Our Vision
We at Calyxia believe that high-performance and eco-engineered chemical solutions are essential to fight pollution, protect biodiversity, and improve the quality of life for all.
Our Mission
To build an advanced and sustainable future for the chemical industry by providing leading manufacturers with innovative microcapsules that contain, protect, and deliver valuable chemical and biological ingredients.
Our Promise
Advanced Sustainable Chemistry
Our Commitment
In a world confronted with the challenge of mass pollution, we believe that scientific creativity and industrial boldness are key to delivering a more sustainable tomorrow.
Calyxia addresses this challenge by delivering high-impact eco-engineered chemical solutions to leading manufacturers, to advance their product performance and sustainability goals while achieving business excellence.
Together with our customers, Calyxia commits to actively protecting natural ecosystems and biodiversity and improving the quality of life for all.
Our values
Breaking Boundaries
Calyxia’s goal is not to simply “move the needle” but to deliver an impact at scale. We are creative scientists, engineers, industry and business experts dedicated to fighting pollution, protecting biodiversity, and improving the quality of life for all. We embrace the unconventional, we dare to try, and we learn and grow from our failures. We have the conviction and courage to successfully address the industrial and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Empowered Together
We are committed to partner as one team with our clients and with anyone who shares our vision of an advanced and sustainable future for the chemical industry.
Collaboration, professionalism, and a strong sense of service are at the core of our approach, both internally and externally. We innovate hand-in-hand with world-leading industries to create exceptional value for our stakeholders and deliver a positive social and ecological impact on the planet.
Respect & Kindness
Calyxia is a home built on a diversity of profiles, origins, skills, and personal stories, all united and driven by a common mission to create an advanced and sustainable future.
We foster a safe, respectful, fair, and inclusive culture and working environment where individuality is valued as much as collaboration. At Calyxia, every talent can reach their full potential; each person can make a difference.
Our History
2015
Calyxia is born as a spin-off of ESPCI-PARIS PSL and Harvard University
2016
French President François Hollande and Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo inaugurate Calyxia’s first facility
2017
First investment round
2018
Calyxia establishes its first industrial site in Bonneuil-sur-Marne Ile-de-France
2020
Calyxia reaches 15 employees
2021
As part of its series A investment round Calyxia raises 15M euros and reaches 25 employees
2022
Calyxia reaches 50 employees
2023
Calyxia is awarded the i-demo R&D investment grant by the French Government as part of the France 2030 Development Program. Calyxia starts its series B investment round, lays the first stone of its second industrial site in Limeil-Brevannes Ile-de-France, and reaches 100 employees
Our Founders
Jamie Walters
Jamie Walters
My grandfather was a coal miner, my father was a coal miner and I was expected to be a coal miner too. Then the coal mines closed down, and many jobs were lost in my home town, because the coal industry was not safe, not sustainable, and not economically viable moving forward. So, living that experience of watching an industry collapse and the unemployment that arose, It has always been my personal mission to rebuild industries and create jobs that are safe, sustainable, economically viable and that add value and improve the quality of life for all.
Damien Demoulin
Damien Demoulin
Growing up, every item we owned was considered precious resource needing meticulous care to make it last as long as possible. Despite this, I was struck by the unsustainable cycle of consumption: items wearing down, being discarded, and being replaced. I am convinced that the manufacturing industry’s future hinges on moving to a circular economy, where waste is minimized and products are designed to last longer. This shift is urgent: as climate change intensifies and resources deplete, the need for sustainable solutions is crucial.
Prof. Jerome Bibette
Prof. Jerome Bibette
As a soft matter scientist and one of the world’s experts in emulsion and interface science, I have transformed many of my discoveries in these fields into real applications. One of the driving motivations all along my career was to pioneer ways to escape from the broad use of surfactants in creating systems containing different homogeneously dispersed immiscible fluids. As one of the main founders of Calyxia, I am proud to declare that not only have surfactants been abandoned in formulating these liquid dispersions as precursors of capsules, but in addition, our research has also led to even more sustainable materials by combining biodegradability with the absence of surfactant.
