The scientific and commercial team behind Tiny Cargo
The Tiny Cargo Company is led by a team that combines world-leading scientific expertise in exosome biology with the commercial, clinical and operational experience to bring that science to market at industrial scale.
LEADERSHIP
Robert Gourdie, Ph.D
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Professor Robert Gourdie is the founder of The Tiny Cargo Company. A biomedical scientist with over three decades of peer-reviewed research, Robert is the recipient of the NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award and holds fellowship in the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (FAIMBE) and Senior Membership of the National Academy of Inventors (SMNAI). With more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 67, he brings an exceptional record of scientific achievement to the foundational scientific vision behind the Tiny Cargo platform — alongside an established track record of translating research from laboratory to commercial application. Robert holds a Ph.D from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at University College London.
Sherri Cook
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Sherri Cook is a financial executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across biomedical research, academic health sciences and complex financial operations. She currently holds senior leadership roles at Virginia Tech, where she oversees financial strategy, research administration and enterprise operations across the health sciences ecosystem — including financial leadership of a large NIH-funded research institute. Her expertise spans capital planning, regulatory compliance and operational frameworks for scientific organisations, with experience across federally funded research, philanthropic investment and translational enterprise. At Tiny Cargo, Sherri provides strategic financial leadership to support growth, strengthen operational infrastructure and position the organisation for long-term success.
TEAM
David Whitt
SENIOR MANUFACTURING MANAGER
David Whitt is Senior Manufacturing Manager at The Tiny Cargo Company, where he leads manufacturing, supply chain and quality operations to deliver consistent, high-quality results at commercial scale. He has built and modernised the operational infrastructure that underpins Tiny Cargo’s cGMP-aligned production capability — implementing process automation and LIMS-based data management systems, directing global assay alignment projects across internal and external laboratory networks, and leading the adoption of advanced analytical and automated manufacturing technologies. With a background spanning quality control, laboratory systems and automation, David has delivered complex capital and operational projects from scope through execution, driving accuracy, cost efficiency and scalability across the organisation.
Raleigh Keenan
MANUFACTURING TECHNICIAN
Raleigh Keenan is the Manufacturing Technician at Tiny Cargo, supporting the industrial-scale production and processing of milk-derived exosomes for the company's therapeutic platform. She contributes to cleanroom manufacturing, logistics coordination and cGMP-aligned operations, drawing on experience in controlled environments with aseptic technique and quality standards. With a background in bioengineering spanning biomaterials, tissue engineering, hydrogel scaffold development and disease modelling, Raleigh previously served as Laboratory Manager and Graduate Research Assistant at Clemson University's Biocompatibility and Tissue Regeneration Laboratory, where she led laboratory operations and training. She holds an MSc.
SCIENTIFIC & ADVISORY BOARD
Professor Richard Archer
CONSULTANT ADVISOR
Professor Richard Archer is an Emeritus Professor of Food Technology at Massey University, New Zealand, and one of the world's leading authorities on dairy bioprocessing. A Fellow of Engineering New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, he brings four decades of experience spanning senior technical management in the New Zealand dairy industry — including the isolation of milk components for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use — and research and departmental leadership in the university setting. His primary expertise is bioprocess engineering, with core experience in milk and whey processing. He holds a Ph.D and BTech (Hons) in Biotechnology, and now consults and advises in the field.
Alan Gourdie
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Alan Gourdie leads Tiny Cargo as Chief Executive Officer, bringing over 30 years of multinational and start-up executive experience to the commercialisation of the milk exosome platform. He has founded and led companies across technology, AI and life sciences — most recently as founder and CEO of Quantiful, an AI-powered demand forecasting platform — and has served as Chair and Director of major public and private companies across multiple sectors. At Tiny Cargo, Alan is responsible for the commercial strategy, supply infrastructure, and market development that will bring the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome platform to the global pharmaceutical industry. He holds an MSc.
Richard Warburg, Ph.D
BOARD
Richard Warburg brings to Tiny Cargo four decades of experience guiding life-sciences companies from early-stage science through commercial scale. A molecular biologist turned registered U.S. Patent Attorney, Richard combines deep scientific fluency — grounded in a Ph.D in Molecular Biology — with the governance, IP and transactional expertise required to bring platform biotechnologies to market. He serves as a board director of several life-sciences companies, including eLux Medical, which is developing gold nanoshell (AuroShell™) technology for medical applications including fat removal, and Rose Pharma, a GLP-1 drug development company, alongside Verigraft, Zetagen, Smartech and Rose Technologies. At Tiny Cargo, Richard supports the Board in overseeing strategy, intellectual property and the commercial development of the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome platform.
Dr. Alan Dogan
MEDICAL ADVISOR
Alan Dogan is a physician and biomedical engineer who earned his MD from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and his BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. His work centres on translational healthcare technologies, clinical research and medical device innovation — with experience spanning ophthalmic imaging, respiratory monitoring and drug delivery. He has contributed to early-stage clinical studies, device development and interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at bringing practical healthcare innovations closer to patients.
Spencer Marsh, Ph.D
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
Spencer Marsh is Chief Scientific Officer of Tiny Cargo and the scientist who achieved the first successful isolation of milk exosomes from bovine milk in 2020 — the founding discovery of the Tiny Cargo platform. A Principal Investigator on NSF and NIH funded research programmes, Spencer has acquired more than $1M in non-dilutive funding for Tiny Cargo research programmes and has been a member of both the JLABS and Blue Knight Incubators. Under his scientific leadership, Tiny Cargo has developed the world's first industrially-scaled milk exosome facility, achieving kilogram-scale production of highly purified exosomes to a fixed cGMP-aligned commercial specification. Spencer oversees all scientific operations, analytical standards, and the ongoing development of the Tiny Cargo platform. He holds a Ph.D, MSc and BSc.
Heywood Fralin
BOARD
W. Heywood Fralin is Co-Chairman of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. and Co-Chair of the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor (BRIC). A longstanding leader in advancing biomedical research, higher education and innovation throughout Virginia, he has served on the Boards of Visitors at both Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia — where he also served as Rector — and as Chairman of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council (VBHEC). Over seventeen years on the State Board of Virginia's Initiative for Growth & Opportunity (GO Virginia), his career has been shaped by a deep commitment to strengthening Virginia's scientific and economic future, most notably through his advocacy and philanthropic support of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech. At Tiny Cargo, Heywood brings decades of experience connecting scientific research with commercial and economic development across the Virginia region.
Alisha Clark
MARKETING MANAGER
Alisha Clark is a strategic brand and communications specialist with over a decade of experience across luxury fashion, beauty and purpose-led businesses in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Her career spans some of the most respected names in luxury consumer brands — from Tom Ford and NET-A-PORTER in London, to senior communications leadership at a leading luxury skincare brand. In 2021 she founded Alisha Wheeler Consulting, advising values-aligned businesses on brand strategy and communications, and holds a qualification in Sustainable Business Management from the University of Cambridge. At Tiny Cargo, Alisha leads marketing and communications — bringing the rigour of luxury brand building to the commercialisation of milk exosomes.
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