Meet the NBN Committee!
Sean Sears
CEO, Clever Fermentation, Nova Scotia (Chair of NBN Committee)
Sean Sears is a serial entrepreneur, innovation strategist, and governance leader with more than 40 years of experience spanning consulting, internet ventures, software, and bioproduct development. He brings deep expertise in commercialization, market strategy, product development, and ecosystem building. He joined SynBio Canada board in 2024 and has served as its secretary and governance lead. As CEO of Clever Fermentation, he has advanced innovative applications of fermentation and synthetic biology to develop next-generation health ingredients. Having served on many boards, Sears is recognized for his governance expertise, commitment to transparency, and ability to build consensus across diverse stakeholders.
Benjamin Scott
Platform Lead, Engineering Biology & Automation, Global Institute for Food Security, Saskatchewan/Ontario
Ben is a technology leader and community builder, working to advance Canada’s engineering biology ecosystem. As founder of SynBio Canada, he helped build a national network connecting researchers, trainees, startups, industry, and government to strengthen Canadian biotechnology. He leads the Engineering Biology Platform at the Global Institute for Food Security, Canada’s biofoundry dedicated to agricultural and food innovation, where he applies laboratory automation, strain engineering, protein engineering, bioinformatics, and metabolomics to accelerate innovation. His work focuses on scaling the tools, infrastructure, and talent needed to translate biological discoveries into real-world products, strengthening Canada’s competitiveness in the global bioeconomy.
Dr. Scott Pownall
Founder, Open Science Network Society, British Columbia
Scott is a biotechnology entrepreneur, scientist, and open-source biology leader with more than 25 years of experience building research programs, technologies, and scientific communities. He founded the globally adopted Open Yeast Platform, whose tools are used in over 50 countries, and has supported startups, community labs, and universities worldwide. With experience as a biotech R&D director, founder of a bioinformatics company, member of the iGEM Engineering and Technology Committees, and organizer of Biosummits at the MIT Media Lab, he brings deep technical expertise, extensive international networks, and a proven record of community leadership.