Advanced Customer Workshop

Samantha has over 24 years of experience in the BioFuels industry. She started her career as a producer holding a variety of roles such as Lab, EHS, Quality and Plant Management. She currently leads the Sales & Technical Service teams for Grain Processing in North America. In this role, she is responsible to ensure customers in both the Carb Processing and Fuel Ethanol industry are supported as IFF strives to help them meet their goals.

Kali Panella is a Scientist in IFF’s R&D team in Wilmington, DE. Over her six years with the company, she has leveraged her expertise in biochemistry and applications science to support commercialization of engineered yeast strains for fuel ethanol production and contributed to enzyme innovation programs across home and personal care applications. She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Delaware and completed academic and industry research work prior to joining IFF.

Amie is a technical service account manager for IFF and lives in Wichita, Kansas. She has served in this role for 8 years, providing ethanol facilities with her expertise and guidance to achieve optimal fermentation performance. Before joining IFF, Amie worked with a leading yeast manufacturer for ethanol fermentation and an ethanol plant in Kansas, totaling 13 years of experience. Amie is passionate about the ethanol industry and provides a systems approach to identifying best practices within yeast fermentation. She obtained her master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, focusing on nitrogen liberation and anaerobic fermentation within ruminant nutrition.

With a decade of experience at IFF, and valuable time spent at both JMP and ADM, Joe Reese has a rich background in supporting fuel ethanol customers. His expertise lies in leveraging data analysis tools to extract meaningful insights and communicating them effectively. Passionate about turning data into actionable intelligence, he is dedicated to enhancing the understanding and utilization of data in the fuel ethanol industry.

Robert White is the Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association, the nonprofit trade group representing the U.S. ethanol industry. RFA provides advocacy, technical expertise, and trusted industry data to its members, policymakers, regulators, fuel retailers, strategic partners, and media.

In this role, Robert leads national efforts to expand the availability and use of ethanol. He oversees consumer education, market development, and retailer engagement, and works daily with petroleum marketers, retailers, federal and state agencies, fleets, and individual consumers. Widely recognized as a technical expert on ethanol, E15, and E85, he is a frequent resource for industry leaders and policymakers. He also oversees RFA’s membership activities. Most recently, Robert has been leading the industry’s work to enable E15 in California.

Robert has served on multiple boards and advisory committees. He currently serves on the Transportation Energy Institute and a GEAPS committee. He is a U.S. Army veteran and holds degrees in Foreign Languages and Agricultural Economics. He is a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

Dr. Jaclyn DeMartini is a Senior Lead Scientist at IFF and currently directs the company’s Grain Applications Research Group. In this role, she studies new and improved enzymes and processes for the Grain industry. Her current research is centered on evaluating bio-based technologies to improve both oil recovery, as well as the value of protein coproducts. Prior to joining IFF, Jaclyn received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of California, Davis, and her Ph.D. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Riverside. Her primary area of expertise focuses on the biochemical mechanisms that dictate the breakdown of plant materials for biofuels, including grain-based and cellulosic ethanol, as well as biogas. She has accumulated more than 18 years of experience and numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications on the topic.

Chinmay Kurambhatti works as an Application Scientist for the grain processing division at IFF. He holds a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in Agricultural and Biological Engineering where his research aimed at assessing techno-economic feasibility of value-added co-product recovery in fuel ethanol process. In his current role, he evaluates applications of enzymes in fuel alcohol & carbohydrate processing industries. His research areas include liquefaction, oil recovery, downstream processing and holistic modeling for fuel ethanol process.

Jamey R. Cline is a Partner at Christianson PLLP, a full-service CPA firm based in Willmar, Minnesota, which provides accounting, auditing, tax, software, and consulting services to clients primarily in the agricultural industry. Cline joined the company in 2013, and is responsible for Christianson’s direct sales activities and new customer prospecting. Jamey brings more than 25 years of experience in the agriculture and bioenergy industries, focusing on adding value to agricultural commodities and project development. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Agricultural Economics.

Dr. Johann Venter brings over 35 years of R&D leadership in the agricultural chemical, biological, and specialty chemical industries, and serves as Edeniq’s Chief Technology Officer. Before that, he joined Edeniq in January 2024 as Vice President of Technology. Johann oversees the company’s Technology and R&D functions, including the Intellulose 2.0 and Intellulose EPA Quality Management System and Standard Operating Procedures for advanced carbohydrate assays supporting the fuel ethanol industry. He is also responsible for driving Edeniq’s growth initiatives through strategic talent recruitment to enhance the company’s core technical capabilities. Prior to joining Edeniq, Johann’s expertise in scientific innovation, regulatory compliance, and team development has driven growth and operational efficiency across diverse organizations. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Port Elizabeth and holds additional certifications in Technology and R&D Management.

Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas. He started his career in the analytical space, holding roles ranging from independent research and project management to full cGMP quality assurance, specializing in chromatography and extractables & leachables. Since 2020, he has been rehabilitating in technical sales at CEM Corporation, combining his analytical expertise with a customer-focused approach to support a wide range of industrial, manufacturing, and research-focused operations. Armed with a suite of specialized analytical sample prep and process control instrumentation, Nick serves the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota. Over the last few years, he has become increasingly immersed in the dry-grind ethanol process, facilitating numerous plant trials and making inroads into ASTM International and the Distillers Technology Council. When he isn’t setting up the next Oracle plant trial or chasing the newest lead, he can usually be found chasing one of his three boys around the house or – weather permitting – on the golf course.

Dr. Juan Vargas Ramirez is a Business and Sales Director with Edeniq. He has over a decade of experience in the biofuels industry, with a background in research, technical service, and commercial strategy. He has led enzyme and yeast trial programs at plant scale and served as a trusted advisor to producers across the industry. In his commitment to helping advance emerging technologies, Juan has invested the last four years of his professional career on the technical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of corn kernel fiber ethanol, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Juan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Pauline Teunissen is the Global Application Leader for Grain Processing, Health & Biosciences at IFF since 2020.

Pauline joined IFF (at that time Genencor) in 2000, initially in the R&D organization in Leiden, The Netherlands as a scientist and within this role she focused on the development of biochemical/screening assays for new enzyme development and built the foundation for the high throughput screening laboratory in Leiden, The Netherlands. In her next assignment Pauline built up the Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) Grain Applications Laboratory to manage a team of scientists who were specialized in grain research and were responsible for customer support and product development in the region.

In 2011, Pauline relocated to Palo Alto, CA, USA and held the position of Grain Applications Research Leader and R&D project portfolio leader to guide the development of novel enzymes and yeast solutions for the fuel ethanol and carbohydrate processing industry.

With 25+ years of technical leadership experience in Grain Processing, Pauline currently leads the Grain Processing Application teams for North America, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific (ASPAC). In this role she is responsible for the overall technical product and application development and customer support for the different regions for the fuel ethanol and carbohydrate processing segments.

Griffin Ford joined IFF in 2014 as a Technical Service Account Manager, supporting customers across the fuel ethanol industry. In 2018, he moved into Sales, broadening his commercial experience, and in 2020 he was promoted to Technical Service Leader, where he led a high performing team of Technical Service Account Managers. In 2026, Griffin stepped into a global role as Field Application Manager, supporting the worldwide rollout of enzymes and technical expertise.

Griffin brings more than 20 years of experience in industrial fermentation, having begun his career in the beverage alcohol industry. He started in the laboratory at Diageo before moving into a brewmaster role with Rock Bottom Breweries. In 2008, Griffin transitioned into the fuel ethanol industry as a Lab Manager at an ethanol facility, later stepping away for several years to launch a specialty vinegar line. He ultimately returned to the ethanol industry for a second tenure as Lab Manager before joining IFF.

Griffin holds a BSc in Brewing and Distillation from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and an MBA from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Hans holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master in business administration from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.   At IFF he works has held roles involving strategic planning, capital budgeting, mergers & acquisitions, and product management.  His current duties focus on connecting customer needs to state of the art biotechnology solutions.

Sang kyu (Q) Lee is a Senior Lead Scientist in the R&D group at IFF, where he has over 25 years of experience in enzyme research and development. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry, with a background in metalloenzyme kinetics and enzymatic reaction mechanisms. At IFF, Q has led multiple enzyme development programs resulting in the successful commercialization of industrial enzymes. His work spans applied biochemistry and protein engineering, with particular leadership in the development of amylases for industrial applications. Q is known for combining deep mechanistic insight with practical innovation to advance enzyme performance.

Chuck Gallop began his ethanol industry career in 2002 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic. He joined ICM in 2006 as a trainer on the Plant Services Team and has since advanced through several roles to lead the company’s innovation efforts.

As Director of Innovation, Chuck oversees the conceptualization, design, piloting, and full-scale commercialization of new technologies. He has played a major role in the development of ICM’s expanding patent portfolio and is the lead inventor on more than 60 patents, including four of ICM’s primary technologies, most notably the company’s oil recovery system.

In his role, Chuck also works closely with key business partners to develop, optimize, and deliver revenue-generating technologies that create long term value for ethanol producers and ICM customers.

A trusted subject matter expert, Chuck serves as a mentor to operational teams across the organization and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.

Ben has 20+ years of experience in the fields of Industrial Biotechnology and Process Development. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany and his MBA from Drexel’s LeBow College of Business in the US.

He joined DuPont’s Engineering Research and Technology department in Wilmington, DE, USA in 2004 as an expert in solid liquid separation and particle technology and has led many technology and process development efforts in the industrial biotechnology space. In 2010 Ben moved to the UK to join and later lead KRL (a joint venture between DuPont and BP responsible for the Butamax™ biobutanol demonstration facility) as General and Technical manager responsible for development, piloting, and scale-up of a complex biofuels process.

Ben joined the Grain Processing business in 2016 as the Global Applications Leader, responsible for product development and spearheading the development and implementation of digital tools to support innovation and process optimization. He is now responsible for the innovation portfolio, project and product management for that business.