Management
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is a group of people who meet a set of General Criteria for membership and are elected to the Board by our shareholders each year. We currently have 8 Board members, 5 of whom are "independent".
Our Board holds the ultimate authority of our Company, except to the extent that shareholders are granted certain powers under the Company's Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws.
The Board:
* Appoints senior management of the Company, who are responsible for conducting business and operations,
* Provides oversight of management, and
* Forms standing Board Committees to assist in fulfilling its obligations.
Our Management Team meets throughout each year with our Board members to discuss strategic direction and major developments of the Company's various businesses.
Our management team has extensive experience building businesses in both the domestic and international business communities. We are entrepreneurial and growth oriented, and we have proven ability to manage high-growth, rapidly changing business environments, commodities, the application of cutting edge technology and the delivery of high-quality products at low cost.
Mr. Roman Gordon, CEO and Chairman
Mr. Gordon is founder and has been our Chairman and CEO since our founding in December 2006. He is one of the inventors of our intellectual properties. He has more than 15 years combined experience in energy risk management and business management. From 2003 to 2005 Mr. Gordon was a president of Bubble Bee Corp., a car wash development company. Mr. Gordon was in charge of engineering, construction and development of a environmentally friendly car wash water recycling systems. From 1997 to 2002, Chairman of a publicly traded electric service provider company (ESP) PowerSource Corp. where he participated in the power marketing of renewable energy and in evaluation and environmental compliance. PowerSource Energy Service Provider Corporation which was an active participant in the "PowerGreen - 100" and "PowerGreen - 25" programs.
Mr.Gordon received his bachelor degree in 1974 from Polytechnical Institute in Civil Engineering.
Mr. Igor Gorodnitsky, President & Director
Mr. Gorodnitsky is a founder and has been our President, CFO, and Director since our founding. As Senior Haz-Mat Specialist with over 20 years experience I have coordinated and successfully completed over 500 emergency Haz-Mat clean-ups. For the last 7 years I have worked with the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Street Maintenance and Services on many specialized situations, both emergency and non-emergency, including: confined space entries into asphalt storage silos; emergency confined space entry into the aggregate dryer; Haz-Mat clean-up of the hot oil tanks; clean-up and removal of spilled liquids and hardened asphalt (TEK); and coordinated and supervised remediation of La Brea tar spills.
Mr. R.L. Hartshorn, CFO and Advisory Board Director
Mr. Hartshorn has been an independent director since 2007. He leads Corporate Strategy Advisors which offers advisory and consulting services dedicated to helping clients achieve their full potential and ultimately superior performance versus competitors and the benchmarks. R.L.’s operational experience includes 14 years with a sales quota and/or P&L responsibility. He worked 15 years in international banking with Chase Manhattan and other banks in Europe, New York, and Latin America. He also spent 10 years in the information technology industry where he served a 7-year adventure as VP Marketing & (Int’l) Sales for a publicly held software and advertising company. Mr. Hartshorn’s has advised more than 100 financial and non-financial companies and served as the lead in investment banking transactions up to $35,000,000. He has analyzed and evaluated more than 200 companies worldwide and has helped clients increase the “real” value of their business by more than $100MM.
Chemical and Analytical Department
Mrs. Varvara Grichko, Ph.D., Advisory Board Member
Dr. Grichko has established herself as an outstanding scientist who has made fundamental contributions in basic and industrial research. She possesses a very broad range of skills and multi-disciplinary expertise that includes nano- and biotechnology, analytical chemistry and biochemistry, microbiology, plant biology, environmental science and spectroscopy. Dr. Grichko is uniquely educated and trained. She earned her B.S./M.S. degree in chemistry/catalysis from Novosibirsk University in Russia , and holds two Ph.D. degrees: a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Russian Academy of Science and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She began her career at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the Russian Academy of Science. Then she worked at Marquette University , North Carolina State University, and Novozymes, Inc., where she was involved in the development of new processes for the production of biofuel ethanol. She has co-founded Nanolytics, Inc., N.C., was appointed as an adjunct professor and served as a key consultant to a number of biotech companies. Dr. Grichko is the author of numerous scientific publications and patents. In addition, she has published fiction novels, which she co-writes with her daughter Vassa. The secret to Dr. Grichko’s success are her collage of creativity, intellectual brilliance and the ability to bring together disparate areas of research combined with the hard work and an exceptional work ethic.
Publication: NanoDiamond
Advisory Board Members
Mr. Gautam Chakrabarti Advisory Board Member
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering and Process/Systems Engineering
Over thirty-two years of total experience in all disciplines of Chemical Engineering. Worked as lead systems engineer, unit leader, plant engineer and research assistant.
