“We don’t just need better chemicals. We need a better chemical industry.” — Sonja Jost, CEO & Co-Founder, DUDE CHEM
This week, we spotlight a trailblazer who’s rewriting the future of green chemistry — Sonja Jost, the German-Italian entrepreneur, scientist, and deep-tech visionary behind DUDE CHEM as Novi Woman of the Week.
Sonja is the kind of woman who doesn’t just break glass ceilings — she re-engineers the entire building.
Turning the Chemical Industry Green — for Good
As the CEO and Co-Founder of DUDE CHEM, a Berlin-based deep-tech CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization), Sonja is leading a quiet revolution. Her company is pioneering a virtual green manufacturing model that enables global pharmaceutical companies to produce their active ingredients and intermediates with radically lower environmental impact — all under strict quality control.
DUDE CHEM’s sustainable innovations have already won the trust of industry giants like LONZA, DSM, and Boehringer Ingelheim — and caught the eye of prominent European investors like Octopus Ventures, Frontline, and B2Ventures. Most impressively, DUDE CHEM secured the support of Prof. John Warner, the founding father of Green Chemistry, who joined their development team.
With Sonja at the helm, DUDE CHEM isn’t just producing cleaner chemicals — it’s becoming the model for what the future of the pharmaceutical supply chain should look like.
A Scientist with a Mission
Sonja’s expertise isn’t just commercial — it’s deeply scientific. She previously founded DexLeChem, the first company to successfully introduce water-based chemical reactions into the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical sector — a huge leap toward sustainable process engineering. Despite the chemical industry’s notoriously conservative nature, she made the company profitable within a few years.
She sits on numerous prestigious boards and juries, from the Economic Advisory Board of the German Green Party, to the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, and the Editorial Board of Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews. Sonja also supports tech due diligence at the EU level, helps shape economic and industrial policy, and advises government bodies in Germany, the U.S., and the EU.
From Innovation to Influence
What makes Sonja truly remarkable is how she bridges science, policy, and impact. She’s a vocal advocate for translating research into real-world applications and is frequently featured in Handelsblatt, Wirtschaftswoche, and Frankfurter Rundschau. In 2019, she was named an ambassador of the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative and currently serves as Vice-President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Berlin.
Sonja is also deeply values-driven. In the wake of the October 7 attacks in Israel, she began wearing a Star-of-David necklace in public to symbolically stand for Jewish life and solidarity. As VP of the CCI Berlin, she felt a moral obligation to protect freedom and humanity — especially when threatened.
A Vision That’s Bigger Than Chemistry
Sonja Jost is more than a CEO. She’s a mentor to women in STEM, a champion of sustainability, and a builder of tomorrow’s industries. She embodies what happens when scientific excellence meets ethical leadership, and she’s pushing the world toward a future where innovation and integrity go hand in hand.
“We need radical change in how we manufacture the medicines of tomorrow. Green chemistry isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.”
As we move toward a more climate-resilient and health-focused world, leaders like Sonja Jost remind us that the solutions are already here — they just need a voice, a platform, and a little courage to scale.
Why We’re Watching Sonja Jost
Because the next decade of industry won’t just be about what we make — it’ll be about how we make it.
And Sonja Jost is already writing that playbook.
Nominations for the 2025 Novi Awards are now open!
Know a woman who’s leading with courage and impact like Sonja? Or maybe it’s you?
Apply or nominate now and be part of a global network celebrating women building the future.
