About – Finless Foods

About Finless Foods:

Finless Foods is committed to creating a future for seafood where the ocean thrives. Co-Founders Michael Selden and Brian Wyrwas founded the company to create delicious, healthy, and accessible cell-cultured seafood alternatives. Finless Foods offers options for all palates and dietary preferences, providing consumers with a range of responsibly produced food products to diversify their daily habits and pave the way toward a more sustainable future and healthier ocean. Follow us @finlessfoods.

The Team

Michael Selden

CEO and Co-Founder

Michael Selden

CEO and Co-Founder

Michael Selden is the CEO and Co-Founder of Finless Foods. His background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has played a big role in him dedicating his life to climate justice and science advocacy. His research has spanned many fields - from solving food crises in Africa, to marine conservation in Southeast Asia.

Back in 2014, Michael was inspired by an article in the Atlantic that announced a crucial scientific development: the ability to synthesize horseshoe crab blood, a vital component within many lifesaving IVs and vaccines. Michael wondered, “If we can make horseshoe crab blood without horseshoe crabs, why can’t we make seafood without harvesting fish?” One night over beers with Brian Wyras, a friend from college who was working as a research technician at the time, the two fleshed out their ideas and laid the foundation for what would soon become the most innovative company in the field of cell-cultured seafood.

In 2017, Michael’s company Finless Foods created the first fish meat grown outside of a living fish to ever be consumed by a person. Eventually, Michael’s relentless passion and innovative vision attracted $3.5 million in seed funding, and even landed him a coveted spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 for social impact in 2021.

Beyond his dedication to creating a more sustainable future for our oceans, Michael finds a healthy work-life balance by cultivating his interests in music and audio engineering. He enjoys playing instruments like the bass guitar and drums, as well as a modular synthesizer that he built himself. In his spare time, he loves to read about the political economy as well as science fiction. He currently resides in the Bay Area with his beloved bulldog, Roscoe the Pig.

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Brian Wyrwas

Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder

Brian Wyrwas

Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder

As a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology double major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Brian has always recognized science to be the most efficient way to turn “nothing into something.” After graduation, he took his talents to Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, where he worked to grow human cells for medical purposes and assisted in both the laboratory and clinic, giving him a holistic understanding of how their experiments directly impacted patients.

While readying applications for his PhD in 2016, Brian’s career took a sudden, exciting turn. He had dinner with his college friend, Michael Selden, who pitched him on a start-up idea based around cell-cultured seafood. After quickly educating himself on the degradation of ocean ecosystems, he knew he wanted to be a part of the cell-cultured revolution. Alongside Selden, the two started out by researching and specifying the fastest depleting fish populations, landing on bluefin tuna. Brian then traveled across the globe to harvest the best bluefin cells for experimentation and cultivation of cell-cultured fish filets, and Finless Foods was officially born.

At Finless Foods, Brian is in charge of the lab operations behind the cell-cultured and plant-based production, and his efforts landed him a coveted spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 alongside his Co-Founder.

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Shannon Cosentino-Roush

Chief Strategy Officer

Shannon Cosentino-Roush

Chief Strategy Officer

Shannon Cosentino-Roush is the Chief Strategy Officer at Finless Foods. Having worked on sustainable fisheries and ocean policy both nationally and internationally, she prides herself on being an intuitive and innovative policy strategist. Shannon holds a B.S. in Political Science from Santa Clara University and a J.D. and Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. Her studies centered around her passion for creating international policies and systems to ensure a healthy, thriving ocean.

Prior to her current position, Shannon spent time working at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the US Government (NOAA), various NGOs, and developing a zero-waste hackathon in partnership with NYC’s Department of Sanitation. In her role at Finless Foods, she works collaboratively with ocean conservation experts, seafood industry representatives, national regulators such as the FDA, and strategic partners such as the Alliance for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation to best achieve Finless’s goals. When Shannon’s not working, she loves to spend time hiking in the mountains behind her home, or anywhere near the ocean. She also is passionate about lending her time and support to various environmental causes and organizations, local to global. If Shannon could relive any of her adventures, it would be her summer spent rehabilitating sea turtles in Malta and studying bluefin tuna in Italy.

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Brandon Chen

Chief Technology Officer

Brandon Chen

Chief Technology Officer

Brandon Chen, Chief Technology Officer of Finless Foods, has long been involved in biotech and conservation. As a technologist and long-time surfer, he’s always been interested in developing solutions to the issues that impact health and the environment. Prior to joining Finless Foods, his extensive career path centered around working with bioprocess engineers, where he witnessed the scale-up process and commercialization of fermentation-based chemical products.

In 2019, Brandon joined the Finless Foods team after meeting with the Co-Founders and aligning heavily with their mission and values. Brandon loves the inherent diversity at Finless Foods, which is comprised of a team with different backgrounds, cultures, and working styles. He believes inclusion and diversity are key elements for the success of any company. Putting his extensive knowledge and skillset to valuable use, Brandon works closely with the team on research and development of cell-cultivated seafood, leading toward scale-up and commercialization.

