Former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini has become the chief executive of the biochemical startup he co-founded.
The Frenchman and a business partner, Pasquale Granata, set up GF Biochemicals in 2008 out of concern for the planet's future and the company's ability to produce solvents from levulinic acid has seen it receive significant investment in an industry worth an estimated €30bn (£25.6bn).
In a statement confirming Flamini's appointment, the company said it had raised €15m euros (£12.8m) in a funding round led by the venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners. The company, headquartered in the Netherlands but with views to expand in the United States, currently employs 50 people but that number is expected to increase.
