# Colin Ardern

> Colin Ardern is the Austin-based co-founder, president and COO of Applied Bioplastics, previously its CEO. A 2012 Washington University business graduate with a background in software implementation, he works on commercializing plant-fiber composites for durable plastics and building materials. He is listed as the team leader for Jutin, a finalist in MIT Solve’s 2025 Global Climate Challenge.

- **Role:** Co-founder, President & COO at Applied Bioplastics
- **Organizations:** Applied Bioplastics, Q2ebanking, Epic, Washington University in St. Louis
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Washington University in St. Louis - Olin Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Applied Bioplastics., Built a team of 16 across three countries, as described in event biographies., Led Applied Bioplastics as CEO during its 2021 SXSW Pitch category win.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Marketing communications internship at Stark Investments, according to The Org’s career profile.
- **2010** — Fixed-income internship at Reinhart Partners, according to The Org.
- **2011-2012** — Internships at The Walt Disney Company and CBRE, according to The Org.
- **2012** — Graduated from Washington University with a BSBA.
- **2012-2015** — Technical services and quality assurance work at Epic, according to The Org.
- **—** — Worked as an implementation engineer and senior implementation engineer at Q2ebanking before Applied Bioplastics; exact dates unverified.
- **2019** — Co-founded Applied Bioplastics with Alex Blum; corporate inception was June 13, 2019.
- **2020** — Listed a December 2020 SDSN Youth Solutions Program finalist credential on LinkedIn.
- **2021** — Applied Bioplastics won the Social & Culture category at SXSW Pitch.
- **2022** — CEO tenure ended November 15; continued as president and COO as Alex Blum became CEO.
- **2025** — Team leader for Jutin, a finalist in MIT Solve’s Global Climate Challenge.
- **2026** — Listed as president and COO in the Frontier Summit 2026 speaker roster.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Applied Bioplastics.
- Built a team of 16 across three countries, as described in event biographies.
- Led Applied Bioplastics as CEO during its 2021 SXSW Pitch category win.
- Listed as team leader for the Jutin project, a 2025 MIT Solve Global Climate Challenge finalist.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — The Frontier Summit 2026 roster lists him as president and COO; its biography reports over 185,000 pounds of product delivered in the previous year.
- **2025-08** — The Jutin MIT Solve entry, last updated August 4, identifies Ardern as team leader and the project as a 2025 Global Climate Challenge finalist.

## Links

- Website: https://appliedbioplastics.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-ardern

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/colin-ardern
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15