BioMADE Names Owen Barwell as Chief Financial Officer
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN/EMERYVILLE, CA, May 28, 2025 – BioMADE is excited to announce Owen Barwell as Chief Financial Officer.
Barwell brings over 35 years of experience spanning the federal, public, and private sectors across the energy, professional services, aerospace, commercial real estate, and rail industries. He will be responsible for expanding and managing BioMADE’s finance and accounting team, coordinating government and non-government funding streams, overseeing nonprofit compliance, engaging key stakeholders, and spearheading all financial planning and analysis at the organization.
“Throughout my career, I have had the honor of holding positions across the energy sector, learning the intricacies of an increasingly complex industry,” said Barwell. “I am excited by the opportunity to apply my knowledge and grow a team of high-performing finance and accounting professionals at BioMADE, and I look forward to working in a sector, like bioindustrial manufacturing, with such wide-reaching benefits, from national security to agriculture.”
Barwell joins BioMADE from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the domestic regulator for commercial nuclear power plants, where he managed a $1 billion operational budget and licensee fee recovery.
Additionally, Barwell brings federal financial management expertise having spent nearly a decade at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as the research and development center’s Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he was responsible for all the NREL’s financial, budget, and acquisition functions, leading his team through a critical and unprecedented period of growth and expansion. Barwell has also held high-level leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
“Owen’s reputation in our industry precedes him, and I am very excited to welcome him to the BioMADE team,” said Dr. Douglas Friedman, BioMADE Chief Executive Officer. “I look forward to collaborating with a partner who truly believes in BioMADE’s ambitious vision for the U.S. bioeconomy, and I can think of no better candidate to guide our growing finance and accounting team.”
Barwell has served on the boards of the NREL Foundation, Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, and the Outdoor Lab Foundation. He earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of Lancaster in the U.K., and he is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Barwell joins BioMADE’s established executive team, including Douglas Friedman, Chief Executive Officer; Jayne Laiprasert, General Counsel, Melanie Tomczak, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Programs, and Jill Zullo, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
About BioMADE
By supporting the development of biomanufacturing technologies, BioMADE and its network of 325+ members across 39 states are strengthening American competitiveness, creating a more resilient supply chain, reshoring manufacturing jobs, and producing biobased products without relying on foreign sources. BioMADE is also building a globally competitive STEM workforce to ensure American workers are prepared and ready to fill new jobs within this rapidly growing industry. BioMADE was catalyzed by the U.S. Department of Defense in October of 2020 and is a proud member of Manufacturing USA®. Learn more about BioMADE by visiting www.biomade.org.