THE TEAM MAKING
THE IMPOSSIBLE DELICIOUSLY
POSSIBLE
Ahrum is a former financier and management consultant who worked in the US, Europe and Asia to bring IPOs to life and a fermentation enthusiast raised in a household where the larder was stocked with traditional, home-fermented Korean foods.
After gaining her MBA at INSEAD, Ahrum advised innovative healthcare and tech companies, but her growing ambition to address food waste and sustainability, and a fortuitous Instagram message, led her to her cofounder, Dr. Johnny Drain.
Ahrum’s received a load of awards including CODE Hospitality’s Women of the Year 2023 in the ‘Disruptors’ category. Named a V-Label “Food Hero” which recognises the individuals transforming outdated food systems. Finally, as one of GreenBiz’s 12 women cultivating sustainable food systems.
Dr Johnny is a leading global expert on fermentation who grew up a stone’s throw from the world-famous Cadbury chocolate factory in Birmingham.
Half chef, half scientist, Johnny gained his PhD in Materials Science from the University of Oxford. Before co-founding Win-Win, he used the insights gained from his studies as a tool to create and amplify sustainability through deliciousness and reduce food waste in the world’s best bars and kitchens. He’s worked with Nordic Food Lab, NOMA and Silo: the world’s first zero-waste restaurant. What’s more, he’s a leading voice when it comes to exploring how what we grow and eat can change the health of the planet via his work with the food/design platform MOLD.
Jamie is responsible for mapping out our long-term strategy, managing our Sales and Marketing teams and is a specialist in growing retail and (tasty!) consumer brands.
Having worked as Sales & Marketing Director and Interim COO at Rococo chocolates, Jamie has a sound understanding of the chocolate market and is constantly working towards getting our delicious cocoa-free chocolate into as many hands as possible.
A proud husband and father of two boys, in his (limited) spare time, Jamie supports charities such as Fair Shot where he’s currently a Director & Trustee.
Meet Ollie, our ops maestro with a golden touch for all things food! With previous roles at Love Cocoa and H!P Chocolate, Ollie’s no stranger to the delicious world of chocolate production. And, as a former Director at Galeta Bakery and Joe Blakes Coffee, Ollie’s versatility is responsible for whipping up success in different food sectors.
At Win-Win, Ollie’s on a mission to sprinkle his magic on our cocoa-free chocolate! With a strategic mindset and a hands-on approach, Ollie’s laser-focused on optimising our processes and ensuring our choc is top-notch quality while he supercharges our scale-up.
When not running marathons, you’ll find Ollie in one of East London’s unashamedly cool pubs, enjoying a few pints of Guinness and the odd Scotch egg.
Alex brings over two decades of experience in biotechnology, with a particular focus on industrial applications and innovation.
As CSO at Algenuity Ltd, Alex led in the development of the Chlorella Colours® plant-based food ingredient, taking it from a lab concept to commercial product. His expertise covers microbiology, molecular biology, fermentation, and more recently IP management and regulatory affairs.
Before Algenuity, Alex held various scientific R&D roles, including at Rothamsted Research and TMO Renewables Ltd., where he honed his skills in synthetic biology and bioprocess development. He is also an accomplished project manager, adept in Agile/Scrum methodologies, and has a proven track record in raising funds and building IP portfolios.
In his free time, Alex enjoys cooking, cycling and following the Seattle Seahawks!
Knocking down doors and wearing out the shoe leather, Rich is responsible for getting our choc into as many companies and listed at as many stores as possible across the globe!
Rich brings a wealth of multi-channel Sales experience from his previous roles at Nutrabolt where he launched the sports nutrition and energy drink in retail; at Danone he launched the wholesale and food-to-go arm of the business; and finally, at Nature’s Bounty, he was responsible for selling vitamins and supplements to UK independents.
In his spare time, Rich loves taking his two year-old border terrier Toby on long walks, seeking out new London restaurants and cocktail bars and has recently discovered a love for darts!
