Mike Anstey / CEO & Founder

Mike started his corporate career at the food and agriculture giant Cargill, thereafter embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, establishing a successful track record raising $90M funds, building and managing five of his own businesses worldwide which dealt with some of the largest global brands. In 2008, he pioneered the discipline of Venture Management and co-founded Pilot Lite, where he drives business development, leading the acceleration and commercialisation of innovation into market of their business for international growth. Mike has helped establish Pilot Lite operations in Africa, India, China and the US and has also launched new businesses for PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Unilever, Kimberly Clark, GSK and Diageo.  His education includes LGU and Oxford University Business School.

Pier Massa / COO & Regional Head EU

Pier brings more than 25 years of experience in executive management and consulting to Pilot Lite. He has an extensive track record building new businesses within large and complex organizations by leading enterprise-wide strategy development, business and market planning, process management, brand transformation and customer experience engineering. Pier has held executive leadership positions for major North American brands including Virgin, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Molson Breweries and SC Johnson Wax. He is also a former consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. At Pilot Lite, he is responsible for driving key operational relationships with all clients. Pier holds an MBA from the Rotman Business School (Toronto).

Dave Behringer / CEO PL USA

Dave is an award-winning Innovator and R&D executive that spent two decades at Kraft Foods helping to launch multiple $100M products, including the ‘Back to Nature’ brand and the ‘South Beach Diet’ line. He was most recently the CTO at 915 Labs, an international food tech start-up. As CEO of Pilot Lite Ventures USA, Dave leads the North American Venture Management team. Dave is a certified personal chef, holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and has completed postgraduate innovation programs at University of Michigan, Stephen M Ross School of Business and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Pete Dulcamara / Executive Partner

Pete Dulcamara is a Global Executive Partner at Pilot Lite. Pete leverages his extensive industry experience and strategic insights in this role to guide the commercialization of new products and technologies. He plays a key role in fostering relationships with existing and new clients and driving the successful launch and growth of new ventures to ensure they achieve their full commercial potential.

Prior to his role at Pilot Lite, Pete served as Chief Scientist, Vice President of Corporate Research & Engineering, and Site Leader for the Innovation and Operational Excellence Center at the Kimberly-Clark Corporation.  He was responsible for leading the discovery, development, and delivery of science and technology to every business, brand, and region of the company globally. He was also responsible for employee and community engagement for approximately 2,500 employees in Neenah, Wisconsin, where the company was founded.

Prior to Kimberly-Clark, Pete served as a senior R&D executive with The Dow Chemical Company, where he held various positions for numerous businesses in research and development, new business development, sustainable development, mergers and acquisitions, corporate licensing, and new ventures.  

Pete currently serves on the Executive Advisory Board for High Impact Technologies at Stanford University. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Bassett Mechanical, a leading supplier of industrial refrigeration, HVAC, plumbing, and metal fabrication. Pete is a Chemicals and materials Partner at FutureBridge, a market intelligence, research, and advisory firm. He is also a Board Member of Midpoint Consulting, which develops AI education for the 21st-century Worker. He is a member of the Northeast Wisconsin chapter of Legatus.

Pete has a bachelor of science in chemistry with minors in mathematics and physics from Cameron University and a bachelor of science and master of science in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University. Pete is an alumnus of The Prince of Wales's Business & Sustainability Programme through the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the Tuck Executive Program on Innovation Strategy at Dartmouth College. He has participated in extended executive education in management development at Indiana University and entrepreneurial studies at Babson College, where he serves as a curriculum development advisory council member.

Anthony Wells / Executive Partner

Anthony is a Global Executive Partner at Pilot Lite. He brings 30 years of CPG experience in various categories and business models in the UK across global markets. He has an extensive track record of igniting growth and building market share through market-leading, enterprise-wide commercial strategies, including disruptive innovation in product and digital, powerful brand building, and building high-performing teams to execute plans that win in the market.

During the first 15 years of his career, Anthony enjoyed progressive roles in FTSE 100s, including M&S, Coca-Cola, and Cadbury, where he served as Head of Global Chocolate Strategy and Innovation, driving improvements to the core business and leading a breakthrough Innovation agenda.

