Team

Scientists, engineers, and industry veterans.

PIPA brings together people from academic research, global CPG, enterprise software, and ingredient innovation. The team that builds the platforms is the team that understands the problems.

Leadership

The people behind PIPA.

Our leadership team combines deep AI research, food-systems science, and enterprise commercial experience.

Ilias Tagkopoulos, PhD

Executive Chairman & Founder

Professor of Computer Science at UC Davis and Director of the USDA/NSF AI Institute for Next-Generation Food Systems (AIFS). Prior to UC Davis, Ilias worked on fixed-income derivatives models at Credit Suisse, NY. Diploma from the University of Patras, M.Sc. from Columbia University, PhD from Princeton University — all in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Christos Stamelos

Chief Technology Officer

Co-founder and executive in software startups across the US and Europe, developing innovative solutions across social media, healthcare, cloud computing, machine learning, and voice recognition. Engineering Diploma in Computer Engineering and Informatics, M.Sc. in Computer Science. Deep technical and management background with numerous certifications.

Eric Hamborg

Chief Commercial Officer

Thirty-plus year commercial leader with executive positions across pharma and healthcare, leading growth and innovation of companies and SaaS products. Co-founder of healthcare service company MOBÉ and board advisor to nutrition and clinical trial organizations. Graduate of the University of St. Thomas — St. Paul, MN.

Catarina Abreu, PharmD

VP, Science & Customer Success

Former general manager in the pharmaceutical industry, with launch experience across medical devices, cosmetics, food supplements, and nutraceuticals. PharmD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde — Sul, and M.Sc. in Advanced Clinical Nutrition.

Eli Berici

VP, Finance

Responsible for regulatory compliance, contracts, and financial management. Former officer for grants and contracts at the University of California, Davis. Graduate of the Seinäjoki Business School in Finland; B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Patras, Greece.

Anestis Taskos

Head of Operations

Three-times founder and former VP of Operations at PaxeraHealth. Previously worked as a proprietary trader in New York. Business Administration graduate with an MBA from the City University of New York.

"We are the Architects of the Future. The vanguards of a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow. We dare design pioneering architectures and build breakthrough solutions by embedding know-how, and passion for excellence."
Christos Stamelos · Chief Technology Officer

Our people

75+ scientists, engineers, and builders.

Our team uses the latest advances in AI, bioinformatics, and data analytics to redefine what's possible in food and health. Their work opens up new opportunities for our partners to drive innovation and growth that benefits both businesses and our planet.

Scientific advisory

Advisors who shape the science.

Our Scientific Advisory Board brings together leaders from food science, nutrition, AI research, and industry.

Harold Schmitz, PhD

Former Chief Science Officer, Mars, Inc. · Founding Partner, The March Group

Mars's first Chief Science Officer and founding Executive Director of the Mars Advanced Research Institute at UC Davis. Founding Partner of The March Group, an early-stage venture fund focused on food, health, and climate technology. Senior Scholar at UC Davis GSM, co-founder of the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, and Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Justin Siegel, PhD

Faculty Director, UC Davis IIFH · Professor, UC Davis

Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine at UC Davis. Faculty Director of the Innovation Institute for Food and Health (IIFH) and Associate Director of the UC Davis Genome Center. Co-founder of ten-plus companies and organizations at the intersection of food, health, and science — including Digestiva. Leads Knowledge Transfer for AIFS, the USDA-NIFA/NSF AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems.

Sascha Mornell

Serial Entrepreneur · 3x Successful Exits

Serial entrepreneur and investor with three successful company exits. Co-founder and former CEO of GetMyBoat (majority stake acquired by Yammer in 2022). Co-founder and former CEO of Phacil, a federal-government technology contractor (acquired in 2019). Founding team at Register.com through its $800M IPO. BA with honors from UC Berkeley; MBA from Harvard Business School.

By the numbers

A team built for the work.

75+people across research, engineering, product, and commercial

50+peer-reviewed publications with PIPA authors

10 yrsbuilding AI systems for food

3continents where PIPA deploys today

We're hiring across every function.

If you want to build the operating system for food innovation, we want to hear from you.