Leadership Team
Andrew Diprose
Andrew is CEO and leads the RootWave team. He joined from Alpha Financial Markets Consulting which he helped grow from a start-up to the world’s largest dedicated investment management consultancy.
James Holdgate
Joined RootWave from Vax where he held the role of Head of New Product Development. He brings over 20 years of experience in consumer products and medical devices and expertise in product development, project management, team leadership and lean systems.
Tom Archer
Tom is Head of Sales and Marketing for RootWave. He joined from UPL where he was European portfolio marketing manager. He has expertise in crop protection markets with over 20 years’ experience in portfolio marketing and new product development.
Robert Diprose
Formed Ubiqutek in 2012 and leads research and aftersales. He spent 10 years at QinetiQ as a systems engineer. He is former Chairman of the Institute of Engineering and Technology in Birmingham. He has two engineering degrees and an MBA.
David Wiliams
A senior finance executive with over 30 years’ experience across dairy, food, and agriculture, working at Board level in businesses ranging from start-ups to multinationals across the UK and Northern Europe. David is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), he has deep expertise in finance, M&A, strategy, and business development.
Board of Directors
Andrew Diprose
Andrew is CEO and leads the RootWave team. He joins from Alpha Financial Markets Consulting which he helped grow from a start-up to the world’s largest dedicated investment management consultancy.
Jorge Heraud
Jorge Heraud is passionate about bringing practical, high technology to agriculture. Jorge was CEO of Blue River Technology which uses computer vision and AI to detect each plant individually and reduce chemical use by a factor of 3. Jorge successfully raised three rounds of financing prior to being acquired by John Deere in 2017. Jorge was then the Vice President of Automation and Autonomy for John Deere leading 600 people working in robotics, autonomy, machine leaning and computer vision. At John Deere he lead the release of See & Spray and the Autonomous 8R tractor. Prior to this, Jorge worked at Trimble Navigation as Business Unit Director for Precision Agriculture and Director of Engineering.
Willem Broekaert
Willem Broekaert is currently Managing Partner of V-BIO VENTURES, a life sciences venture fund which he co-founded in 2015. V-BIO VENTURES supports innovative companies in the sectors of therapeutics, diagnostics and agricultural improvements.
Lars McBride
Lars has over 40 years’ experience in business, including as an Executive Director for a diversified global industrial group and Finance Director of FTSE 250 company when it sold for £630m. Lars is an experienced Chairman and Non-Executive Director and currently holes numerous board roles at small businesses.
Darren Leong
Darren is the Principal at Clay Capital, a Singapore-based venture fund focused on transformative solutions for a healthier, safer, and more regenerative food system. He joined the firm in 2018 (then VisVires New Protein) and is involved across sourcing, diligence, deal structuring, and portfolio management. Prior to this, he held roles at a Chinese technology multinational and an early-stage startup. Darren holds a degree in Banking and Finance from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.