Fields of Experience include process design and engineering on ethylene, ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, and various refinery units; piping and instrumentation flow diagram development; sizing and specification writing of process equipment and instruments; conceptual design and feasibility studies, proposal preparation, bid evaluation, economic analysis and negotiations for various projects. Expertise in ammonia plant design, startup and production. Extensive experience in environmental fields. Broad experience on fractionation, hydrotreating, hydrocracking and crude units.
EDUCATION BACKGROUND
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, research & courses, University of California , Los Angeles , 1974
MS, Chemical Engineering , University of California , Los Angeles , 1971
BS, Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University , Calcutta , India , 1966
B.Sc., Mathematics, Honors, Burdwan University , Calcutta , India , 1961
Mr. Kevin A. Foo, Victoria Oil and Gas Plc, Advisory Board Member
Thirty eight year career in all aspects of mining industry, including technical, operational, project management, and Directorship of public companies. Lived and worked in countries on five continents including eighteen years in Kazakhstan .
Thrives on challenges and difficult problems, and creating teams to solve them.
Celtic Resources Holdings PLC. Managing Director.
Refinanced and stabilised public com pan y to take market capitalisation from US$700,000 in November 1999 to successful cash sale to large Russian Group Severstal in December 2007 for US$360 million. Celtic Resources Holdings Plc (Celtic) has three operating mines: Suzdal and Zherek gold mines and the Shorskoye molybdenum mine in Kazakhstan . In addition Mr. Foo is Chairman of Victoria Oil and Gas Plc, an AIM listed oil and gas company with operations in the FSU and is Chairman of Bramlin Limited, and AIM listed gas and energy company with activities in the Cameroon .
Dabney Industries Corporation. Chief Executive.
Established mining and oil and gas companies to develop resources in Kazakhstan . Successfully operating four mining joint ventures, three with major Western producers. Interests in mining properties are focussed on early production and medium size exploration potential. Instrumental in developing two gold mines that reached production stage, including the Suzdal mine that hosts over 2 million ounces and produced >90,000 ounces in 2007.
Bakyrchik Gold PLC, Chief Executive
Established UK public company based on development of the Bakyrchik gold deposit in Kazakhstan . Responsible for all day to day operations and for long term planning. Managed US$55 million fund-raising for company and oversaw construction of plant through to production of gold. Spent 18 months on site managing work force of 1,100 people and township of 6,000. Succeeded in transforming a de-motivated and poorly trained work force into an efficient and enthusiastic team.
First visited Kazakhstan early 1990 and is regarded as a pioneer western executive in this country. Established highest level contacts within Government in Kazakhstan during 18 year presence. As Chief Executive, was foundation Director of Bakyrchik Gold, which was a fully listed London Stock Exchange public company with an initial market capitalisation of £18 million. Upon his retirement in August 1996 the company had a market capitalisation of £150 million.
Prior to establishing Bakyrchik he worked for the Minproc Group in Australia from 1986 as Manager of Metallurgy where he directed several gold projects, before transferring to the USA as Vice President of Metallurgy and Technology. In 1990 he was appointed a Director of Minproc Corporation with a responsibility for finding and developing new projects in undeveloped countries. Managed projects in North and South America .
Before joining Minproc he worked for the Aberfoyle Group (tin and base metals) for fifteen years, holding various operational, technical, and management roles and was appointed Manager of Metallurgy in 1985. He is regarded as a specialist in tin and gold mining and extraction and has published over twenty papers on gold and base metal extraction and holds three patents.
EDUCATION
MSc. University of London 1972.
Diploma Imperial College (D.I.C.) 1972.
Diploma of Metallurgy, Ballarat School of Mines, 1970.
Member I.M.M., A.I.M.E., Aus. IMM, Chartered Engineer ( UK ).
Publication: KAF Inteview MJ Jan 11 2008
Mr. James W. Fuller, MBA Advisory Board Member
James (Jim) Fuller has over 30 years experience in the brokerage and related financial services industries. His financial career started in 1968 with J. Barth & Company in San Francisco. From 1972 to 1974, Mr. Fuller was the West Coast Managing Director for this New York based investment banking and trading firm.
From 1974 through 1977, Mr. Fuller managed the consulting practice for the Investment Industries Division of SRI International, during which time he directed a study on the future of the Securities Industry. Other projects included the development and implementation of the Cash Management Account for Merrill Lynch, which is now a standard throughout the brokerage industry. Mr. Fuller was the Senior Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from 1976 to 1981, where he was responsible for corporate development, marketing, corporate listing and regulation oversight, research and public affairs. Furthermore, Mr. Fuller was responsible for the supervision of 200 employees.
Following a Presidential appointment by Ronald Reagan in 1981, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) until 1987. He was also a Senior Vice President of Marketing for Charles Schwab and Company from 1981 to 1985 being responsible for all marketing and sales efforts. From 1987 to 1989 he served as President of Bull & Bear Group, a mutual fund/discount brokerage company in New York. From 1989 to 1995 Mr. Fuller served as Senior Vice president and Director of Bridge Information Systems where he was responsible for the firm’s entrance and information development throughout Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, China and Korea. He also oversaw the clearing and execution systems and procedures, and had oversight of sales efforts on the West Coast and Far East.
