Biography

Max Elder is a strategist and entrepreneur with over a decade of experience advancing food system innovations across both the public and private sectors.

As Chief Executive Officer of FSI, Max leads a philanthropic impact platform that invests in research, market development, and ecosystem-building initiatives designed to accelerate the transition toward sustainable proteins—one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of the global food system.

Through his work at FSI, Max helps align science, industry, and philanthropy around shared initiatives that advance the development and adoption of sustainable protein technologies. His work focuses on unlocking catalytic capital, supporting breakthrough research, and strengthening the global innovation ecosystem needed to transform how food is produced and consumed.

Before joining FSI, Max founded and served as CEO of Nowadays, a venture-backed food technology company building scalable manufacturing platforms for whole-cut plant-based meats. At Nowadays, he raised more than $10 million in venture capital, patented novel extrusion technology, and launched a national brand with a retail debut at Whole Foods Market.

Earlier in his career, Max was a Research Director at the Institute for the Future, the world’s leading futures-thinking organization, where he co-led the Food Futures Lab and advised global institutions on long-term transformations in agrifood systems.

Max has advised organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nestlé, Barilla, Campbell’s, Hershey, Google, and Dairy Management Inc., among others. He speaks globally on the future of food and sustainable protein innovation.

His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, Forbes, Fast Company, Quartz, and the World Economic Forum, and his research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and books.

Max serves on the Board of Directors of People for Better Food, the advisory boards of FoodShot Global and Food Systems for the Future, and contributes to global initiatives including the World Economic Forum Food Innovators Network and the E TIPU Agrifood Summit Steering Committee. He is also a fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Max studied at Kenyon College and Oxford University.