Our People

The global team behind Oritain's award-winning services.

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Our global team

We have over 200 staff, across the globe with offices in London, Washington DC, Singapore, Auckland and Dunedin.

Executive leadership team

Alyn Franklin

Chief Executive Officer

Alyn joined Oritain as Chief Executive Officer in 2024, based in London. He brings a wealth of experience in business leadership, most recently as CEO of Alcumus from 2017 to 2024, where he led the management team in defining the company’s strategy, with a strong focus on helping organisations create a safer, more sustainable world.

Alyn has extensive experience in the Risk Management and Professional Services sectors, including Chief Financial Officer at Santia and senior management roles at Connaught PLC, Wincanton, Coors Brewers, and Arthur Andersen. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Corporate Treasurer.

Prof. Russell Frew

Oritain Co-founder and Chief Scientist

Russell is an analytical chemist who started his career applying trace metal and stable isotope analyses to trace ocean processes. As a Professor at the University of Otago, Russell established the Forensic Analytical Science Major and provided forensic evidence to the courts.

Russell founded Isotrace in 2003 and then co-founded Oritain in 2008. From 2012 to 2016 he was seconded to the IAEA/ FAO to establish a food traceability programme. Russell retired from his academic position in 2021 and has since been full-time with Oritain as Chief Scientist.

Heidi Cullen

Chief Operating Officer

Heidi joined Oritain in 2024, where she leads the company’s lab operations, service delivery, commercial operations, and strategic business intelligence. Based in Boston, MA, Heidi brings over 25 years’ experience leading global teams in operations and business transformation.

Heidi has held leadership positions at Wolters Kluwer, Lux Research, and Orion Global Solutions, and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University.

Tom Holgate

Chief Financial Officer

Tom joined Oritain in 2025, based in the company’s London office. Leading Oritain’s financial teams, he is responsible for driving business growth and profitability by overseeing all fiscal operations and management.

Tom has over 20 years’ experience in transforming, scaling and leading finance and operational teams to support businesses experiencing high-growth, maturation and geographical expansion. This includes roles as Group Finance Director and Interim CFO for BenevolentAI, a Euronext-listed business using AI and Machine Learning in drug discovery, following increasingly senior positions at EY, American Express and MS Amlin.

Rupert Hodges

Chief Commercial Officer

Rupert, Oritain’s Chief Commercial Officer, joined in 2016 and set up the first offshore office for the company in London, UK. Rupert is based in London and is responsible for developing and maintaining exceptional relationships with key customers, acting as a trusted advisor and strategic partner.

Rupert’s background includes a strong financial market understanding alongside developing and implementing of customer-centric initiatives.

Ana Hinojosa

Executive Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs

Ana joined Oritain as an Advisor in June 2022. Prior to this she was Executive Director at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where she was responsible for directing CBP’s trade threat assessment units, special investigations and enforcement programs focused on detecting, deterring and disrupting illicit trade, with a special emphasis on forced labor violations, evasion of special tariff cases and modernizing the use of civil penalties to ensure appropriate consequence delivery for non-compliance.

She has had an illustrious career with over 34 years of experience in law enforcement, international trade, international policy development and standard setting both with U.S. federal government and with the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels Belgium.

Paul Bentham

Chief Product and Technology Officer

Paul joined Oritain in 2025 and leads the global Product, Engineering, and Data Science teams. Based in London, he is responsible for driving continued innovation that merges forensic science with cutting-edge technology.

Paul has over 20 years’ technical and leadership experience, including a decade scaling high-growth technology companies, most recently at advanced AI firm Logically.ai. At cybersecurity company Immersive Labs, he was instrumental in achieving tenfold revenue growth over four years. Prior to this, Paul delivered advanced technology solutions for the UK Government, giving him a rare blend of deep technical knowledge and strategic insight.

Natalie Longhurst

Chief People & Culture Officer

Natalie has been with Oritain since 2022, where she leads the global People and Culture function. Based in London, Natalie is responsible for the design and delivery of the global people strategy, enabling Oritain to attract, develop, motivate and retain the best talent whilst cultivating an inclusive and engaging culture.

Natalie's extensive commercial experience includes Executive and Board-level roles in the financial services sector, most recently working in FTSE 250 roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Equiniti.

Gemma Lynch

Chief Customer Officer

Gemma leads Oritain’s sales and account management teams, spearheading strategies and programs to deliver exceptional client success. Based in Oritain’s London office, she joined the company in 2025.

With over 20 years of experience in sales and operations leadership, Gemma has held senior roles across the supply chain, facilities management, manufacturing, and construction sectors—spanning both technology and service-based solutions in the UK and North America. Prior to joining Oritain, she held senior roles at Alcumus Group and Sodexo.

Gemma holds a Master of Science from the University of Reading and is a passionate advocate for mentoring, leadership development, and advancing women in the workplace.

Stew Whitehead

Chief Transformation Officer

Stew joined Oritain in 2016 and has held several key leadership roles across the business, including leading Operations in New Zealand, Global Head of Client Success, and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Now based in London, Stew is responsible for driving company-wide governance and transformation, supporting Oritain’s strategic and operational priorities.

He holds a Law and Commerce degree from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, as well as executive qualifications from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Harvard Business School.

Sarah Scott

Chief Marketing Officer

Sarah joined Oritain as Marketing Director in 2023, before becoming Chief Marketing Officer. Sarah is responsible for leading Oritain’s global marketing, brand and communications strategy. She brings over 15 years’ experience in marketing and communications, including senior roles at Xero and Westpac Australia.

Sarah holds an Executive MBA from AGSM plus a post graduate honours degree in Marketing and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration in International Business, Commercial Law and Marketing (BCA) from Victoria University in Wellington.

Board of directors

Rt Hon Sir John Key

Board Chairman and Shareholder Appointed Director

Rt Hon Sir John Key was New Zealand's 38th Prime Minister, guiding the country through the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, strengthening our economy and setting us up for success. A veteran of Merrill Lynch, he is known as a smart risk-taker and understands the fine balance between success and failure that growth-stage companies must strike. He only sits on three boards: Palo Alto, ANZ and Oritain.

Alyn Franklin

Chief Executive Officer and Shareholder Appointed Director

Shanti Atkins

Independent Director

Shanti is the mastermind behind industry-leading compliance platform, Navex. Under her expert guidance, the organisation grew from USD$5 million to USD$200 million in revenue and a valuation of over $1 billion USD. She understands the challenges we face and, more importantly, understands how to guide us through them as she has lived them herself. Shanti is active on a number of boards, with a focus on software and data.

Jacob Bernstein

Shareholder Appointed Director

Jacob is a Principal at Highland Europe and the lead investor in Oritain’s Series C round. Highland are technology scale-up specialists who have backed numerous software businesses to over $200M in recurring revenues. Jacob joined Highland from L.E.K. Consulting in 2017. He lives in London with his wife, son and daughter, is passionate about nature conservation, and is an enormous believer in Oritain’s technology and potential.

Angad Singh

Shareholder Appointed Director

Angad is a partner and investment committee member at Longridge, a long-term supporter of Oritain and, following the series B, a primary investor. Leading a number of deal teams across the organisation and managing a comprehensive portfolio, Angad is seasoned in growing promising companies from venture to IPO. He is a strong believer in us, our people and our solution, and supports us at every turn.