NXW Welcomes New CEO Toby Lane

NXW’s new Chief Executive Officer, Toby Lane, is joining the blue protein revolution after 17 years with dairy co-operative Fonterra. 

Toby brings strong leadership and management expertise to the NXW team. Originally trained in biochemistry, he has extensive experience in global dairy sales, with previous roles including the management of Fonterra’s global relationships with Yum! and McDonald’s. More recently, Toby was stationed in the USA leading Fonterra JV, Columbia River Technologies, working closely with Tillamook County Creamery and Threemile Canyon Farms to produce high-quality whey protein products for the US ingredients market. 

Toby is joining NXW as the foodtech startup finalises growth plans for the global nutrition and protein market, with a strategic focus on the USA and commercialisation. NXW is specifically focused on microalgae—microscopic algae found in freshwater and marine systems with enormous growth potential as a clean, high quality and ethical whole nutrition source. 

Toby will be supported by a core executive team where Hamish Howard, current NXW General Manager, will move into a COO role focused on unlocking science, commercialisation and production workstreams. NXW will be setting up a science lab in Nelson, New Zealand close to partner Cawthron Institute and their pilot fermentation facility. NXW is an early partner in the MoanaNui blue economy cluster based in Whakatū Nelson.

“Aotearoa New Zealand is a global market leader in high quality protein and specialised nutrition ingredients. There is existing demand for high quality natural proteins that do not come from sentient life and better minimise the true costs on our environment”, NXW co-founder Alex Worker explains. “We are excited to have Toby join and lead our growing startup focused on developing demand for less resource intensive, high quality blue proteins that do not cost our earth and oceans”.

Toby’s first day in NXW will be 1 Feb 2023.