John Felts is Co-founder and CEO of Cruz Foam, holding a BS in chemical engineering from UC Santa Barbara and a MS in materials engineering from the University of Washington.

John worked as an Engineer at Tetra Tech from 2008 to 2014 and as a Graduate Researcher at University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Washington. He co-founded Cruz Foam with Marco Rolandi, an affiliate associate professor of UW MSE.

John and his co-founder share a mutual passion for the ocean and are both surfers who have witnessed plastic waste in waterways. Cruz Foam welcomed Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher as investors and advisors.

Cruz Foam raised $18M in Series A funding led by Helena in October 2022. The company has inked deals with Whirlpool and has been approached by brands like Ford and Estee Lauder.

Cruz Cool was named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2023 and Cruz Foam was recognized as Fast Company's Most Innovative in 2024. Cruz Foam is capable of producing 4,200 square meters of foam per month and is expanding to new manufacturing sites in Europe, North America, and Asia.