About
Michelle Ruiz is a chemical engineer who spent nearly a decade at ExxonMobil working in process engineering and capital project execution before founding Hyfé in 2021. As CEO of Hyfé, she leads a company that converts food processing waste into chemicals intended to replace petroleum-based inputs; it has raised $11M from investors including MIT's Engine Ventures and Synthesis Capital, along with U.S. Department of Energy grants. Ruiz is an Unreasonable Impact and Journey to Lead Fellow and was named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500.
Founder at Hyfe
Intro paths
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In turn, Michelle can intro founders to Hyfe's investors below.
Experience
- HyféCEO & Foundercurrent2021 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- ExxonMobilJoliet Refinery - Project Start Up Engineer2020 — 2021Joliet, Illinois, United States
- ExxonMobilJoliet Refinery - Utilities Process Improvement Engineer2019 — 2020Joliet, Illinois, United States
- ExxonMobilJoliet Refinery - Wastewater Treatment and Oil Movements Engineer2018 — 2019Joliet, Illinois, United States
- ExxonMobilIndustrial Sales Engineer2014 — 2018Milwaukee, WI
- ExxonMobilReservoir Engineering Intern2011 — 2014Greater Houston
Skills & more
PythonMicrosoft ExcelMinitabMatlabPowerPointMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft WordAutodesk Design reviewLubricantsSalesPlastics IndustryEnergy Efficiency
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Cycle Time ReductionPower GenerationPaper IndustryManufacturingHydraulic SystemsCommercial VehicleNatural GasAspen PlusLeadershipPipeline ManagementSales ProcessMarketingLanguages English · Spanish
From Michelle's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Michelle Ruiz?
- Michelle Ruiz is a chemical engineer who spent nearly a decade at ExxonMobil working in process engineering and capital project execution before founding Hyfé in 2021. As CEO of Hyfé, she leads a company that converts food processing waste into chemicals intended to replace petroleum-based inputs; it has raised $11M from investors including MIT's Engine Ventures and Synthesis Capital, along with U.S. Department of Energy grants. Ruiz is an Unreasonable Impact and Journey to Lead Fellow and was named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500.
- Where does Michelle Ruiz work?
- Michelle Ruiz is Founder of Hyfe.
- What companies did Michelle Ruiz found?
- Michelle Ruiz founded Hyfe.
- Where did Michelle Ruiz go to school?
- Michelle Ruiz studied at Carnegie Mellon University (Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Chemical Engineering).
Founder mafias
Carnegie Mellon University mafia330
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Kai-Fu LeeResearch Computer Scientist / Assistant ProfessorFounded 01Lucy GuoComputer Science & Human-Computer InteractionsFounded Passes +1Guillaume LampleMaster's degreeFounded Mistral AIJoshua XuMaster's degreeFounded HeyGenAndrew NgBachelor of Science - BSFounded Factored +3William GuttmanDistinguished Service Professor of Economics & Special Advisor to ProvostFounded CurvePoint +3
+ 323 more
Same school
Also attended Carnegie Mellon University528
Kai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AILucy GuoCo-founder of Scale AI; founder & CEO of PassesGuillaume LampleCo-founder & Chief Scientist of Mistral AIJoshua XuCo-founder & CEO of HeyGenAvi BharadwajInvestment Director at Intel CapitalOren EtzioniVenture Partner at Madrona Venture Group
+ 522 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Hyfé1
Also worked at ExxonMobil72
Sarah AlfaddaAssociate General Counsel at Sapphire VenturesJane CommerfordOperations at 8VCAna Cristina Gadala-MariaPrincipal at QED InvestorsAlex DulinChief Operating Officer at The Innovation SpaceMark TomasovicPrincipal — Ventures at Energize VenturesWill MorrisonPrincipal at DFJ
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