An « individual-responsibility » company

The management team

Benjamin Gonzalez

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Benjamin Gonzalez founded METabolic EXplorer in 1999 based on work done for his doctoral thesis. A driving force in the company's development, he is in charge of devising and implementing its strategy, particularly with regard to financial matters and business development. Under his leadership, the company has entered a phase of industrial and commercial development. Benjamin Gonzalez has an engineering degree and a PhD in biotechnology.

Antoine Darbois

Corporate Secretary

Antoine Darbois has 35 years’ experience in speciality chemicals and high-tech materials. He has held general management positions at subsidiaries of Pechiney/Carbone Lorraine and in the Explosives and Chemical Products group. He has extensive experience in the creation and management of joint-venture companies in Europe, the United States, and Asia. Antoine Darbois has a degree in civil engineering from the Ecole des Mines and is a graduate of the Institut d'études politiques Paris.

Philippe Soucaille

Scientific Director

Philippe Soucaille joined METabolic EXplorer in 2002. He is an internationally renowned professor at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) in Toulouse, an engineering school recognised for its biotechnology programme. Previously he was senior scientist and project manager at Genencor International Inc. (USA), where he was in charge of an industrial collaboration programme with DuPont. His research has led to disruptive innovations for the production of chemical products from clean and renewable raw materials.

Autonomous and responsible teams

Under the leadership of the chairman and chief executive officer, the company's management is autonomous and responsible. Autonomy and collaboration are encouraged in METabolic EXplorer's operational approach to promote creativity and initiative and to enable employees to carry out their projects in a responsible manner.

In line with this approach, METabolic EXplorer's Information and Cooperation Committee, in which the company’s key business activities are represented, meets once a week to review progress in the work, discuss and analyse operations, and put forward and implement appropriate action plans. This management method creates a direct channel of information between decision-making and operations, thereby ensuring better internal communication.