Meet the individuals who drive our passion and innovation

Mitch Lench

CEO & Founder

Mitch Lench is the CEO and founder of Ocean’s Balance, a vertically integrated seaweed ingredients company based in Maine. With a passion for sustainable food systems and ocean conservation, Mitch has built Ocean’s Balance into a leader in the industry.

In addition to his role at Ocean’s Balance, Mitch has served on the board of the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy for the past 8 years.

Before founding Ocean’s Balance, Mitch served as the CEO of Treetops Capital, an early-stage impact investment fund focused on microfinance institutions in developing countries. Under his leadership, Treetops Capital was recognized by ImpactAssets as one of the top 50 global impact investment managers for several consecutive years.

Mitch has also held senior roles at global financial institutions, including Fitch Ratings, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America, where he honed his expertise in business and finance.

He holds a Master’s degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Scott Murphy

Chief Operating Officer

Scott was raised in northwestern Connecticut and attended Central Connecticut State University before relocating to Maine—a move he considers one of the best decisions of his life.

After selling his own business, Scott joined an emerging dietary supplement company, where he spent nearly two decades as Director of Operations and Director of Sales & Global Distribution. During his tenure, he played a key role in helping the company achieve more than 1,100% growth, gaining extensive experience in operations, sales, supply chain, and global distribution.

Today, as Chief Operating Officer and Co-owner of Ocean’s Balance, Scott is focused on transforming strategy into execution. He oversees the operational side of the business, ensuring that supply chain, production and processing capabilities, sales, and customer relationships are aligned to support the company’s continued growth.

Drawing on his extensive background in the dietary supplement industry, Scott sees tremendous potential for seaweed as a functional ingredient. Its clean-label appeal, naturally occurring minerals, and sustainability make it well suited for applications across dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, food and beverage, pet nutrition, and cosmetics.

Scott is particularly passionate about expanding Ocean’s Balance globally and developing long-term relationships with customers and partners around the world. He believes seaweed remains one of the most promising and underutilized functional ingredients available today.

Outside of Ocean’s Balance, Scott enjoys spending time with his two children, snowmobiling, and playing pickleball.

David Labbe

Director of Quality Assurance & Procurement

A generalist at heart, Dave has always been drawn to develop new skills through experiential learning. This has served him well and has helped him broaden his skill set. During college, Dave owned and operated a stage rental company providing installations in Maine and New England. After obtaining his degree, he took a job as Operations Manager for a seafood production company. During that time he honed his skills as a manager and gained valuable knowledge about seafood production and the seafood industry. In his spare time, Dave is currently continuing his education towards a masters degree in Project Management. His love for local food, nature, and conservation, coupled with his desire to work in a socially conscious and sustainable industry, has led him to Ocean's Balance where he plans to build a fulfilling career. In his free time, Dave can be found exploring the forests and beaches of Maine for edible plants, mushrooms, and algae.

Dave earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Maine at Farmington and serves on the board of the Maine Seaweed Council.

Matthew Jones

Team Lead

coming soon... 

Joao Matuila

Technical Lead

Coming soon...

Bonnie Tobey

Seaweed Farmer Services Coordinator

Bonnie proudly serves as the President of the Maine Seaweed Council. She has 15+ years processing and harvesting seaweed and provides a depth of experience with organic certification processes and meticulous record keeping.

Greg Tobey

Head of Sea Farming

Greg was raised on a tiny island in Harpswell, Maine, where he has spent his entire life on the water. With over fifteen years of experience in harvesting and processing seaweed, he is deeply skilled in the industry. In his free time, Greg builds and repairs his own boats and also serves as the treasurer for the Maine Seaweed Council.

Pam Young

International Sales 

Coming soon...