Cemvita Promotes Co-founder Tara Karimi to CSO, Appoints New CTO Liz Dennett

March 28, 2022 — Houston, TX. – Cemvita, the standard for biosolutions in the energy industry, announced today the promotion of co-founder Tara Karimi to Chief Science Officer, while appointing Liz Dennett, PhD, as the new Chief Technology Officer. Dennett will report to Cemvita’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Moji Karimi.

In her new role as Chief Science Officer, Tara Karimi will not only be responsible for leading Cemvita's scientific research and development efforts but will also focus on driving innovation in the biotech industry. Tara will play a critical role in shaping the future of Cemvita and advancing the company's mission to create sustainable solutions for a better planet.

"I'm excited to take on the role of Chief Science Officer at Cemvita and what it represents for our company's growth," said Tara Karimi. "As Chief Science Officer, I look forward to shaping policy and driving the conversation around the role of biotechnology in the Energy Transition."

As Karimi takes on her new leadership role, Cemvita also announced the hiring of Liz Dennett as its new Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Dennett will be responsible for leading the development and deployment of Cemvita's technology platform, overseeing the company's technology roadmap and product development, and driving innovation in the biotech industry.  

With her passion and deep expertise in developing and scaling biosolutions and data platforms that transform the energy landscape, Dennett will work closely with Cemvita's Chief Science Officer, Tara Karimi, to ensure the successful integration of the company's scientific research and technology development efforts.

“I grew up in a small town in Alaska where you had to fix things, which often meant getting involved and doing at least part of the work yourself.” said Liz Dennett, newly appointed CTO of Cemvita. “There is nothing more important to me than working on the Energy Transition, and I have dedicated my academic and professional career to developing the skills required to become a CTO of a major Energy Transition company. Now that I’m here, I can't wait to get started.”

Dennett joins Cemvita from Wood Mackenzie, where she was VP of Data Architecture and Data Engineering. Wood Mackenzie is one of the world’s most innovative research, analytics and consultancy businesses, partnering with preeminent energy companies that seek to be first-movers in the Energy Transition.  

Dennett’s early work in the energy sector was Hess Corporation as a geologist before joining Biota Technology, where she pioneered genomics-based solutions to clean energy issues, led the labs, and grew the data analysis teams. She continued her partnerships with top-tier energy companies in her role as a Senior Partner Solutions Architect and Lead Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, where she focused on creating new machine learning approaches and advanced computing, and launched the OSDU Data Platform.  

“I know that Tara and Liz are going to make history at Cemvita,” said Moji Karimi, CEO and Co-Founder and CEO of Cemvita. “With 15 years of experience using data-driven approaches to solve pressing energy challenges, Liz brings to bear the kind of creativity and expertise that can quickly and meaningfully advance Cemvita’s impact on the Energy Transition.”

The public and private investment in sustainable solutions like Cemvita's demonstrates the growing importance of this work and the recognition that significant progress can be made with the right leadership and resources. Cemvita is poised to make a significant impact in the Energy Transition, and the timing of these key leadership roles could not be more crucial.

“Working with biological systems presents a unique challenge,” added Dennett, “but also a unique opportunity. It’s uniquely difficult to go from benchtop to in-situ reactors or oil wells with microbes and to achieve the kind of incredible results that we’re seeing in the lab. You need to build teams with deep specializations in chemistry, biology, energy systems, and geology.”

Recently, Dennett was named one of The Top 50 Women Leaders of 2022. She holds a MS and PhD in Geoscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has completed executive education at the Haas School of Business.  

About Cemvita

Cemvita is the standard for biosolutions in the energy industry.

Nature-inspired technologies are humanity’s most powerful allies in the fight against climate change.  

The microbes we engineer at Cemvita can fully decarbonize the most intensive industrial processes and massively shrink their overall environmental footprint.

Our field-tested biotechnologies can be seamlessly integrated into existing workflows and infrastructure. Cemvita’s solutions address sustainable natural resource extraction, carbon negative chemical production, and the closed-loop renewal of waste as feedstock.

With Cemvita, the sustainable choice is also the economical choice. All of Cemvita’s solutions are cost competitive or cheaper than traditional alternatives. Whether it’s metal and mineral extraction or the production of hydrogen and biofuels, Cemvita partners with the world's largest companies to accelerate the energy transition.

Learn more at www.cemvita.com

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