New appointments strengthen operational and technical leadership, supporting Arzeda’s commercialization of ViaLeaf™ Reb M and its expanding pipeline of products and partnerships.

SEATTLE, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arzeda, The Protein Design Company™, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Alex Patist, Ph.D., as Chief Operating Officer and Paula Hicks, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. The additions strengthen Arzeda’s operational and technical leadership as the company commercializes ViaLeaf™ Reb M and advances a growing portfolio of near-commercial protein-powered products across food, nutrition, home care, and materials.

“Arzeda has proven that AI-driven protein design can deliver real products at commercial scale, with ViaLeaf™ Reb M on market and a growing pipeline nearing commercialization,” said Alexandre Zanghellini, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO of Arzeda. “Alex and Paula bring the operational and technical expertise to accelerate that trajectory. Alex will lead our commercial and product manufacturing operations, including the scale-up of ViaLeaf™ Reb M and ProClenz™ home care enzymes, while Paula will guide our R&D operations and technical execution. Their proven experience bringing products from lab to commercial scale complements our Intelligent Protein Design Technology™.”

About Alex Patist, Ph.D.

As Chief Operating Officer, Alex Patist leads Arzeda’s expanding commercial and product development operations, including the scale-up of ViaLeaf™ Reb M and the expansion of manufacturing capabilities across the company’s growing product portfolio. Alex is a seasoned industrial bioprocess development and manufacturing executive with more than 25 years of experience translating cutting-edge science into reliable, large-scale production across food, beauty, nutraceuticals, biomaterials, and sustainable chemicals. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Geltor and previously held the role of Senior Vice President at Bolt Threads, with earlier leadership roles at Genomatica and Cargill. Alex has led end-to-end scale-up across fermentation, downstream recovery, tech transfer, and global toll manufacturing at annual production capacities exceeding 75,000 metric tonnes. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida, an M.S. from TU Eindhoven, and a B.S. from Hogeschool Utrecht.

About Paula Hicks, Ph.D.

As Chief Technology Officer, Paula Hicks leads technical strategy and R&D operations at Arzeda. Paula is a proven technical leader with more than 25 years of broad experience across industries utilizing biotechnology, including international experience. She began her career at Cargill, Inc., where she was the lead R&D scientist for the development of a process for a natural high-intensity sweetener and helped establish genomics and other omics capabilities for the company. She continued her career leading a biopharma process development group at Bend Research (now Lonza) and held senior leadership roles at Evolva, helping launch food ingredient products and serving as a key interface with partner companies. She has since advised multiple biotechnology startups, including River Stone Biotech. Paula holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton.

About Arzeda
Arzeda develops innovative products powered by its Intelligent Protein Design Technology™, using generative AI-driven design to create, validate, and manufacture new proteins and enzymes that enhance our lives and protect our planet. We commercialize with Fortune 500 go-to-market partners across multiple industries, enabling higher-performing, more cost-effective solutions that are healthier and sustainable. For more information, please visit www.arzeda.com.

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