Board of Directors

Sylvia Wulf was appointed Executive Director, President, and CEO of AquaBounty in January 2019. In 2023, she was elected Chair of the Board of AquaBounty and relinquished her position as President, as part of the Company’s leadership progression process. Prior to joining AquaBounty, Sylvia served as a Senior Vice President of US Foods, Inc., where she had been President of the Manufacturing Division since June 2011. Prior to US Foods, she held senior positions in Tyson Foods, Inc., Sara Lee Corporation, and Bunge Corp. She is also currently on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the National Fisheries Institute and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Sylvia received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Western Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University. She provides extensive experience in the food industry in North America, including its fish sector to our Board.

Non-Executive Director
Chair, Audit Committee
Member, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Christine St.Clare joined the Board of AquaBounty in May 2014. She is a former Audit Partner at KPMG LLP serving publicly traded companies until 2005, after which she transferred to the Advisory Practice, working in the Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance Practice until her retirement in 2010. She also served a four-year term on KPMG’s Board of Directors, where she chaired KPMG’s Audit and Finance Committee for three of the four years. She served on the Board of Directors for Tilray, Inc. from their 2018 IPO through April 2021. At Tilray, she chaired the Audit Committee and was a member of the Nominating & Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee. She formerly served on the boards of Fibrocell Science, Inc., a company that specialized in the development of personalized biologics, and Polymer Group, Inc., a global manufacturer of engineered materials. Fibrocell was a NASDAQ listed company and Polymer was a Blackstone portfolio company with publicly traded debt. For Fibrocell and Polymer, she served as the Audit Committee Chair until their respective sales to strategic buyers. Christine holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from California State University at Long Beach and has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California, Texas and Georgia. Her background in accounting and support of publicly held companies, as well as her experience with biotechnology, makes her well suited for service on our Board.

Non-Executive Director
Member, Audit Committee
Member, Compensation and Human Capital Committee

Rick Sterling has served on the Board of AquaBounty since September 2013. He served as the Chief Financial Officer at Precigen Inc. from 2007 through March 2021, including leading them through their initial public offering in 2013. During his term at Precigen, he was responsible for multiple private and public equity and debt capital raises, financial diligence for and integration of over a dozen acquisitions, SEC reporting and compliance, divestitures of businesses, budgeting, and negotiations of facility leases as well as oversight of human resource and information technology functions. Prior to joining Precigen, he was with KPMG where he worked in the audit practice for more than 17 years, with a client base primarily in the healthcare, technology and manufacturing industries. He has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Virginia Tech and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Rick’s background in audit and finance, as well as his experience with technology companies, make him well suited for service on the AquaBounty Board.

Non-Executive Director
Chair, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Member, Compensation and Human Capital Committee

Ricardo J. Alvarez joined the Board of AquaBounty in March 2021. Dr. Alvarez is currently the CEO of Hans Kissle Foods, a leading manufacturer of fresh prepared foods. Prior to joining Hans Kissle, he served as CEO of J&K Ingredients, a leading manufacturer of bakery ingredients globally, and as President and CEO of various food manufacturing companies including Passport Foods (SVC), LLC, Richelieu Foods, Ruiz Foods, Anita’s Foods, Overhill Farms and Raymundo’s Food Products. In his 30 years as a leader in the packaged food industry, Dr. Alvarez has implemented growth strategies including new go-to-market initiatives, geographic expansion and innovations of product and packaging. Dr. Alvarez also has extensive board experience, having served on the boards of Bush Brothers Inc., Clement Pappas Inc., Ruiz Foods and Clear Springs Foods. He currently serves on the board of Phelps Pet Products Inc. Dr. Alvarez brings operational and food industry experience to our Board.

Non-Executive Director
Chair, Compensation and Human Capital Committee
Member, Audit Committee

Gail Sharps Myers joined the Board of AquaBounty in May 2021. She is the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary at Denny’s Corporation since February 2024, and she has held senior executive roles at the company since June 2020. Prior to joining Denny’s, she served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary of American Tire Distributors, Inc. from May 2018 to May 2020, as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. from January 2015 to March 2018 and as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Compliance Counsel and Assistant Secretary from 2014 to 2015 at US Foods, Inc. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from The Washington College of Law at The American University, her Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Howard University. Gail’s experience and background make her well suited to serve on the AquaBounty Board.

Non-Executive Director
Member, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Michael Stern joined the Board of AquaBounty in May 2022 and is the former CEO of The Climate Corporation and Digital Farming for Bayer Crop Science and a member of the Crop Sciences Executive Team. Before joining Bayer, Dr. Stern had a 30-year career at Monsanto Company where he was a member of Monsanto’s Executive Team and led their Row Crop Business in the Americas. In addition, he served in a variety of leadership roles at Monsanto, including Vice President of U.S. Seeds and Traits, President of American Seeds, CEO of Renessen LLC, a biotechnology joint venture with Cargill, and Director of Technology for Agricultural Productivity. Dr. Stern is a member of the Board of Directors of Lavoro Limited. he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Botanical Garden and served on the board of the Monsanto Fund and the board of Clara Foods, a San Francisco based company focused on developing novel animal proteins from cell culture. Dr. Stern received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University, a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree from Denison University. Dr. Stern’s brings broad experience in the food industry and biotechnology to our Board.

Non-Executive Director
Member, Audit Committee

Erin Sharp joined the Board of AquaBounty in May 2022 after retiring as Group Vice President of Manufacturing and Enterprise Sourcing for The Kroger Co., where she was a Senior Officer having responsibility for companywide manufacturing, food safety and sourcing. Prior to her 10 years with The Kroger Co., she had increasing leadership roles in operations and finance with several large consumer product companies; including Sara Lee, Nestle Dreyer’s and Frito Lay. She served as a board member for the national nonprofit organization Feeding America as well as several industry boards including American Bakers Association, where she was the first female Chair, MilkPEP and the International Dairy Association. Erin earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas. She brings operational and food industry experience to our Board.