Prized.
Our people and achievements.
Luke Haverhals, PhD
Founder, CEO, chemist creating a naturally circular, low-carbon supply chain from the ground up. Luke is a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer, member of the WEF Circulars cohort, and IPOEF 2022 Inventor of the Year.
The Earthshot Prize Finalist
NFW has been named a finalist for the 2024 Earthshot Prize! Prince William launched The Earthshot Prize in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world's greatest environmental challenges by 2030. NFW has been named one of fifteen finalists out of nearly 2,500 nominees from 139 different countries.
Steve Zika
President, veteran founder and corporate exec, decades of leadership experience across cutting- edge tech companies and social impact ventures.
Fast Company Top 10, The World’s most Innovative Companies
FastCo has listed NFW as one of the world’s most innovative companies two years in a row: Style (March 2022), Energy & Sustainability (March 2023).
Rob Salter
CFO, 24 years of finance, merchandising, and operations experience in vertically integrated multi-channel companies.
Salesforce+ Ecopreneur
Salesforce+Fortune Brand Studio selected NFW founder Luke Haverhals as an Ecopreneur and featured NFW in their award-winning documentary series.
Aaron Amstutz
CTO, material scientist, serial innovator, nearly two decades of experience at Caterpillar.
CXL Microfiber Innovation Challenge Winner
Conservation X Labs selected NFW as one of five winners in the Microfiber Innovation Challenge for the reduction and prevention of microfiber pollution. (March 2022)
Christine Goulay
Independent Director on NFW Board, MBA, J.D., bringing 20+ years leading global sustainability fashion initiatives at Kering and Pangaia among others.
IPOEF Inventor of the Year
IPOEF named NFW chemists Luke Haverhals and Aaron Amstutz 2022 Inventors of the Year. NFW joins a prestigious class of award recipients that includes the inventors of CRISPR-CAS9 inventors and of mRNA vaccine technology.
Shokoofeh Ghasemi, PhD
Research and Development Manager, material scientist with expertise revitalizing recycled fibers and engineering performance materials from cellulose.
WEF Technology Pioneer, Circulars Cohort
The World Economic Forum (WEF) named NFW founder Luke Haverhals a WEF Technology Pioneer and member of the Circulars Accelerator to advance the novel circular materials platform. 2021-2023
Claudia Richardson
Director of Market Development & Investor Relations, consumer brand experience at Allbirds, Patagonia, Ministry of Supply.
Business Insider's 2023 Climate Action 30
NFW Founder & CEO Luke Haverhals was selected for Business Insider's Climate Action 30 list in 2023.
Dirk Zikeli
Chief Engineering Officer, 30+ years' experience in machine tooling, providing automated automotive solutions in Europe, US, and Mexico.
TIME America's Top GreenTech Companies
NFW was named by TIME and Statista as one of the top companies reducing environmental impact.
Stephen Taylor, PhD
Circularity Engineer, soil scientist, with expertise in terrestrial ecosystem contaminants (particularly microplastics) and in designing systems to measure the environment.
C&EN's 10 Start-Ups to Watch
NFW was named a 2021 startup to watch by Chemical and Engineering News, a publication by the American Chemical Society.
Celena Anderson
Chief Human Resources Officer, 15 years of experience scaling human resource operational strategy, former Director of HR Operations at Ajinomoto Foods, North America with more than 3,000 employees.
Unreasonable Impact Americas Fellow
NFW founder Luke Haverhals is an Unreasonable Impact Fellow. The fellowship program aims to scale solutions to the most significant social and environmental challenges of our time.
Alan Lugo
Product Strategy Manager, footwear expert, 13 years at Wolverine Worldwide (materials and design at Merrell, Hush Puppies, sustainability work across Saucony, Keds, Sperry and more).
Chicago Inno Fire Award
Chicago Inno business journal has chosen NFW as one of top 50 companies defining tech innovation two years running. (Dec 2021, Dec 2022)
Charles Jeffrey
A plant operations and manufacturing leader with 20+ years of experience, including Rivian, Volkswagen and BMW.
NY Times Climate Forward COP27
The New York Times featured NFW as a leader in sustainability innovation at the Climate Forward event in partnership with Morgan Stanley at the 2022 COP27 summit. Explore the exhibit here.
Joanna Miller
As a Program Manager, Joanna thrives on balancing big picture thinking with incredible focus on the details.
Fashion for Good Scaling Programme
NFW is an alum of Fashion for Good’s Scaling Programme, a selective accelerator aimed at driving key innovations and connections to transform the global fashion industry into a force for good.
Mary Allen
A systems-level change maker, Mary leads the creative expression of NFW's approach to innovation and circularity.
PETA Fashion Awards
PETA granted NFW its 2022 innovation award for developing MIRUM®, the world’s first animal-free, plastic-free leather alternative.