Industry heavyweights join Samsara Eco to accelerate its enzymatic recycling technology

Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Product Director appointed to drive forward commercialisation and first-of-a-kind facilities

Australian biotech innovator, Samsara Eco, has expanded its global leadership team with the appointment of material science and engineering veterans, Brock Thomas as Chief Innovation Officer and Isaac Iverson as Executive Product Director. Thomas and Iverson bring decades of experience working within the polymer space in the US and will lead the scaling of the company’s enzymatic recycling technology and first-of-a-kind facilities.

Thomas joins from global speciality materials company, Eastman, where he spent almost 15 years. During his time at Eastman, he worked with tire additives, speciality copolyesters, and led the Polyester Renewal Technology platform  He was most recently the Director of Plastics and Circular Development where he provided technology support to build the company’s polyester depolymerisation facility and led cross-functional teams to improve and scale production across the copolyester stream. 

Iverson joins with an extensive background in nylon. He spent 15 years at INVISTA in a number of research and development and commercial roles, building out the company’s nylon product offering across various industries.  

On the appointments, Paul Riley, CEO and Founder of Samsara Eco said, “We’re at a pivot point in our scale-up journey. We need the best minds with both deep technical knowledge and commercial acumen to lead us forward. Thomas’ proven track record in scaling lab operations, building and starting up pilot facilities, and providing technology support to commercial depolymerisation plants will be vital as we continue to refine our technology processes, build new facilities and scale operations in the coming years.”

"Likewise, Iverson’s unique blend of technical and commercial expertise and extensive global network will be invaluable as we continue to build out our offerings and work with customers and partners to meet their circularity goals.”

The company’s new plant in Jerrabomberra, New South Wales is set to open mid-year and will become the home base for Samsara Eco as it scales up production and furthers develops its suite of AI-crafted enzymes. Its first-of-a-kind nylon 6,6 enzymatic recycling plant is also planned to be operational by 2027. Thomas and Iverson will play an important role in both developments. More broadly, they will focus on accelerating innovation, enhancing Samsara’s enzymatic recycling process and supporting commercial growth.

On joining Samsara Eco Brock Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer said, “Enzymatic recycling has the potential to redefine circularity. Recycling is no longer limited by material composition but opens a range of possibilities to keep more plastics in circulation, without emitting additional carbon in the process. The science, technical and operations teams at Samsara Eco are second to none, and I look forward to working closely with them as we scale operations and push the boundaries of innovation to help transform the future of sustainable materials.”

Isaac Iverson, Executive Product Director, also commented, “I’m proud to join Samsara Eco and help achieve its ambitions to make plastics truly circular. The company has already made great strides in four short years, working with brands to bring enzymatically recycled materials to market. I’m looking forward to further opening new pathways to market and unlocking the potential of enzymes to infinitely recycle plastics.”

Since launching in 2021, Samsara Eco has led world-first discoveries in enzymatic recycling, pioneering the ability to recycle mixed plastics and fibres including nylon 6,6, nylon 6 and polyester to keep plastics and textiles in circulation and out of landfill. In 2024, it created the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 garment with lululemon, the Swiftly top, and also launched a jacket range made from its enzymatically recycled polyester.  

Thomas and Iverson will divide their time between Australia and the United States. 

Pic - L:R - Brock Thomas, CIO and Paul Riley, Founder and CEO, Samsara Eco