Our Experts

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.

Dr. Bernd Bodiselitsch holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry and an MSc in Environmental Systems Science and Space Sciences. He has extensive management experience in analytical testing laboratories and is the founder of Imprint Analytics GmbH, where he leads the company’s continuous development, improvement, and innovation.

Under his leadership, Imprint has grown into a leading European laboratory for isotopic and authenticity analysis, combining scientific excellence with technological advancement and sustainable growth.

Dr. David Psomiadis oversees Science and Operations as well as Commercial and Business Development at Imprint Analytics. With a PhD in Geology and a background in environmental and climate research, he has authored more than 70 scientific publications and actively contributes to international working groups such as AOAC and CEN in the field of food authenticity.

Having joined Imprint Analytics in its founding year in 2013, he has held a range of leadership positions including Lab Manager, Head of Business Development, and Chief Business Officer. In his current, he leads the company’s global commercial strategy, focusing on solution design, product and method development, and close collaboration with industry partners. Through his leadership, Imprint drives innovation and builds trusted networks supporting analytical verification and authenticity assurance worldwide.

Sylvain Bérail is an innovation-driven scientist based in Pau, in the Southwest of France. His field of expertise is inorganic analytical chemistry, more specifically non-traditional isotopes and elemental analysis using plasma mass spectrometry.

Sylvain holds a PhD in analytical chemistry applied to environment. He started his career focusing on material analysis for aeronautical and metal industries at EAG laboratories.
He then spent 15 years at the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), working as Research engineer on isotopic analysis development to track source and fate of chemical elements in environment.

He co-founded AiA in 2017 to promote isotopic analysis for scientific traceability and origin verification. As CEO, he leads the definition of AiA’s scientific and commercial strategy and oversees operational activities.

Dr. Markus Boner is a distinguished food chemist and a leading pioneer in the field of geographic origin verification of products. His foundational doctoral thesis on determining the geographical origin of beef laid the groundwork for his future career.

In 2002, he co-founded Agroisolab GmbH, a successful spin-off from Forschungszentrum Jülich, and has since served as its Managing Director. Under his leadership, Agroisolab has grown to become one of the world's leading accredited laboratories for stable isotope analysis, specializing in authenticating the origin of a wide range of goods.

As the scientific head, Dr. Boner combines scientific expertise with strategic innovation, continuously expanding Agroisolab’s analytical capabilities and global reach. He is a named inventor on several patents, primarily in the area of product marking and authentication using stable isotopes. His recognized expertise has also led to his official appointment for ivory in Germany.

Ana Hinojosa joined Oritain as an Adviser in June 2022. Before joining Oritain she was the 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.

Ana 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.

Dr. Anjali Gupta is a statistician and Head of Data Science at Oritain, based in Auckland. She leads the organization in advancing its work across data science, analytics, machine learning, and geospatial statistics. With a deep expertise in statistics, she drives the strategic development and R&D efforts that shape Oritain’s data-driven solutions.

Anjali holds a PhD in Statistics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and an MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford. She has worked in a range of industries, including energy, finance, marketing, and forensic science. Prior to joining Oritain, she spent several years in academia as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the University of Technology Sydney, where she taught and mentored students in the field of data science and forensic statistics.

She joined Oritain in 2023, bringing with her a strong mix of academic insight and industry experience to help drive the company’s data science capabilities forward.

Dr. Kiri McComb is Technical Product Owner, based in Oritain's Dunedin office. He completed his PhD in Chemistry, with a specialization in Chemical Food Traceability, through the University of Otago in 2011.

Since completion of his studies, Kiri has focused on applications using analytical chemistry and statistical data analysis for natural product authentication and verification. As a technical expert in this area, he has contributed to IAEA/FAO regional projects on food traceability, collaborating with scientists across the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.

Kiri's work during his PhD was undertaken in collaboration with Oritain in its early stages, informing Oritain's early science process. Kiri officially joined Oritain in 2013, where he has continued to develop origin verification systems and is currently responsible for the Technical Product area.

Dr. Kate Jones is the Senior Science Advisor for Oritain. Over the last ten years at Oritain, Kate has driven the development of the Oritain product and science delivery of cotton, wool, mohair, and cashmere verification programs. Her current focus is in supporting science communication and education throughout the business.

Kate completed her undergraduate degree in environmental sciences and chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill before working as an Environmental Engineer for a construction and dewatering firm based in Singapore. Kate went on to obtain her PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand, modelling the interaction of the marine environment and drivers on carbon dioxide fluxes along the coastal New Zealand shelf.

After a postdoctoral stint at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Kate shifted back to New Zealand and joined Oritain in 2015.

Sam completed his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Otago in 2012, after which he worked at Thermo Fisher Scientific as an Account Manager, responsible for the areas of life sciences, environmental monitoring, food testing, biopharma, and healthcare.

Joining Oritain in June 2014 as a Business Development Manager, Sam has since held various positions, including 8 years as Science Solutions Architect leading the development of both scientific and commercial opportunities, focusing on customer-centric programs and early stage commercialization of new markets. He is currently Head of Strategic Intelligence, based in Dunedin, New Zealand.