TerraSafe Holdings, Inc., a “technology engine powering the next generation of plastic-free barrier packaging,” based in Youngsville, NC, has appointed Dr. Julie Crowe Willoughby as CEO.

Dr. Willoughby, who joined the company in 2024 as chief technology officer, steps into the CEO role to lead the company’s next phase of growth — “scaling its portfolio of bio-based packaging materials into global commercial markets,” the company said in a media release.

“Julie has a unique combination of deep technical mastery, entrepreneurial vision and creative leadership that this industry needs,” said Thomas Mastrobuoni, chair of the TerraSafe Board of Directors and chief investment officer at Big Idea Ventures’ Generation Food Rural Partners Fund. “Her appointment marks an inflection point in TerraSafe’s trajectory and a decisive step toward making plastic pollution obsolete.”

Since its founding by Big Idea Ventures’ Generation Food Rural Partners Fund (GFRP) in 2023, TerraSafe has advanced under Willoughby’s technical leadership as follows:

  • Established a 60,000-square-foot R&D and manufacturing facility in Youngsville, NC
  • Developed 10-plus patent families of performance bio-based materials
  • Launched two commercial products using TerraSafe’s polysaccharide film technology
  • Raised $13.3M to date, including a new $2 million Series A lead investment from GFRP

Dr. Willoughby is a chemical and biomolecular engineer, polymer scientist and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience working across the chemicals, coatings, pulp and paper, packaging, textiles, life sciences, and fashion industries.

Before joining TerraSafe, Dr. Willoughby served as chief scientific and commercialization officer at Circ, where she scaled its textile-to-textile recycling technology from lab to semi-commercial production. She previously led materials and manufacturing innovation at Nike, served on the faculty at NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles and held senior R&D roles at Dow Corning, now Dow Silicones, and MeadWestvaco, now Smurfitt WestRock, laying the foundation for her in-depth understanding of industrial manufacturing and circular material systems.

Dr. Willoughby’s expertise reportedly spans surface chemistry, polymer physics, renewable feedstocks, and advanced coatings, with her research favored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Willoughby holds a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from NC State University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

“I grew up in the chemicals industry,” said Willoughby. “That experience gives me a deep respect for its power to shape the world and a conviction that it must evolve. My work is about creating a new generation of materials that perform better because they’re designed with people and the planet in mind.”

Images courtesy TerraSafe