Alexandra French’s journey as a leader has been shaped by science, strategy, and a strong belief in building businesses that can create meaningful change. Her professional path began with a Natural Sciences degree from the University of Cambridge, where she developed a strong foundation in scientific thinking and problem-solving. This early academic background later became an important part of her leadership journey, helping her understand both the technical and commercial sides of innovation.
Alexandra French | CEO | Xampla
At EliteX, we are proud to have Alexandra French as part of the edition: Prominent Business Leaders to Watch in 2026
Before becoming CEO of Xampla, Alexandra spent 25 years at Johnson Matthey. What began as a role as a development chemist grew into a broad and successful career across commercial strategy, operations, and executive leadership. During this time, she worked across four continents, gaining deep experience in global markets, complex supply chains, and business transformation. She later led Titon, an AIM-listed ventilation business focused on indoor air quality. These experiences helped her build a leadership style that combines scientific understanding, commercial focus, and a clear sense of purpose.
Natural polymers can help businesses grow without harming the planet.
Alexandra was drawn to Xampla because of its ambitious mission and world-first technology. Xampla is a UK-based materials innovation company that is unlocking the power of plants to create materials that can help change the world. Its technology was developed over 15 years of research at the University of Cambridge and has led to the creation of Morro™ Materials, a plastic-free and high-performance materials range. These materials are made from plant proteins without chemical modification and are designed to replace some of the world’s most polluting plastics.
For Alexandra, the global vision of Xampla is not just a business ambition. It is a response to a global problem. Packaging accounts for more than a third of global plastic waste, and the challenge cannot be solved by one country, one company, or one industry alone. She believes that Xampla’s vision must be global because the problem it is trying to solve exists at a global scale. Morro™ Materials are designed to replace highly polluting plastics across different markets, industries, and supply chains. Through this approach, Alexandra is helping build a company that can meet the challenge at the same scale at which it exists.
Her leadership style is clear, inclusive, and focused on ownership. She believes in setting a strong direction and making sure every part of the team understands and feels connected to that direction. From the laboratory to the boardroom to the commercial team, she encourages people to take ownership of the company’s mission. As an EMCC-accredited coach, Alexandra also brings a coaching mindset into her leadership. She supports curiosity, encourages development, and creates an environment where people feel trusted to contribute. This helps build a culture where innovation and responsibility can grow together.
One of the biggest challenges in Alexandra’s leadership journey has been bringing genuinely new materials to market. New materials often face complex challenges because the economics require scale, scale requires adoption, and adoption requires trust. In an industry where greenwashing has created doubt, building trust is especially important. Alexandra and her team have taken a careful and credible approach by investing in independent third-party validation and being thoughtful about the language they use publicly. For her, credibility is not just a communication tool. It is a foundation for long-term growth.
Alexandra sees global impact as both a personal and professional responsibility. Personally, it means creating solutions that improve environmental and human health outcomes at scale and help leave the planet in better condition for the next generation. Professionally, it means helping establish natural polymers as a globally recognized class of material that can replace single-use plastic. Her vision is not only to reduce harm but also to help businesses succeed without damaging the planet.
Sustainability must move beyond promises and become part of business performance.
Xampla is already contributing to positive change by developing materials that can replace some of the world’s most polluting single-use plastics. Morro™ Materials are made from natural plant polymers and are fully plastic-free and PFAS-free. They are designed to biodegrade naturally without leaving anything harmful behind. By 2030, Morro™ is projected to replace 10 billion items of single-use plastic. The company is also building global partnerships across the packaging value chain, showing that its technology is not only innovative but also practical for real-world use.
Innovation plays a central role in Alexandra’s business strategy. At Xampla, innovation is not limited to technology alone. It is part of the company’s commercial approach, licensing model, and process integration. Morro™ Materials have been designed as a drop-in solution, which means they can work with existing supply chains. This is important because it allows the company to bring future-ready materials into the market without requiring businesses to completely rebuild their systems. Through partnerships with established manufacturing partners, Xampla aims to deliver impact at scale.
In a rapidly changing global market, Alexandra believes adaptability is essential. The packaging industry is constantly shifting as regulations change, consumer expectations evolve, and new technologies emerge. Xampla stays adaptable by remaining close to its customers, markets, regulations, and science. Instead of trying to solve every plastic format at once, the company focuses first on applications where natural polymers can deliver strong performance and a clear commercial case. This careful sequencing allows Xampla to build trust, prove value, and move toward more complex applications over time.
Looking ahead, Alexandra believes global businesses will be shaped by a major shift in how environmental initiatives are viewed. Sustainability is moving from a reporting exercise to a commercial priority. Regulations are becoming stronger, investors are asking more serious questions, and consumers are becoming better at identifying greenwashing. Companies that act early and make real changes will be better positioned, not only in reputation but also in business performance.
Alexandra’s long-term vision is for natural polymers to become a mainstream material category used across multiple applications around the world. She wants Xampla to be remembered as the company that proved natural polymers could replace the world’s most polluting plastics. Through her leadership, the company is working to show that science, business, and environmental responsibility can come together to create lasting global impact.
Real impact begins when innovation solves problems at the scale they exist.
