Sandra Rey

Founder (2014-2023)

Paris, France

Sandra Rey founded Glowee in 2014 after discovering bioluminescent marine organisms during a student design competition at Strate School of Design in Paris, then trained in social entrepreneurship at ESCP Europe before building the company from a lab bench. As founder and CEO, she grew Glowee to roughly 15 to 18 employees, secured French and EU innovation grants and crowdfunding investment including a rapid 611,000 euro WiSEED raise, and led the company to more than 20 international innovation awards including MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 France in 2016 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2017. She also served as President of France's Conseil National du Design. Glowee entered receivership in early 2023 after a promised European Commission grant failed to arrive and was placed into compulsory liquidation that July. Rey has since co-founded and now leads Anima, a venture studio supporting bio-inspired startup founders.

Expertise

• Bioluminescence
• Synthetic Biology
• Biomimicry
• Cleantech
• Industrial Design
• Entrepreneurship