Leadership & Senior Science Team

Serving as CGO, Andrea drives the commercial development process with customers focused on the introduction of novel formulations and ingredients involving both major and emerging cannabinoids, as well as product lines containing a full spectrum or specific phytocannabinoid ratios that are 100% THC free. She is the key liaison between customers, industry and academic research collaborators, and PPM’s R&D and product development teams. She also leads PPM’s marketing initiatives and relationship building with hemp industry companies and regulatory agencies. She is motivated to change each person’s world for the better and do so in each interaction, as well as with products created with scientific innovation. Pushing all team members at PPM to higher levels is one of Andrea’s superpowers which in turn helps PPM bring its customers and end-use consumers the benefits of new and efficacious cannabinoid-based products.

Dr. Andrea Holmes received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry at New York University and was a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral Fellow at Columbia University in the Department of Chemistry and Columbia Medical College, College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She is a Professor of Chemistry at Doane University in Nebraska and holds appointments at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She was the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award that was funded by the National Science Foundation and a national recipient of Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar award. Andrea published over 60 articles on nano-structured materials, miniaturized sensors, surface modifications for antimicrobial resistance, and has developed colorimetric sensors to detect warfare agents, abused narcotics, and cannabinoids.

Jonathan Martin is a research and development chemist specializing in cannabinoids, organic synthesis, and the scaling of API manufacturing. Jonathan has experience with cGMP compliance, readiness preparation for FDA/DEA visits, and large scale process development. At PPM, Jonathan works to improve and develop new processes and optimization of manufacturing of minor cannabinoids with advanced isolation and purification techniques as well as distillation and crystallization methods. In addition to his specialty pharmaceutical company experience developing and commercializing innovative drugs using novel drug delivery systems for therapeutic molecules, Jonathan has specialty biopharma experience working with engineered toxin bodies to treat different forms of cancers. His work involved conducting large scale fermentations followed by protein purification of the toxin bodies.

Jonathan earned a BS in chemistry from Southwestern University and conducted research to elucidate the mechanism of titanium species catalyzed organometallic reactions. This research involved conducting synthesis using different reagents to eliminate mechanistic possibilities, purifying products using different techniques, and using H-NMR to determine structures.

Jonathan is an analytical chemist with 20 years of experience. At PPM, he is responsible for all analytical laboratory operations and hires, trains and manages all lab technicians. He ensures that the HPLC and GC/FID/MS instruments are properly maintained, performs quality control procedures, and conducts both internal and external validations. Jonathan’s analytical lab operates 24×7 to support all PPM R&D and production activity. Most importantly, he makes sure that the PPM analytics are world-class and that PPM technicians conduct each and every analysis with accuracy, reproducibility, and consistency. Jonathan’s expertise has significantly contributed to PPM’s intensive process controls, research and development successes, and optimization of production processes.

Jonathan received his BS degree in Biology at Georgia Southern University. Since 1999, he has held high-level positions in industry where he supervised over 75 employees conducting testing for highly sophisticated and exacting customers, including the DOE, DOD, and EPA. Jonathan and the technician teams he managed used a plethora of analytical instruments and techniques, including LCMS, HPLC, GCMS, ICPMS, Hg analyzers, and other analysis equipment. His competence in volatile and semi-volatile analysis is extremely important for chemical profiling of PPM’s hemp biomass and extracts.

Prior to his consulting role, Steve had served as PPM’s COO and executed PPM’s strategy of becoming the leading non-psychotropic cannabinoid-based ingredient supplier globally. He delivered results through his engaged leadership style and creative insight. His depth of experience, keen operational oversight, and dedication to advancing PPM’s science-based approach to extraction, refinement and purification helped launch and grow PPM. His tenure as COO provided him with great fulfillment knowing he contributed to humankind by getting the most out of the complex cannabis plant to help people improve the quality of their lives.

Steve, a decisive and resolute leader, has over 20+ years of executive operational experience and demonstrated expertise in the development, management and positioning of complex manufacturing and production facilities in the dietary supplement industry. Steve earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico and served as the principal partner for Pure Cultures, strategically developing its business model to provide distributors with high-quality probiotic options, and silage inoculants from concept to shelf. Previously, he worked at other microbiome and plant-based science-based companies in the Colorado biotechnology community including Hauser Chemical Research manufacturing the Taxol chemotherapy drug and Nutraceutix.

Moises is an analytic chemist skilled with many instruments, experienced with plant chemistry and their oil matrices, and chromatrographic techniques. His broad perspective from the academic (biochemistry, quality, analytics) and private industry (functional foods, bioactive compounds, and among others, wine, whiskey, wild berries, and olive oil) worlds adds to the cross-breeding of skills and talents and idea generation capabilities of PPM. Whether at the bench, at an instrument, or at the white board in a meeting, Moises contributes as a highly effective and efficient team member, and provides insights that are actionable.Whether at the bench, at an instrument, or at the white board in a team meeting, Moises contributes as a highly effective and efficient researcher, and provides insights that are usually actionable.

Moises earned a Biochemistry degree from the University of Concepcion, VIII Region – Chile where he wrote a thesis related to flavonols. Subsequently, he pursued and earned a EMQAL Masters from programs at the University of Barcelona, Spain and the University of Bergen, Norway, including teaching responsibilities and thesis work, at those two institutions, respectively. He has also worked at the Research & Development Center of Functional Food, University of Valparaiso, Chile, and served on the faculty of the University of Concepcion, Chile.