People

Our team at Cellana is made up of leading world-class scientists and engineers. Our leading scientists have each over 30 years experience in studies related to marine algae.
Our business model allows us to leverage knowledge and experience from a network of experts in countries and universities around the world. These experts provide new research and engineering capabilities.

We are united by our ambition to provide a sustainable and profitable business.

Leadership team

Gabriel de Scheemaker:
CEO, MS, MBA, C.Dir, has worked for Royal Dutch Shell for 19 years in its chemicals, oil products, exploration & production, hydrogen and venture capital businesses, based in the Netherlands, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.

Mark Huntley:
CSO (Chief Scientific Officer), Ph.D., has spent 25 years leading research in industrial algal cultivation and climate change (UCSD-Scripps, University of Hawaii, Aquasearch and HR BioPetroleum).

Linda Johnson:
CFO, BS, MBA, has worked for Royal Dutch Shell for 21 years in its chemicals, oil products, corporate services and hydrogen businesses, based in the United States.  

Science Leadership Team

Ian Archibald, Ph.D.:
Dr. Archibald has spent 26 years working for Royal Dutch Shell. He is a biophysicist with 16 years’ experience in CO₂ reduction-related research & development and technology strategy.

Robert Richard Bidigare, Ph.D.:
Dr. Bidigare, Director of the Center for Marine Microbial Ecology and Diversity (CMMED) at the University of Hawaii, is a leading expert in phytoplankton ecology, plankton biochemistry and intermediary metabolism, analytical biochemistry, and bio-optical oceanography. He holds a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from Texas A&M University. Dr. Bidigare is also an Associate Editor of Limnology and Oceanography, a federal advisor to NOAA’s Ocean and Human Health Initiative, and a Fellow of the American Geophysical.

Susan Brown, Ph.D.:
Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Masters degree in Marine Science from the University of Texas at Austin.  She is currently a researcher with the Center for Marine Microbial Ecology and Diversity and a Research Affiliate of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Brown is a specialist in the isolation and ecology of marine phytoplankton and protozoa.

William Cochlan, Ph.D.:
Dr. Cochlan is a Senior Research Scientist at the Romberg Tiburon Center and a Research Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University.  As a biological oceanographer/microbial ecologist, Dr. Cochlan specializes in the ecophysiology of phytoplankton, and is considered a leading authority on the role of macro- and micro-nutrients in the growth of marine phytoplankton and bacteria particularly in relation to the availability of trace metals in oceanic HNLC regions and coastal harmful algal blooms (HABs). He holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and has previously held research positions at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Southern California; Cochlan was the first Head of Cultivation at the Kona Pilot Facility during 2008-2009.

John Cullen, Ph.D.:
Dr. Cullen holds the Killam Chair in Ocean Studies at Dalhousie University. With a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, he is a specialist in culturing techniques, ocean optics and physical influences on marine ecosystems. One of the most frequently cited scientists in his field, Dr. Cullen has conducted research in microalgal physiology, ranging from photosynthesis and the effects of UV radiation, to optically-based models of primary productivity and food web structure. Dr. Cullen is a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Task Team on Oceans and has been selected as a Fellow of the Oceanography Society.

Zackary Johnson, Ph.D.:
Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Biological Oceanography and Marine Biotechnology at Duke University and holds a Ph.D. in Marine Botany . Dr. Johnson is a specialist in microalgal photosynthesis, physiology and evolutionary genetics of microbes, marine microbial ecology and biogeochemistry.

Charles O’Kelly, Ph.D.:
Dr. O’Kelly is a Research Scientist at the Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington. He holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Washington, and specializes in the isolation, identification, taxonomy, and evolution of algae and protozoa.  His research involves the use of microscopical and molecular methodologies to discover new species, detail the life history strategies of marine and freshwater microbes, and track how they have evolved and diversified.

Donald Redalje, Ph.D.:
Dr. Redalje is a Professor at the Department of Marine Science at The University of Southern Mississippi and a leading expert in microalgae physiology and biochemistry. A graduate of the University of Hawaii with a Ph.D. in Oceanography, he conducted Postdoctoral research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and held research faculty positions at the Naval Postgraduate School and California State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.  He is a cofounder of the USM Department of Marine Science and a co inventor of Cellana’s Hybrid Growth System that is being used at the Cellana Kona Pilot Facility.