Why We Exist

Antimicrobial technologies live at a complicated intersection of science, regulation, operations, and markets. Breakthrough data alone isn’t enough. Success depends on whether a product can survive regulatory review, withstand buyer scrutiny, integrate into real-world workflows, and deliver results outside the lab.

CleanOps Collective was founded to help companies navigate that complexity—before misaligned claims, unclear positioning, or poorly chosen markets stall progress.

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We operate as an external commercialization partner for teams developing and scaling antimicrobial technologies.

What Makes Us Different

  • Deep understanding of microbiology, materials science, and performance validation

  • Fluency in regulatory and claims-based risk

  • Real-world experience with buyers, operators, and adoption barriers

  • A clear view of how antimicrobial technologies perform outside controlled environments

Who We Work With

  • Innovators and manufacturers bringing antimicrobial technologies to market

  • Operators navigating implementation and scale-up

  • Investors and acquirers conducting technical and commercialization diligence

  • Organizations operating in healthcare, animal health, food, facilities, restoration, and adjacent sectors

Our Philosophy

  • Execution matters more than elegance

  • Overpromising is the fastest way to kill trust

  • Adoption—not claims—is the real measure of success

  • The best commercialization decisions are made early

And most importantly:

Antimicrobial innovation doesn’t fail in the lab. It fails in execution.

How We Work

  • We pressure-test assumptions early

  • We identify where execution is most likely to fail

  • We translate complex science into market-ready strategy without compromising credibility

  • We prioritize clarity over comfort

Meet The Founder

Hi, I’m Keri, founder of The CleanOps Collective.

For more than 20 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of science, product development, and commercialization—helping antimicrobial and infection-control technologies move from promising data to real-world adoption. Along the way, I’ve seen a consistent pattern: strong innovation doesn’t fail because it doesn’t work. It fails because execution breaks down.

I started CleanOps Collective to address that gap.

Today, I work with innovators, operators, and investors to pressure-test assumptions, clarify where technologies truly fit, and avoid the predictable mistakes that stall scale-up and adoption. My role isn’t to add noise or polish messaging—it’s to bring clarity, credibility, and practical direction to complex problems.

CleanOps is built on experience, not theory, and supported by a trusted network of experts across microbiology, materials science, regulation, and operations.

If you’re serious about turning antimicrobial innovation into something that survives real-world scrutiny, you’re in the right place.

I’m located in the Chicagoland area, feel free to drop me a line at keri@cleanopscollective.com

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Dr. Keri Lestage, PhD, PMP. CIC

Our Home

Keri@cleanopscollective.com
972-632-9877

 

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