SurfactGreen was created in 2016 by two inventors and four entrepreneurs. As such, our company boasts an experienced team of founders an co-owners, totalling 170 years in the field of chemistry, 90 in international business and start-ups, and 90 in green chemistry-orientated academic research.
Leadership & co-founders
Xavier Roussel
Chief Executive Officer
& co-owner
Xavier (INSEAD Executive MBA, BA in Sales and Marketing) has held various positions (Supply Chain, VP of Sales and Marketing, VP of Operations, and Managing Director) in different countries. Mainly focused on international development, he has also been involved in the food industry, agro-business, renewable energies and fine chemistry.
Thierry Benvegnu
Inventor, scientific advisor
& founder
Thierry (PhD in organic chemistry from the ENSCR, postdoctoral studies at Stanford University in the USA) is a professor specialised in the design of 100% bio-based surfactants. He received six awards and published over 80 scientific papers. He also published 18 patents and co-wrote several books.
Jacques Biton
Scientific advisor
& co-owner
Jacques (PhD in biotechnology) has held operational positions in the R&D departments of various international pharmaceutical companies. Since 2002, he has been involved in the set-up (from initial ideas to IPO on Alternext) and operational management of innovative start-ups in the cleantech, greentech and biotech sectors.
Daniel Plusquellec
Inventor and founder
Daniel was the former Dean at the Rennes School of Chemistry (ENSCR), and used to chair the Gay-Lussac Federation. He is currently an emeritus professor, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). He has published over 130 scientific papers and patents, and co-authored several books.
Daniel Danjean
Founder
Daniel (engineering diploma from ENSC Toulouse) has 25 years’ experience as a business developer for international chemical distributors. He is indeed an expert in surfactant applications such as cosmetics, detergents, painting, building, printing and agro-science. His expertise expands to formulation, registration and labelling, and he is also a certified FFP trainer.
Business team
Clémentine Martin Lepicard
Regulatory and Commercial Affairs Officer
Clementine previously worked in different companies in the personal care and cosmetics industry, boasting 15 years’ experience in cosmetic raw material commercialisation. More recently, Clementine focused more on the customer-orientated technical sales aspect of her work. She is now in charge of the cosmetic market segment.
Paul Kermarrec
Digital Marketing and Communication Officer
Paul graduated from EMLV Paris with a master’s degree in digital marketing strategy. Through his specialization and past experiences in the innovation sector, he is in charge of developing SurfactGreen’s digital strategy and creating communication materials.
Jenny Corless
Head of Marketing and Global Business Development
Jenny spent the past 12 years in Global Marketing at L’Oréal USA, developing and managing the long-term innovation strategies for leading haircare and skincare brands, and cofounding a digital startup. Jenny is a native English speaker and fluent in French and Spanish. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science from the University of Paris VI and a Master’s degree in Business and Cosmetic Chemisty from the ISIPCA. She is in charge of SurfactGreen’s international development of.
Céline Viel
Administrative Coordinator, Sales and Quality Control
Céline graduated from Rennes 1 with a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and has more than 15 years of experience in the cosmetics industry, notably as a supply chain project manager. Céline is currently in charge of sales and quality coordination at SurfactGreen.
Surfactants synthesis team
Freddy Pessel
R&D Engineer
Freddy is a chemical engineer, who graduated from the Rennes School of Chemistry (ENSCR). Moreover, Freddy has a PhD in Green Organic Chemistry from the Paris-Sud University. Freddy has spent the last two years working on the development of surfactants using brown algae. His current endeavour is focused on optimising and producing bio-based cationic surfactants.
Cédric Boyère
R&D Engineer
Cédric has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Liège (Belgium). He has managed research projects in organic and green chemistry, including CO₂ technologies, and has developed original repositories of sugar-based surfactants. Cédric is currently working on algae recovery, drawing on the principles of green chemistry.
Pauline Vincent
R&D Engineer
Pauline has a PhD in polymer science from the University of Bordeaux, where she also studied polymer engineering, colloids and formulation at the Senior School of Chemistry, Biology and Physics (ENSCBP). She is currently developing bio-based surfactants for the road industry.
Surfactants characterization and formulation team
Francis Galle
Formulation Engineer
Francis is a chemical engineer who graduated from the Lille School of Chemistry (ENSCL), and boasts expertise in formulation. He relies on his experience with surfactants used in detergents and agrochemistry to formulate SurfactGreen’s molecules.
Florent Loisel
Trainee Formulation Engineer
Florent is currently preparing a master’s degree in formulation and data mining at the University of Cergy-Pontoise. He works on the application of our molecules to different detergent and cosmetic formulations.