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Advisory Board

Science

Terence M. Bradley, PhD

Terry has spent over 30 years in the aquaculture industry raising a diverse array of freshwater and marine finfish species for private and public organizations. He is a Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences and chairs the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the University of Rhode Island. He maintains an active research program and has conducted translational research on an array of topics on fish physiology including smoltification, muscle physiology, nutrition, and growth and development. His current research focus is the development of sustainable methods for culture of mahi and yellowfin tuna. His lab has received over $5.2 million in grant funding from USDA, NMFS, NIH, NSF and private entities. He was a founding partner of Mt Cook Salmon (now Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon), a BAP certified 2500 mt chinook salmon farm in the hydrocanals of the South Island of New Zealand; he retired from the Board in 2017. He is a partner in Greenfins Global and has served on advisory boards for a number of aquaculture oriented organizations and firms including Monterey Bay Seafood Watch.

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Business

Atul Sood

Atul Sood is the Chief Business Officer for Kitchen United and is responsible for spearheading strategic partnership, investor discussions, and restaurant relationships. Prior to his role with Kitchen United, Atul was the Director of Business Development for McDonald’s Global Digital organization, where he was responsible for launching and managing McDonald’s food delivery partnerships. Atul began his career in investment banking at CIBC and has, amongst other roles, founded, grown and sold his own start-up in the sales technology space. Atul has an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to Penn, Atul grew up in 8 countries including Japan, India, and UK, and speaks 3 languages.

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Sean Trigony

Sean Trigony is the founder of Seven Hound Ventures, a single-source, boutique venture capital firm based in Los Angeles. Seven Hound Ventures was created with a focus on pioneering technology startups that curate, create, and inspire entrepreneurs to change the world. More recently, their focus has shifted towards investing in and advising companies and entrepreneurs that facilitate or accelerate the inevitable end of factory farming and the unnecessary suffering of all animals globally.

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Tom Chi

Tom Chi has worked in several different roles including astrophysical researcher, Fortune 500 consultant, corporate executive developing hardware/software products & services, and more. He pioneers and practices a unique approach to rapid prototyping and leadership that has proven to jumpstart innovative ideas and move large organizations at unprecedented speeds. Chi was formerly head of Product Experience and a founding member of Google X and currently works with entrepreneurs around the globe to accelerate a future where humanity becomes a net positive to nature.

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Impact

Dick Jones

Dick Jones is the CEO of Blue Ocean Mariculture, currently the only open-ocean fish aquaculture company in the U.S. His passion for the ocean started very early in life and his diverse career includes 14 years overseeing seafood operations at Whole Foods Market and HEB Grocery. Over the past 12 years, Dick has been a leader in the non-profit sector and is a co-founder of Sea Pact and founding trustee of ThinkAqua. He has served as a Director or Advisor to several organizations, including the California Salmon Council, Aquaculture Certification Council, Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, World Resources Institute, Fair Trade USA, and Ocean Outcomes.

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Jack Kittinger

Dr. John N. ("Jack") Kittinger is the Senior Director of the Global Fisheries and Aquaculture Program in Conservation International's Center for Oceans and a Professor of Practice in Arizona State University’s Global Futures Laboratory and School of Sustainability. Under his leadership, CI works to protect biodiversity and improve the wellbeing of ocean-dependent communities by implementing sustainable fisheries and aquaculture solutions built on partnerships and investments from ocean to plate. A lifelong surfer, fisherman, and waterman, he is committed to ocean-based learning experiences and to being in the water as often as possible. Dr. Jack Kittinger and his family currently live in Niu Valley, Oahu, Hawaii.

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Michael Sutton

Michael Sutton, an internationally respected leader in environmental conservation, is the Executive Director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation. Before his role at the Foundation, Sutton received a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Biology and Law Degree in International and Natural Resources Law. After his studies, Sutton served several leadership roles in conservation, such as National Park Ranger, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agent, President of the California Fish & Game Commission, Professor of Natural Resources Law, and Author of Ocean & Coastal Law and Policy. He also launched the first WWF Endangered Seas Campaign, conserved wild salmon at the Wild Salmon Center, founded the Center for the Future of the Oceans at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and much more. Michael resides in Carmel Valley, California where his passion for preservation continues through managing nonprofit organizations, influencing public policy, advocating for environmental protection, and guiding successful philanthropic efforts.

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Why We Spent World Ocean Week Talking About The Farm Bill

June 14, 2023 / Uncategorized

By Lauren Latchford, Policy & Impact Manager, Finless Foods From June 6-8 (2023) Finless Foods celebrated World Ocean Day at Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) by spreading the word on how we create a future for seafood where the ocean thrives. Similar to last year, Finless participated in CHOW by speaking on panels, attending Congressional meetings, serving our plant-based tuna at the annual CHOW gala, and taking part in the many ocean-related festivities. But, uniquely, this year we spent our [...]

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