Dr Stefan Krawielitzki studied chemistry at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and obtained his doctorate in 1995 through research in the field of bioinorganic chemistry of sugars. He began his industrial career as the Head of R&D and Deputy Head of Analytics at LGC Laboratories, a globally active supplier of reference substances. As the founder and CEO, he led the company Synthon in Augsburg, Germany, which offered custom syntheses of rare or unavailable fine chemicals worldwide. In 2014, Dr Krawielitzki joined AVA Biochem and, in his role as Head of R&D, he is responsible for the development of the downstream chemistry of 5-HMF and its wide-ranging application possibilities in the field of green chemistry, as well as business development.