#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-03-11

Ben Selby appointed Spinnova's Chief Financial Officer

Spinnova has appointed Ben Selby as Chief Financial Officer, to support financing its further growth and the recently announced commercial scaling.

Spinnova has appointed Ben Selby, 37, as its new Chief Financial Officer as of 8 March, 2021. Ben is a senior leader with more than 15 years of finance, investment banking and investor relations experience, and a dealmaker with more than EUR 50 billion capital raising experience.

- I’m very excited to join the producer of the world's most sustainable textile materials at a critical phase of its expansion and commercial scaling. I look forward to contributing to the further growth and development of Spinnova, as it works to achieve its vision to be the preferred partner for textile brands globally in natural, sustainable textile materials, Ben comments.

Prior to joining Spinnova, he has held Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury and Head of Investor Relations positions at the Finnish cloud software company Basware (BAS1V at Nasdaq Helsinki) since 2016. Ben’s previous, 10-year career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch included extensive financing and capital raising experience. Ben holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Spinnova’s current CFO Petri Poranen will take up the Chief Operating Officer position to support Spinnova’s ongoing industrial scaling. Spinnova recently announced that it is building a commercial factory, operated by a new joint venture company owned by Spinnova and its partner and investor, Suzano. The total investment will be approximately 50 million euros, and the new facility will be built in Jyväskylä, Finland.

- To speed up our further growth and production scaling, we are now actively exploring multiple financing alternatives. It’s great to have Ben on the team, to ensure both professional financing operations, as well as current and future investor relations, says Spinnova’s CEO and co-founder Janne Poranen.

Spinnova has recruited seven people during this year, and is in the process of recruiting more, as it prepares for scaling its operations. Spinnova currently employs 46 people.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

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Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

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