Prof. David Weitz
Prof. David Weitz
Jamie Walters (CEO)
Jamie has over 10 years of experience in the development and application of microcapsule technologies for disruptive formulated materials. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he went on to become a guest lecturer, in addition to inventing the core particle technology of the BiognostIX© rapid diagnostic sensor and co-founding the public engagement platform, CUSPE. Jamie is also the author of more than 20 patents and publications. Jamie believes that every formulation goal is achievable, if you build a unified team with the bravery to be creative, the patience to plan meticulously and the work-ethic and ambition to deliver the solution.
Michel Boyer-Chammard
Michel is a veteran in advanced materials businesses, in both mature and high-tech segments, serving major B2B customers across the world. Business-builder at heart, Michel combines commercial drive and technical innovation with industrial discipline, to unleash the full potential of novel, sustainable and profitable business models. Michel led several global businesses in Saint-Gobain, after starting his career in Total Energies and McKinsey&Company. Michel holds an engineering degree from Paris School of Mines and a MBA from INSEAD and has spent 13 years abroad, including in the USA, Germany, and Japan.
Patrice Lataillade (CFO)
Patrice is an ESSEC graduate with over 30 years of experience in finance, auditing, and M&A for the consumer goods industry, mostly fashion and luxury in New York and major European Capitals. His expertise and knowledge cover financial and operational areas, as well as international business development. After 5 years in finance, auditing, and M&A at the famous Chicago’s Arthur Andersen consulting firm, Patrice then worked for 15 years for LVMH brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, and Marc Jacobs, in CFO and COO capacities in Europe and the USA. Most lately, Patrice took on the role of COO at Proenza Schouler before joining an independent consulting firm in New York.
Diane Bausson
Diane, is an Agro-Engineer from Agroparistech with more than 20 years of experience handling HSE portfolios in the process industry. Diane puts all its expertise and knowledge at the service of Calyxia to help establish an HSE* culture based on CSR** values. She believes that for an organization to be efficient, innovative, and sustainable, people must be at its center. *HSE: Health , safety and environment **CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
Frédéric Boubet
Jennifer Dall’anese
Graduating in 2009 from Arts et Métiers’ school of engineering, Jennifer has 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical field, molded fibers, micro-electronics, and microencapsulation, in Europe and Australia. Working in companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, STMicroelectronics, Huhtamaki, and INNOV’IA, Jennifer is equipped with a unique set of skills and high-level technical expertise suitable to driving Calyxia’s product performance, whilst optimizing production processes and rapidly scaling Calyxia industrial capabilities.
Damien Demoulin
Damien is a recognized expert in emulsification technologies and is the author of more than 20 patents and publications. He holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the École Supérieure de Chimie Industrielles de Paris (ESPCI), where he went on to coordinate industrial partnerships in the Laboratoire Colloïdes et Matériaux Divisés. Damien is passionate about driving the transformation of scientific innovations to problem solving products.
David Jacquemont
Following 7 years in manufacturing roles in the automotive industry with Valeo, David spent 23 years building McKinsey & Co Operations as an expert partner for EMEA, reaching 40% of total McKinsey activity. He has coached management teams to shape and drive operational transformations in most EU countries, Asia, and the Americas, delivering true bottom-line impact while building foundations for sustained performance and health. David is an INSEAD Business school exec graduate, with an MBA in HR management from Paris Dauphine University and a Master in Economics from Grenoble University & Chambéry Business School. David believes that the foundations for innovation and sustainable success lie in customer focus and continuous improvement.
Nicolas Kerfant
Karima Ouhenia
Karima is an accomplished Product Development Director with over 10 years of experience in formulation, microcapsules, colloid science, and polymeric particles. Karima shares a special interest in the synthesis methodology of fluorescent polyfunctional polymer nanoparticles. Graduating with a Ph.D. in organic, mineral, and industrial chemistry from UVSQ “Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines” in 2010, Karima has worked as a researcher for ENS Cachan, the Institute of Padua in Italy, for the Institute Lavoisier of Versailles France, and the Sorbonne University in Paris, before reaching Calyxia in 2016. Her secret to success is not only her natural leadership but her belief in transparency, precision, and creativity as key factors in the development of high-performing microcapsules.
Estelle Torre
Estelle has extensive experience in business development and sales in the chemical industry, with the latest position as Key Account Manager at BASF. Estelle is passionate about connecting people and ideas to bring innovative solutions into the market.