Bashu brings a wealth of different experience to her role. Think a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, a Master’s in Brewing and Distilling and, not to mention, her excel spreadsheet mastery!
Outside of the office, Bashu loves taking her four-year-old whippet ‘Boon’ on long walks where she’s prone to the odd forage, especially if mushrooms are in season! As a fermentation fanatic, Bashu’s a real advocate of craft beers and sipping cold ones on hot summer evenings at independent bottle shops.
We love having Bashu on the team because she brings calm, focused, positive energy and her number crunching is helping us scale up as rapidly as possible.
Jon, sometimes referred to as ‘Hot Hands Hogan’ by Johnny, is our Head Chocolatier. With a background as both a Pastry Chef and eight years as a Chocolatier, Jon’s worked at leading artisan chocolate makers including Paul A. Young, Rococo and Melt Chocolates.
Jon’s been grafting hard in our R&D space over the past couple of years, running endless tests to ensure our cocoa-free chocolate is as tasty as possible, all while being a 1-for-1 replacement for conventional chocolate.
We love having Jon on the team not just because he’s in charge of all the samples in the test kitchen, but also because he shares all our desire to create something utterly delicious, totally new, and hopefully world-changing.
Gianluca is responsible for running special projects across multiple departments in the company. No one day is the same for him.
Prior to Win-Win, Gianluca looked after the operations at The Garden, an edtech startup that’s building a global community for the curious. Before that, he spent two years in finance and a year as an entrepreneur.
Outside of the office, Gianluca enjoys a good non-fiction book, cooking and playing badminton.
With an integrated Masters degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol under her belt, Steph’s passion is applying the knowledge gained from her studies to her work at WinWin. Born in Glasgow, Steph is a huge fan of chocolate and, of course, long train journeys.
We love having Steph on the team as she’s super curious and always working on understanding our choc at a molecular level. She also makes a mean cheese toastie!
Giacomo is our resident Choc NPD master and fuses all of his previous experience as a pastry chef with his skills as a level 2 chocolate taster and judge at the Chocolate Awards and applies it to keep taking our cocoa-free chocolate to the next level!
Giacomo cut his teeth at the prestigious School of Pastry Arts, owned by Paco Torreblanca and his son, Jacob. Since moving to the UK, Giacomo’s worked at The Taste Lab, a renowned pastry school in London, as well as a Corporate Chef for Unox, travelling the world and showcasing their oven products.
Outside of the office, Giacomo enjoys traveling, tasting new cuisines and discovering great wine. He’s also got a real passion for rare tea and artisanal chocolate!
Ollie is responsible for working on a range of projects in the Win-Win R&D lab and is passionate about food and sustainability; he even runs an environmental food program.
In his spare time, Ollie likes to get out and about with his camera and is a keen wildlife photographer. When he’s not snapping away, he enjoys settling down with a good Tolkien book and opening a decent bottle of wine now that he’s got his Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 certificate under his belt!
Keeping everything ship shape and ensuring that everything is ticking over like clockwork in the busy R&D lab, Issac has a keen eye for organisation and developing new systems and processes to make everyone at Win-Win’s life as easy as possible i
Outside of the office, Isaac plays music in rock bands around London (pssst. bass guitar is his true passion!) and puts on DIY events including gigs and tasty supper clubs at his Hackney Wick-based home.
Kirsty is a Food Scientist with a BSc (Hons) and Masters up her sleeve. Having studied her undergraduate degree in Edinburgh she moved south to pursue her Masters in Food Innovation in London. She has a passion for a more sustainable food industry and has worked with bio-tech/vegan start-ups, and now Win-Win, and is on a mission to change things for the better in the food industry.
Living in south east London, Kirsty enjoys exploring bars, the local coffee scene and the many parks on offer. A self-confessed foodie that spends her spare time teaching kids cooking skills at local community centres.