N. Ross Buckenham, Chairman and CEO
Ross is a twenty five year general management veteran and builder of technology ventures both public and private. His experience spans the renewable energy technologies of biogas, wind and solar. His has also built and run software and wireless technology companies being a board member, CEO or general manager in companies such as WebLink Wireless, Retek, CellStar and Advanced Oxygen. He was previously a consultant with Bain & Company. Ross is passionate both in his pursuit of California Bioenergy’s mission to become a large California focused renewable energy and clean tech company leveraging agricultural waste streams and also in developing "Level 5" leadership, operational excellence and exceptional customer service in himself and his management team. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering from Canterbury University, New Zealand and numerous continuing education classes.
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Neil Black, President
Neil has over 20 years of senior management experience and plays a key role in the operations of CalBio. Most recently he was managing principal of GreenOrder, a leading sustainability firm and currently leads GO Ventures, a firm formed by the principals of GreenOrder, and a co-founder and investor in CalBio. While at GreenOrder he developed his knowledge base in both the renewable energy and developing carbon markets. Prior to GreenOrder Neil ran two technology firms and advised early stage companies. Before his years in technology, he was president of The Nation magazine. Neil has an undergraduate degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Jackson Lehr, Vice President, Environment and Development
Jackson brings a combination of engineering, construction and environmental business experience to the CalBio team. He is also currently a partner in GO Ventures, one of the co-founders of CalBio, and was previously a Senior Associate at GreenOrder, an environmental consulting firm that works with major corporations across multiple industries on tackling today's most pressing challenges such as climate change. He began his career at Bechtel, a multinational engineering and construction company where he spent several years as a field engineer and subcontract manager responsible for over $100 million in construction work. Jackson holds an undergraduate engineering degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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John Bidart, Dairy Advisor and Board Member
John is an owner and operator of a third-generation family dairy operation. Bidart Dairy is one of the most modern and technologically-sophisticated dairy farms in California. Over the past five years, John has explored numerous dairy digester technologies and opportunities. Based on this experience, John has been instrumental in building CalBio into a platform for dairy digester development that can add value to a dairy waste stream, without compromising the existing dairy operation. John is a co-founder in CalBio, and the Bidart Dairy will be the location of the first major CalBio dairy digester project. John sits on the board of California Dairies Inc., the largest member-owned dairy coop in California (the second largest in the country), and is an active member of the dairy community. He has an undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University.
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TJ Glauthier, Board Member
TJ is a founding member of CalBio and currently serves on the Board of Directors. He recently served on President Obama’s White House Transition Team, where he played a key role in developing the energy provisions in the economic stimulus bill. He serves on the Boards of Directors of three companies: EnerNOC, Inc., a provider of demand-response services to the electric utility industry; Union Drilling, Inc., a contract natural gas drilling company; and EPV Solar, a manufacturer of thin-film solar panels. He consults to large corporations and government agencies through association with Booz Allen Hamilton.
Previously, TJ was President and CEO of the Electricity Innovation Institute, an affiliate of EPRI. Earlier, he was the Deputy Secretary and COO, the second-highest ranking official, of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that, he served in the White House for five years as the Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the Office of Management and Budget, where he worked closely with President Clinton and Vice President Gore.
Earlier TJ spent twenty years at the management consulting firm of Temple, Barker & Sloane. He also spent three years as Director of Energy and Climate Change at the World Wildlife Fund, focusing on the climate change treaty and technology transfer.
TJ is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and the Harvard Business School.
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Gautam Barua, Board Member
Gautam is a founding member of CalBio and currently serves on the Board of Directors. As co-founder of Aclaria Capital, Gautam has professional experience in the intersection of environment and business that spans nearly 20 years. Through his work with structured investment fund manager Medley Capital, Gautam has sourced, led, and/or participated in structured finance investments in biofuels, water, and waste-to-energy. He has also provided environmental sustainability-oriented advisory services to executives and managers of Fortune 50 firms, nongovernmental organizations, and new ventures.
Gautam previously held an appointment as California Deputy State Controller. He also served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. He launched his career by working, as an undergraduate, for Yale University's Investments Office and hedge fund management firm Trout Trading Company.
Gautam received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Yale University, where his senior thesis focused on quantitative interactions between global warming and international economics.
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Edwin F. Feo, Counsel
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Ed Feo is a partner in the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where he co-chairs the Firm's project finance and energy practice. Ed represents sponsors and investors in the energy and infrastructure industries and specializes in renewable energy projects. Milbank is recognized as one of the leading renewable energy law firms in the world, most recently having been named by Infrastructure Journal as the Number 1 Global and U.S. Renewable Energy Legal Adviser for 2007, the leading firm for renewable energy project financing by Project Finance in 2008, the lead arrangers firm of the year by New Energy Finance in 2007 and Legal Advisor of the Year at the Euromoney/Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Awards 2008.
Ed has been named in the California Lawyer magazine as an “Attorney of the Year” in the Energy category and by The American Lawyer as a “Deal Maker of the Year.” He was ranked in the “Band 1” tier of Lawyers in the 2007 edition of Chambers USA and highly recommended for banking and finance by PLC Which Lawyer? Ed was listed in Lawdragon’s “Leading Dealmakers” for 2007 and included in their ranking of top 500 lawyers nationally in 2008. He was listed in The Best Lawyers in America in 2008, his tenth consecutive year of inclusion on the prestigious survey of America’s best lawyers. Ed was also named as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by The Daily Journal in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and he was the only attorney to be named one of the “Five Most Influential People in Renewable Energy” by Euromoney/Institutional Investor.
Ed graduated with a B.A. and J.D. from UCLA. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Board of Directors of the Pacific Coast Sailing Foundation.