Stefano Vezza
Christophe Wielgosik
With a wealth of expertise in driving HR initiatives across Blue Chip companies, Christophe is passionate and skilled in leading HR functions. Christophe is a seasoned professional with significant experience in companies such as Unilever, Schneider Electric, and Sony, leading transformation across large and fast-paced geographies, in talent and human resources management at large. Christophe enjoys working across functions, building, and strengthening multicultural teams as well as influencing Management Committees with the goal of raising the bar on performance, and effectiveness, as well as improving the employee experience.
Frederik Dom (Chairman)
Finance Advisor Diplomas: MSc, Erasmus University (Netherlands) Activities outside Calyxia: Co-Founder of HiFiBiO Therapeutics, RSP Technology BV, CFO for HiFiBiO, and Chairman of an Advisory Committee for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Jamie Walters (CEO)
Jamie has over 10 years of experience in the development and application of microcapsule technologies for disruptive formulated materials. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he went on to become a guest lecturer, in addition to inventing the core particle technology of the BiognostIX© rapid diagnostic sensor and co-founding the public engagement platform, CUSPE. Jamie is also the author of more than 20 patents and publications. Jamie believes that every formulation goal is achievable, if you build a unified team with the bravery to be creative, the patience to plan meticulously and the work-ethic and ambition to deliver the solution.
Prof. Jerome Bibette
Scientific Advisor Diplomas: PhD, University of Bordeaux (France), CNRS Silver Medal Activities outside Calyxia: Professor at ESPCI-Paris PSL, Co-Director of Michelin Advanced Research Institute, Co-Founder of Ademtech, Capsum, Cyprio, HiFiBio Therapeutics, Isphere, Kapsera, MilliDrop Instruments & RainDance.
Gael de Barmon
International Fund-Raising Advisor Diplomas: MBA, ESSEC Business School (France) Activities outside Calyxia: Managing Partner at Management Private Equity Asia (MPEA), Founder of Natixis Private Equity Asia, Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co Private Equity.
Laetitia de Panafieu
Laetitia is a Investment Principal at the Global Impact and Agrifood Investor, Astanor Ventures. Inspired by her family’s farming background, Laetitia has been deeply involved in the food and agriculture industry since childhood. Laetitia has extensive experience in sourcing and funding global data and telecommunications startups from her time at Orange Ventures and was a former startup business developer. Laetitia is passionate about equal rights and is on the Advisory Board of Sista, a non-profit organization promoting equality between genders in Venture Capital.
Hans Marteau
Partner Astanor Ventures
Alexandre Ouimet-Storrs
Alex Ouimet-Storrs is an Investment Director dedicated to the Plastic Circularity strategy and joined the team in February 2024. He has both an industrial and private equity background with 20 investments and 9 exits and an extensive knowledge of the plastic industry. Alex started his career at Air Liquide in Paris and in 2011 joined Truffle Capital as an investor in deeptech and sustainability. He became Partner in 2014 and was in charge of a portfolio of 15 companies, including Carbios. In 2018, Alex became the Managing Director (EMEA) of Solvay Ventures’ $100m corporate fund, where he scouted intensively in the scope of the Plastic Circularity strategy. He invested in 3 companies including Kumovis (thermoplastics for medical devices) that was sold to 3D Systems, signed 10 corporate partnerships with scale-ups. In 2020, he founded Oskare Capital, a life sciences fund and worked as venture partner at Elaia Partners in Paris and as a consultant for Sumitomo Corp. He’s a dual Canadian and French citizen, with a master’s in Chemical Engineering from McGill University.
Prof. David Weitz
Cindy Ung Delouis
Cindy is an investment director at Large Venture, Bpifrance’s growth fund. She has over 10 years of experience supporting startups and scale-ups across diverse industries, from SaaS B2B to industrial companies. Prior to joining Bpifrance in 2015, she spent three years as a consultant at EY. At Bpifrance, she also created and managed the Next40/FT120 program, which promotes high-potential French startups. Cindy holds degrees from Sciences Po Bordeaux and ESSEC.
Our Partners
Where to Find Us
Calyxia HQ
3 Avenue des Lys
94380 Bonneuil-sur-Marne
France
info@calyxia.com
+33 1 45 13 00 79
Industrial
2 Avenue des Orangers
94380 Bonneuil-sur-Marne
France
info@calyxia.com
+33 1 45 13 00 79
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