# Colin South

> Colin South is a New Zealand-born biotechnology executive and the founding leader of ArkeaBio, a Boston climate-tech company building the world's first vaccine to cut methane emissions from cattle. He grew up on a 1,000-head sheep farm, earned a PhD in bioprocess engineering from Dartmouth, and spent 25-plus years turning microbes into commercial products across the food, fuel, and energy industries. He launched ArkeaBio in 2021, ran it as CEO from January 2022, and in September 2025 stepped into the Chief Business Officer seat as the company brought in a new CEO and pushed toward field trials.

- **Role:** Chief Business Officer at ArkeaBio
- **Organizations:** ArkeaBio, Zymergen, Mascoma Corporation, Novogy, Lignol, Fonterra
- **From:** New Zealand
- **Nationality:** New Zealander
- **Education:** B.E. in Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, M.S. in Engineering Management, Dartmouth College, PhD in Bioprocess Engineering, Dartmouth College
- **Known for:** Founded ArkeaBio and built it into a venture-backed leader in livestock methane reduction, Raised more than $40 million for ArkeaBio from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Rabo Ventures and AgriZeroNZ, Founding President of Mascoma Corporation, an early commercializer of cellulosic ethanol

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Began in the New Zealand dairy industry, including a stint at Fonterra
- **2000s** — Founding President of Mascoma Corporation, commercializing cellulosic ethanol via advanced biotech
- **2010s** — Led biochemical ventures Novogy and Lignol, developing alternatives to petrochemicals
- **pre-2021** — VP of Strategy at synthetic biology company Zymergen
- **2021** — ArkeaBio founded in Boston/Charlestown, Massachusetts
- **2022** — Became CEO of ArkeaBio in January
- **2024** — Closed $26.5M Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures; cattle trials with Texas A&M
- **2025** — Closed $7M Series A1 (co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and AgriZeroNZ); moved to Chief Business Officer as Frank Wooten became CEO; named an Unreasonable Fellow

## Achievements

- Founded ArkeaBio and built it into a venture-backed leader in livestock methane reduction
- Raised more than $40 million for ArkeaBio from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Rabo Ventures and AgriZeroNZ
- Founding President of Mascoma Corporation, an early commercializer of cellulosic ethanol
- Advanced a methane-reducing cattle vaccine from concept toward field trials, in partnership with Texas A&M University researchers
- Selected as an Unreasonable Fellow (Unreasonable Food 2025)

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — ArkeaBio named Frank Wooten (Vence co-founder) CEO and closed a $7M Series A1; Colin South transitioned to Chief Business Officer, with the team preparing for expanded field trials in 2026-2027.
- **2025** — Selected as an Unreasonable Fellow in the Unreasonable Food 2025 program.

## Links

- Website: https://arkeabio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-south
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/arkeabio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realcolinsouth/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/arkeabio

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/colin-south
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14