Yulex is led by a team of experienced experts in medical devices, agriculture, biotechnology, alternative energy, manufacturing, engineering, and sustainable practices.
Jeffrey A. Martin
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yulex Corporation
Jeffrey Martin is a seasoned executive from the biotechnology and medical device industry. Under Martin’s leadership, Yulex Corporation became the first commercial enterprise to produce biobased, medical-grade latex that is safe for people with latex allergy as well as a variety of other green and sustainable products based on the arid crop guayule that is native to the U.S. Southwest.
Yulex Corporation currently produces Yulex® Natural Rubber, a safe material for medical devices and is expanding its product line to incorporate catheters, surgical and exam gloves, dental dams, condoms, balloons and other products using natural rubber and latex. Other green products from guayule in the future include biofuels, electrical power, building materials and adhesives.
Prior to co-founding Yulex, Martin was corporate officer and Vice President of Sales for Safeskin Corporation, a leading manufacturer and marketer of latex medical devices. Martin joined Safeskin prior to its successful IPO and was instrumental in positioning the company as "The Best Small Company in America" (Forbes Magazine, 1996). At Safeskin, Martin was responsible for the acquisition of Tactyl Technologies, where he was elected a director in 1996, and Advanced Quality Leadership in 1997.
Martin launched the sales operations of London Rubber Company’s (Regent Medical) U.S. startup in 1986, which subsequently became a global leader in the surgical glove market. Martin also held positions as both a scientist in R&D and a sales executive with the Professional Healthcare Group of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and the Ethicon division of Johnson & Johnson, Inc., in the Polymer Development Department.
Martin has a formal education in engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he was recently inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni.
Dr. Katrina Cornish, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Research & Development, Yulex Corporation
Dr. Katrina Cornish is the leading U.S. scientific expert on Guayule cultivation and domestic latex production. As Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Yulex, Dr. Cornish oversees the company’s ongoing research, development, and validation programs for the commercialization of Guayule latex for hypoallergenic medical devices and specialty consumer products.
Prior to joining Yulex in 2004, Dr. Cornish was the USDA Agriculture Research Service, Western Regional Research Center’s highest ranking female scientist and led the agency’s development of domestic natural rubber latex sources for 15 years. Dr. Cornish is the sole inventor of process and product patents to produce hypoallergenic natural rubber latex and products from Guayule. She began working closely with Yulex in 1997 when the company first licensed her discoveries from the USDA. She has 125 publications and patents of which 95 are related to rubber biosynthesis and production.
In 2008, Cornish received the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops. In 2006, she received the YWCA TWIN (Tribute to Women and Industry) award in recognition of her leadership to the region’s medical and science industries. In 2004, Cornish received the Good Housekeeping Award for Women in Government in recognition of her inspired leadership and proving that good government can change our lives. In 2002, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and won a presidential award from the American Chemical Society. In 1998, she was honored with the USDA’s Scientist of the Year Award for Outstanding Senior Research Scientist. In 1997, she was recognized by the Agricultural University of Antonio Narro, Mexico for Guayule research. Dr. Cornish received a first class honors degree in biological sciences and a Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of Birmingham, England.
Jim Mitchell
Vice President, Technology Development, Yulex CorporationJim Mitchell is responsible for commercializing Yulex’s new proprietary technologies and bringing guayule latex products to market. Mitchell’s innovative technology solutions increased operational efficiency for Yulex’s facility and equipment by nearly 500% in 2008. Bringing over two decades of extensive international business development with startup and early growth technology-based organizations, Mitchell previously worked for a Xerox spin off as chief marketing and business officer.
Mitchell received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Business in International Marketing from the University of Sydney.
Terence Gilbert
Vice President, Finance and Administration, Yulex Corporation
Terry Gilbert oversees all accounting and financial operations for Yulex Corporation providing leadership for supply chain management functions and human resources. Previously, Gilbert led planning and reporting activities for two global business units at Rogers Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange listed manufacturer of high-performance specialty material products. During his 17 years at Rogers, Gilbert also led the company’s expansion international into China. Prior to Rogers, Gilbert managed multi-divisional and accounting services at Honeywell International, a $37 billion technology and manufacturing leader traded on the New York, London, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges.
Gilbert has a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.