S2G Ventures Launches Oceans and Seafood Strategy; Adds Kate Danaher and Larsen Mettler as Managing Directors
CHICAGO, Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- S2G Ventures, a leading multi-stage investment firm focused on human health, climate change and planet health, announced today that it had launched an oceans and seafood investment team with commitments of up to $100 million to the strategy. In addition, the firm announced that Kate Danaher and Larsen Mettler have joined the firm as Managing Directors to manage the Oceans and Seafood strategy.
S2G's oceans and seafood strategy will seek to invest in early, venture, and growth stage companies globally across thematic areas including seafood and alternative protein sources, aquaculture and supply chain innovation, traceability/transparency, algae/seaweed, and ecosystem services.
S2G's backs trailblazing entrepreneurs that are improving the overall health and sustainability of the food system. We invest across the supply chain harnessing the power of food innovation to create better outcomes for people and the planet. For the last six years S2G has invested behind the founders of successful food and agriculture companies from soil to shelf including Beyond Meat, sweetgreen, Apeel Sciences, Greenlight Biosciences, MycoTechnology and many others. With the addition of the oceans and seafood strategy, S2G expands their mandate to include a more comprehensive scope across the food system and positions them to affect greater positive long-term social and environmental impact.
The ocean plays a critical role in the health of our planet. And the seafood industry is a critical protein source for over 3 billion people. The stability of the ocean and seafood sector are important for long-term human health. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, since 1970 the oceans have absorbed over 90 percent of excess heat trapped in Earth's climate system. This warming is causing significant changes in currents and sea levels, which affect the health of marine species, nearshore and deep ocean ecosystems, as well as weather systems across the globe.
Entrepreneurs are working on significant advances in technology and science that will further enhance our understanding of species and habitats, and ultimately create more sustainable fishing and ecosystems. S2G launched the new oceans and seafood strategy to support these entrepreneurs in successfully developing scalable solutions to the challenges that threaten the health of our oceans and ultimately people and our planet.
"We are excited to have Kate and Larsen joining our team to lead and launch this strategy," said Chuck Templeton, Managing Director of S2G Ventures. "They bring deep experience in working with entrepreneurs and are a great fit with our organization's culture and commitment to impact."
Kate Danaher, managing director at S2G said: "Joining S2G and building out a new strategy in oceans is very exciting. I am eager to be able to support some amazing entrepreneurs making real and necessary change in the oceans and seafood space. Larsen and I will seek out entrepreneurs that are disrupting the value chain of existing incumbents, as well as spin-out opportunities in collaboration with those incumbents."
"I look forward to accelerating the growth initiatives our investors and entrepreneurs are looking for from a strategic investment partner," said Larsen Mettler, managing director at S2G. "Kate and I bring complementary experience that will help us to be a value-added partner to entrepreneurs looking to build great businesses. Entrepreneurs in this sector are looking for more than just capital. Our skillset, in combination with S2G's value-added toolkit, make us a partner of choice."
Kate Danaher Bio
Kate Danaher is Managing Director of S2G Ventures Ocean and Seafood. Kate has worked at the intersection of impact investing and sustainable food and agriculture for over eight years. Kate believes that business can catalyze the positive social and environmental shifts we need in this world but that the right capital partners and ecosystem are critical to their success. Kate specializes in structuring capital, facilitating syndications and providing wrap around resources to enable businesses to scale while preserving their mission. Prior to joining S2G Ventures, Kate was the Chief Lending Officer at RSF Social Finance, where she oversaw the capital deployment strategy to evaluate products, investment sectors, and growth objectives in alignment with the organization's strategic plan. She is a food and agriculture finance expert who has specialized in the US food system, fair trade supply chains, and consumer-facing brands. Kate received her MBA through the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise program at Colorado State University.
Larsen Mettler Bio
Larsen brings over 16 years of experience in the oceans and finance sectors. Prior to joining S2G, Larsen was an owner and the Chief Financial Officer of Silver Bay Seafoods, a position he held since 2016. Silver Bay is an integrated, fishermen-owned seafood processor with 8 facilities throughout Alaska and California. Before joining Silver Bay, Larsen was a Director at KeyBanc Capital Markets where he led the firm's Seafood Investment Banking and Corporate Lending practice. Larsen has also held various positions with the United Nations, the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and DoubleClick.
Larsen holds an MBA with a concentration in Investment Banking from Wake Forest and Dual BBAs in Finance and Information Systems from the University of New Mexico.
About S2G Ventures
S2G Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund investing across the food, agriculture, oceans and seafood markets. The fund's mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food systems. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, oceans, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands. For more information about S2G, visit www.s2gventures.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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