Max Elder is the co-founder and CEO of Nowadays, a venture-backed foodtech startup building the cheapest and most-scalable manufacturing platform for whole cuts of plant-based meat. Max is a multidisciplinary researcher, published author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to individuals and organizations across the global food system.

Before founding Nowadays, Max was a Research Director at the Institute for the Future (IFTF), the world’s leading futures thinking organization, where he co-led IFTF’s Food Futures Lab. Max has provided advisory services to organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Barilla, Campbell’s, Hershey, Google, Dairy Management Inc., The ClimateWorks Foundation, Nestle, and more.

He’s been invited to speak at IDEO, The Aspen Institute, The Atlantic Council, The Good Food Institute, Feeding America, Walmart, The Consumer Brands Association, The National Restaurant Association, The International Food Information Council, The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, among others. Max has written for, or been quoted in, The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, The World Economic Forum, Quartz, Forbes, Fast Company, and many others.

He has published in peer-reviewed journals and books; his research is taught at universities around the world; and he speaks globally on topics related to food systems and the future. Max sits on the advisory boards of FoodShot Global and Food Systems for the Future. He studied at both Kenyon College and Oxford University.