Tato Bigio

CEO at UBQ Materials

Tato Bigio, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UBQ Materials

Tato Bigio is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UBQ Materials, an Israeli climate tech company that has developed a patented technology to convert unsorted household waste, including organics, into a thermoplastic material called UBQTM. This material serves as a sustainable substitute for fossil fuel-based plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene.1 3

Some key facts about Tato Bigio:

He has over 25 years of wide-ranging international business development experience2
Prior to co-founding UBQ in 2012, he held leadership roles at Merhav Group, Ampal, and Merhav Renewables2
He has an MBA from The Hebrew University, graduating summa cum laude2
He speaks fluent Hebrew, English, Spanish and Portuguese2
In 2020, he was named an MB100 Leader by Meaningful Business for combining profit and purpose to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals2
In 2022, he received the ILAN Innovation Award from the Israel Latin America Network for promoting relations between Israel and Latin America in health, environment, economy and technology2

Under Tato's leadership, UBQ has developed a highly efficient, water-free process to convert waste into a versatile, recyclable thermoplastic material.1 A life cycle assessment by Quantis declared UBQTM to be the most climate-positive thermoplastic on the market, preventing nearly 12 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per ton produced.4

UBQ has established partnerships with major manufacturers like Bazan Group and Polyram Group to widen access to the material for more sustainable manufacturing.1 The company has also collaborated with global brands like Mercedes, McDonald's and PepsiCo to help them meet their sustainability goals.3 4

Despite facing devastating personal loss when two UBQ team members were killed in the 2023 Hamas massacre, Tato and the company have shown remarkable resilience and determination to continue their mission of making waste obsolete and enabling a circular economy.5