The second half of his career has been in private equity-backed organisations. He led a turnaround and transformation agenda at AVON, first in the UK where he revamped the brand and led the launch of its first e-commerce platform. As vice president of Global Colour Cosmetics, he led a category transformation in innovation, brand building, and team capabilities and processes ahead of Natura & Co.’s acquisition of the company. Most recently, Anthony led a global brand reset as chief marketing officer at Gü Desserts where he led the brand’s launch into the USA.

Joel Nelson / Executive Partner

Joel Nelson is a visionary leader in strategy, innovation, and business development, with over 30 years of experience in technology, food, and agriculture. He excels in driving enterprise value through global partnerships, leveraging his diverse industry expertise, deep technical background, and exceptional relationship-building skills. Joel thrives in both corporate and start-up environments, showcasing his leadership, communication, and interpersonal abilities. His key skills include strategic innovation, growth leadership, partnership development, and building innovation ecosystems, all underpinned by a PhD in Chemistry and a strong interest in digital AI/ML technologies.

Joel has held key roles at Cargill and General Mills, leading transformative initiatives in external innovation and knowledge management. His achievements include designing and implementing frameworks to commercialize disruptive innovation, launching successful supplier-enabled innovation programs, and representing Cargill at the 2023 International MSME Day at the United Nations.

Joel's passion for social impact, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, is reflected in his work with various non-profit organizations. He has been actively involved with IRIS Global, Partners in Food Solutions, and the Seeding the Future Foundation, contributing to initiatives that support sustainable food systems and community development. He also helped launch 4 Access Partners, a US-based organization supporting women and BIPOC food entrepreneurs. His dedication to making a positive difference underscores his professional achievements and highlights his commitment to leveraging innovation for the greater good.

Nigel Hughes / Executive Partner

Nigel Hughes served as a member of the executive committee leadership team at the Kellogg Company and senior vice president of Global R&D and Innovation from 2017 until 2023, where he merged technical insights with business models and commercial opportunities to lead teams in creating delicious, accessible foods for billions of people around the world.

Prior to this role, Nigel was the chief research and development officer for SC Johnson. He also spent ten years with Danone, first serving as VP and head of R&D for the company’s global dairy business and then as CEO of Danone’s Nutricia business, which specializes in baby food and clinical nutrition.

Before expanding into commercial innovation, Nigel spent 14 years at Unilever, first as a research scientist and then as head of the Oral Care Global Innovation Center.

Nigel earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Durham and a doctor of philosophy in chemistry from the University of Oxford.

HENRY GOMEZ / COO LATAM

A visionary Senior Executive with over 35 years' experience and proven success in areas like General Management, Commercial, Innovation & Product and Business Development, Business Modelling and Transformation, Henry has a broad understanding of the LATAM Markets (Mexico, Brazil, Andean and CA) and CPG categories such as toiletries, food and beverages. He was also an active member of the PepsiCo Global Nutrition Group where he helped establish partnerships with domestic and international companies. Other incursions were made in countries like Nigeria in Africa with various assessments under the cereal Quaker Brand Equity. All this experience has been now put into practice to deliver results for multinational corporations worldwide.

Chris Thomas / Venture Manager Finance

Chris is an MBA-qualified venture investment professional with experience delivering exceptional performance in challenging operating and financial environments. His expertise includes fundraising, analytical due diligence, financial modeling, deal structuring, and contracts. Chris has a proven ability to develop and lead high-performing teams that deliver outstanding results and ROI. He has personally raised £20m and indirectly £500m over 10 years, in addition to investigating market opportunities and formulating business plans for internal growth or acquisition for a range of FTSE250 and Fortune 500 companies. At Pilot Lite, he heads up capital market activity and financial analysis.

Toby Matthewson / Venture Director

Toby is an experienced commercial leader with a background spanning the client side (Cadbury, Unilever, and L’Oreal), management consultancy (BCG), and running his own agency, Truth, providing insight, strategy, and innovation with 70 global employees across GB, US, China, and Singapore. He brings extensive international experience across food and drinks and is an expert in identifying and fast-tracking the right commercial opportunities to market. He combines an empathy for client-side cultures and challenges with the energy of a fast-moving consultancy to great effect across various clients, industries, and commercial challenges. A competitive triathlete (European age group bronze), Toby has swum a third of the Lake District, including Windermere, and run across the Grand Canyon. He combines his passion for fitness, nutrition, and well-being with deep experience and expansive professional networks to help shape future businesses.

