Dr. Christo Stamboulides currently serves as Director of Research & Development (R&D) Strategy at IFF. At IFF, he spearheads strategic collaborations and partnerships, driving R&D initiatives that deliver value to both the company and its key accounts. His role also involves leading cross-enterprise innovation programs that bolster the company's growth trajectory.

Since joining IFF in 2019, Christo has been instrumental in expanding IFF's startup ecosystem through his leadership of the Technology Scouting team. Following the IFF and Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) merger, Christo was crucial in integrating internal capabilities and managing external partnerships to strengthen Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) innovation within the new organization. Before his tenure at IFF, Christo spent six years at Mondelēz International, advancing from fundamental research roles to global productivity platform leadership.

Before assuming his current roles, Christo earned a master’s and a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of British Columbia, building on a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His entrepreneurial spirit is also evident from his leadership at a biopolymers startup and his role as a Co-founder and CTO of Coatect Antimicrobials INC, a technology development company developing antimicrobial technologies. Additionally, Christo’s early career included a position as a Research Scientist at the University of British Columbia in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department.