seedcompany) he led the company to a successful exit. After his time at the helm of Advanta he has been active in the field of private equity for Food and Agriculture with Paine Schwartz and has held and still holds several advisory and board positions in biotech, life science and agtech companies. 

Marc Ballekens also earned his merits in the seed business. Starting at the family-owned Clovis-Matton seed company that was acquired later by Limagrain, Marc became director of strategy and marketing for Limagrain Belgium and held this position for 11 years. Marc is currently director of training center PCLT and manages the Belgian federation of seed companies Seed@Bel.

“Obviously we are very excited as a start-up to add such reputed names to the board. The experience they bring will be extremely helpful to facilitate our quick growth trajectory from R&D to market. But what was equally gratifying was the belief both displayed in Protealis as a project.” CEO Benjamin Laga says. “That moment you feel that the excitement about Protealis and the vision we have as company is shared by such experienced people in the seed business, you just know there are possibilities waiting to be explored together.”

David Buckeridge echoes that thought: “I am delighted and excited to join Protealis both as chairman and as an investor. For some time, I have firmly believed that we need to make a substantial investment in the quality of genetics available for protein crops and specifically for legume species, especially in Europe, and I have been watching developments closely. Legume research has been underinvested and fragmented for decades and that must change. Legumes are, without question, the most important family of plant species to address the rapidly increasing demand for plant-based foods, while simultaneously helping us to address climate change. Their unique symbiosis with nitrogen fixing bacteria can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the health of our soils, while producing healthy nutritious food. This all starts with better genetics of these crops that farmers can grow profitably in Europe. This helps our food industry to reduce costs and avoids transportation to bring these vital ingredients from the Americas. Protealis could not be better positioned for this challenge with an established, data driven legume breeding program, a full program of microbials research, a proven executive team, and a group of existing investors with a track record of multiple successes in the industry.