Louise Wymer / Venture Lead EU

Louise is an experienced business leader and entrepreneur who founded a multi award winning contract catering business in 2004 that was recognised as a Sunday Times Fast Track 100 company in 2009 and 2010. Louise led a healthy eating agenda and ethical procurement strategy across the business, delivering innovative food solutions to a varied client portfolio across the UK and was recognised as a finalist of the UK Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of Year 2009 awards. Louise successfully sold the business in 2016, having achieved year on year growth for 12 years, since when she has been active in supporting, mentoring and investing in a number of start-up companies to support strategies of growth and profitability.

Mary Henderson / Global Communications Manager

Mary is a marketing and PR professional with 25+ years of experience in food, health and wellness, and technology transfer. She has worked across a variety of industries at PR and ad agencies and directing communications at a 600-bed hospital system and a regional community bank. Her copywriting is part of award-winning websites and her media relations efforts on behalf of the world’s largest medical meeting (RSNA) have resulted in international coverage. Most recently, Mary served as Director of Marketing for food tech start-up 915 Labs, where she was responsible for website design, international media relations, social media, special events and video production.

Aba Sagoe / Venture Manager

Aba joined Pilot Lite in 2018. She has managed and coordinated workstreams and consumer projects for clients in the Food & Beverage and FMCG sectors. Aba has successfully led in-market tests and roll-outs in Europe, Africa, and North America. She has strong retail, supply chain, and operations management experience and is skilled in project management and control. Aba has a BSc (Honours) in Management from the London School of Economics.

Sadiq Edu / Africa Advisor

Sadiq is an Africa-focused security risk management professional. He advises corporates and private clients on the potential business impact of their political, security, cyber and technology risks and has helped businesses and governments in Africa as well as across EMEA to improve their posture against evolving criminal and geo-political threats. He regularly engages senior government officials and business leaders on how to address insecurity. An Africa enthusiast, Sadiq is passionate about introducing technologies to tackle the outcomes of poor governance on the continent. He is also a co-founder of DoGood.Africa, a platform that connects social ventures to the financial and technical resources they need, to succeed in the underserved communities they support.

Mike Swain / Subject Matter Expert, Packaging and Sustainability UK

Mike has over 30 years of experience in packaging innovation, R&D/NPD, technology, and design, working for top-tier consumer packaged goods brand owners and manufacturers such as P&G, Unilever, and Diageo. More recently, he has operated an independent consultancy, focusing on sustainability and innovation for a diverse client base from blue chip to start-ups/SMEs spanning food, drink, beauty care, cosmetics, toys, and licensed goods. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining and Vice Chair of The Packaging Group, the international accreditation body for the packaging profession. A subject matter expert in packaging, sustainability, and supply chain design, Mike has a demonstrated capability to bring new products to market quickly and diligently.

Lora Spizzirri / Venture Manager

Lora is a Research and Development executive with over 30 years of experience in the Food and Beverage industry. She spent 25 years at Kraft Foods, holding leadership positions across multiple $100M brands. Lora led a successful renovation of Kraft’s iconic Philadelphia Cream Cheese product line, including reformulation, packaging redesign, and shelf display that delivered a 9% revenue increase in the first year post-launch. Before joining Pilot Lite, she was the Vice President of Research, Development, and Engineering for 915 Labs, a food technology startup, where she led the development of the 915 Labs Packaging Solutions Program. Lora currently leads research, development, and manufacturing for Pilot Lite US initiatives and is a subject matter expert for packaging technology across various client engagements. Lora is a Rochester Institute of Technology graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Packaging Engineering.

Geraldene Dobson / Financial Lead

Geraldene is a chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience working with both large and small corporations. She qualified as a chartered accountant with a Big 5 firm and worked in various departments. Following qualification, Geraldine worked for one of the world’s best-known multi-industry companies recognized for its powerful brands. Geraldene headed up the European management reporting involving an annual consolidation of approximately 50 subsidiaries. She has worked with Pilot Lite, supporting the CFO for nearly 15 years, and has been key in implementing and maintaining the financial controls and systems for the group and dealing with ongoing reporting and consolidations.