Transformational
Bioscience Solutions

Dalan is dedicated to providing transformative animal health solutions to support a more sustainable future.

We are redrawing the boundaries of animal health by bringing our vaccine technology platform to underserved animal populations, such as honeybees, shrimp and other species.

Leadership Team

We are a team of innovative scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs working on four continents and helping businesses enjoy the multiple benefits of our breakthrough.

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Annette Kleiser
CEO

  • Dr. Annette Kleiser has over 25 years of experience in leadership, business development, start-up formation, and corporate strategy within the biotechnology industry. She studied biology at the University of Konstanz and earned her Ph.D. from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In 2018, she founded Dalan Animal Health, a company focused on pioneering disease prevention in underserved production animals such as shrimp and honeybees. Under her leadership, Dalan successfully developed the world’s first USDA-approved vaccine for an insect — protecting honeybees against American Foulbrood disease. Building on this success, Annette and her team have now made a major breakthrough in aquaculture using Dalan’s proprietary vaccine platform for the development of vaccines shrimp, long thought impossible to vaccinate.

    Linkedin ↗

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Erin Strait
CSO

  • Dr. Erin Strait leads Dalan's expanding research and development initiatives, bringing extensive experience in veterinary biologics development. She joined Dalan from Ceva Animal Health, where she served as Director of Innovation and Development for U.S. Poultry and Swine Biologics. Erin earned both her Ph.D. in immunobiology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University. Prior to her role at Ceva Animal Health, she served as Director of Biology Discover, U.S. Swine Biologics at Merck Animal Health, accumulating significant expertise in advancing innovative diagnostics and vaccines from research concept to licensure.

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Brad Pruente
COO

  • Brad is the Chief Operating Officer at Dalan Animal Health, where he drives fundraising and strategic operations to support the company’s growth. With extensive experience in business development and operations, he was previously the first employee at Asseta, where he led go-to-market efforts and managed high-value international deals, and worked in KPMG’s M&A diligence group across multiple industries. Brad holds a BBA from Emory University and is an Operating Partner at Prime Movers Lab, serving on the boards of Robust.AI and Inevitable.

    Linkedin ↗

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Fernando Riaza Carcamo
Global Head of Business Development

  • Fernando has more than 30 years of experience in the animal health industry in both local and global positions, and in marketing, general management and regional management. He studied veterinary medicine and animal production at Complutense University of Madrid and holds a master’s in international management at Boston University, Brussels. He loves to play tennis, study guitar, cook, and is a fanatic of science fiction.

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Nigel Swift
Head of Sustainable Agriculture and One Health

  • Nigel is a veterinarian with more than 25 years of experience working internationally in the field of animal health. He is ACVIM board-certified in internal medicine, with an MBA from Trium. Having managed a biotechnology lab in China from research to commercialization, he then led global vaccine research and development for Boehringer Ingelheim following their acquisition of Merial. He has worked with national and international organisations building disease control programs that have contributed to control of zoonoses, sustainable agriculture, antibiotic reduction and food security. His focus is the intersection of human, animal and environmental health. His favorite authors are Jeanette Winterson and Charles Handy.

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Morgan Halme
Senior Director, Communications and Marketing

  • Morgan has over 20 years of experience in marketing, brand building and creative communications with both advertising agencies and global brands. His work has been recognized on an international level by the Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, and Communication Arts. Morgan holds a BA from UCLA in History. In his free time, Morgan enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with his family. His favorite book is John Adams by David McCullough.

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Adam Costello
Director, Commercial Operations North America

  • Adam brings 8 years of experience working with early-stage start-ups, from sustainable food systems to robotics manufacturing, to his role at Dalan. He holds a BA from Colgate University and a MS in Conservation Biology from NY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. In his free time, Adam enjoys gardening, running, coaching soccer, and managing his sideline honeybee nuc business. His favorite books are The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

    Linkedin ↗

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Warren Rickard
Head of Strategy

  • Pet industry entrepreneur & leader with multiple strategic acquisitions. Specializing in Animal Health and CPG with significant experience in global markets including UK, Taiwan and South Korea.

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Board of Directors

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Annette Kleiser
CEO

  • Dr. Annette Kleiser has over 25 years of experience in leadership, business development, start-up formation, and corporate strategy within the biotechnology industry. She studied biology at the University of Konstanz and earned her Ph.D. from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In 2018, she founded Dalan Animal Health, a company focused on pioneering disease prevention in underserved production animals such as shrimp and honeybees. Under her leadership, Dalan successfully developed the world’s first USDA-approved vaccine for an insect — protecting honeybees against American Foulbrood disease. Building on this success, Annette and her team have now made a major breakthrough in aquaculture using Dalan’s proprietary vaccine platform for the development of vaccines shrimp, long thought impossible to vaccinate.

    Linkedin ↗

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Linda Rhodes
Animal Health Entrepreneur & Veterinarian

  • Linda began her career as a large animal practitioner before joining the R&D group at Merck and later leading clinical research at Merial. In 2001 she co-found AlcheraBio, a CRO specializing in helping clients develop new drugs for animals. In 2011, Dr. Rhodes became the founding CEO of Aratana Therapeutics, a company that developed dog and cat therapeutics, and subsequently, when the company went public, she served as its Chief Scientific Officer. After retiring from Aratana in 2016, Dr. Rhodes was appointed to the Board of Directors of Zoetis. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College, her VMD from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Cornell University.

    Linkedin ↗

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Peter Brøns-Poulsen
Former President, Colgate-Palmolive (Europe)

  • Peter has more than 30 years of global leadership experience helming large organizations, and a deep knowledge of innovation processes. He is the former President & Chief Executive Officer of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., a global leader in animal nutrition. Prior to his role at Hill’s, Peter served as Vice President & General Manager at GABA International AG, and has held several positions around the world at Colgate-Palmolive.

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Neal Carter
President, Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.

  • Neal Carter is a Bio-Resource Engineer with 40 years of global experience in agriculture. Neal is thePresident and co-founder of Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF). Neal and family are apple and cherry orchardists who have lived in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia for 30 years, they are passionate about the fruit they grow and the global customer base they serve. Neal’s love for the outdoors extends beyond the orchard; enjoying hiking, mountain biking and back-country skiing.

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Gavin Mathis
Chief of Staff & Platform Partner, Prime Movers Lab

  • Gavin is the Chief of Staff and Platform Partner at Prime Movers Lab, where he oversees portfolio support, guiding founders in public relations, government relations, and fundraising strategies. With extensive experience in media relations and public affairs, Gavin excels at helping startup clients shape their narratives for diverse audiences, from investors to policymakers. He graduated with a master’s degree in political management from The George Washington University and earned bachelor’s degrees in communication (journalism) and political science from Washington State University.

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Tom Chi (Board Observer)
Partner, At One Ventures

  • Tom has worked in a wide range of roles from astrophysical researcher to designer to corporate executive developing new hardware/software products and services. He’s played a significant role in established projects with global reach (Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo Search, Google), and scaled new projects from conception to significance (Yahoo Answers from 0 to 90 million users).

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Work with us.
People coming together to create a healthier planet.

Not seeing the job for you, but still want to join our team?. Send your resume and cover letter to human.resources@dalan.com .

Contact us for more information