From 1995 to 1998 Mr. Fuller was the founder, President and Managing Director of Morgan Fuller Capital Group, a registered broker/dealer based in San Francisco, CA. His activities included development of investments for U.S. residents in Russian and other CIS countries.
Mr. Fuller is currently Managing Director for North Coast Securities Corporation. His responsibilities include managing an investment banking and merger and acquisition practices. He also oversees the firm’s compliance and is responsible for all syndicate and underwriting business for the firm.
Mr. Fuller is past Chairman of the Board of Pacific Research Institute, a public Think Tank in San Francisco and is a member of the Board of The International Institute of Education. He is a member of the Pacific Council for International Policy and past member of the Committee of Foreign Relations. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of California - Santa Cruz.
Mr. Fuller received his MBA in Finance from California State University and his Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Political Science from San Jose State University.
Mr. Maxim A. Promtov, Dean, Doctor of Technical Science, Professor
Advisory Board Member
Head of the Chair of “Machines and Devices of Chemical Productions”.
Mr. Maxim specializes in: the development of energy-saving technologies for producing food, biological- active and pharmaceutical emulsions, suspensions and extracts, water-fuel emulsions and suspensions; construction emulsions and suspensions; the activated, bactericidal, cleaning solutions, and biofuels. He focuses on intensification of chemical-engineering processes of pulse multifactor energy actions and the their physical effects. He has also worked on the development of energy-saving technologies of equipment which uses multifactor pulse energy action on workable medium. He has worked on the design of rotary pulse apparatuses for the preparation of finely dispersed emulsions and suspensions, extracting of valuable biological- active substances from plant and other raw material; the pulse energy working of liquids for the reagent-free initiation of chemical reactions and destruction of substances; and the change in the physical chemistry parameters of substances.
Mr. Todd Strickland, President, Canyon Engineering, Advisory Board Member
Mr. Paul D. Knerr, Chief Engineer, Canyon Engineering Advisory Board Member
Mr. Knerr has been VP Engineering at Canyon Engineering since 1985. He currently manages an 8- person engineering team in design, development, test and manufacture of fluid control devices for hydraulic, fuel, lube and pneumatic application. He has taken courses in Continuum Mechanics and Differential Equations for Engineers at the University of Connecticut. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech where he earned a BMSE.
Mr. Damon M. Germain, Pump Engineering, Advisory Board Member
Entrepreneurial executive with more than 19 years of ground up experience in engineering, sales and marketing of process pumps, controls & system integration. Executive management to include full P & L responsibilities, marketing and operations both in sales, service and pump systems integration design & build. A diverse career path at local, regional and corporate levels for both start-ups and established companies. Dynamic management style with record of building and retaining highly motivated sales and operations teams and distribution networks. Offering multi-disciplined expertise in pump process engineering, manufacturing, distribution and direct sales. Strategies and planning that have consistently and successfully delivered a positive impact of total cost, revenue generation and profitability. Expertise derived from true experience, ingenuity and drive.
Mr. Dennis Wright, President, Wright Process Systems Advisory Board Member
Dennis began his career at Pump Systems, Inc. in 1980 as a field installer pipe fitter and held several job titles through the years including becoming Vice President. In 1991 he purchased PSI General Contractor, Inc. and relocated the company to its current location in Lodi, California. In 1999 the company changed its name to Wright Process Systems to focus efforts on engineering, design, and construction of food, dairy, beverage, and liquid process plants. Dennis holds three state contractor licenses which include: General Engineering Contractor, General Building Contractor , “C-61” Specialty Welding. In the past 28 years he has gained vast knowledge of business management, project management, engineering, and design through the installation of thousands of projects in various process applications.
Engineering Consultants
Wright Process Systems
Wright is a process design and improvement company. They are assisting us with the overall system design of the Bioforce 9000 Biodiesel Production System in order to ensure a safe, dependable, redundant, and efficient process. They will assist in completing the Bioforce 9000 reactor patent drawings. They will also be able to help our clients and us build and install biodiesel production facilities. Until we have our own production facility in place, Wright will help with the manufacture of the Bioforce 9000 Biodiesel Production Systems.
Canyon Engineering Products, Inc.
Established in 1978 Canyon is a $12MM company that manufactures components for the aerospace industry and conducts the majority of its business with Boeing suppliers. In the years since its inception, CEP has become a leader in the design, fabrication, assembly and test of advanced, high quality, hydro-mechanical, electromechanical and mechanical components and assemblies for aerospace and related high-technology industries. They build and conduct tests on the Plasma 2000 reactor, and they also help with patent design.
