Andrew G. Acho is a nationally recognized expert on practical environmental initiatives that help make the world a better place and save money. Since retiring in 2006, Andy Acho has become a valuable resource for organizations interested in protecting the environment and improving performance. In his role as worldwide director of environmental outreach and strategy for Ford Motor Company, a job Bill Ford created for him, Mr. Acho championed the development and implementation of more aggressive proactive environmental stewardship actions that not only protected the environment, but also saved the company millions of dollars annually. Mr. Acho began driving environmental stewardship efforts for Ford Motor Company in 1990. He launched and led Ford’s Recycling Action Team (The RAT Patrol), which has worked for more than a decade proactively developing and implementing uses for post-consumer recycled materials, including plastic and rubber. These materials are developed to perform as well as or better than the materials they replace, while being financially viable. The team’s success in this area includes the annual transformation of more than 50 million two-liter soda bottles, 1 billion bottle caps, and 27 million square feet of old carpeting into reliable vehicle components. Mr. Acho also led Ford’s success in recycling more than 10 million tires into environmentally responsible rubber products used for athletic fields, mulch, playground materials, therapeutic riding arenas, and roads. In 2001, Mr. Acho was one of the first people to be honored nationally with the Wildlife Habitat Council’s (WHC) President’s Award for his outstanding commitment to preserve and protect the environment for future generations, and for his global vision of environmental and economic sustainability. Mr. Acho was subsequently appointed to the WHC Board. Beginning in January 1996, Mr. Acho was appointed chairman of the Great Lakes Recycle Board, made up of eight Midwestern governors, including former governors John Engler (Michigan), Tom Ridge (Pennsylvania), and Tommy Thompson (Wisconsin). Mr. Acho led Ford’s global Conservation and Environmental Grants program in more than forty countries, recognizing organizations and individuals making significant and exemplary contributions to protect and preserve the environment in their regions. In addition, Mr. Acho has been active with numerous educational and environmental organizations supporting a variety of initiatives. He served as chairman of the Corporate Advisory Board at Smith College’s Picker Engineering Program, where women engineers are being educated to be environmentally responsible and socially conscientious. In addition to helping protect the environment, the initiatives Mr. Acho champions have enhanced the work environment for employees, benefited surrounding communities, and improved the company’s bottom line. Mr. Acho’s pragmatic leadership on environmental initiatives has been formed by his in-depth experience with business operations over his forty-six-year career at Ford. Mr. Acho joined Ford in 1960 as a cooperative trainee and served at the Engine and Foundry Division as a quality control engineer and product development engineer, before being named chief analyst for truck planning and merchandising at Ford Division in 1968. Between 1969 and 1976, he served at industrial and chemical products, corporate planning, marketing, and transportation systems operations with teams of specialists analyzing and developing new company business.
Rick Fedrizzi, founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, was appointed president and chief executive officer in April 2004. Under his leadership, the Council has undertaken a far-reaching agenda that has tripled its membership, broadened its influence, and cemented its role as a leadership voice in the global sustainability movement. A cornerstone of that agenda has been the evolution of the internationally recognized LEED Green Building Rating System through a comprehensive realignment and technical upgrade of all the existing rating systems, along with enhancements to their usability. Additionally, USGBC has incorporated aspects that address the unique needs of homes, neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, the retail sector, and large property owners, with a special emphasis on LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance, in recognition of the huge need to bring existing buildings up to higher levels of ongoing performance. To support LEED’s development, more than 81,000 individuals have become LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP). The LEED AP program, along with administration of the LEED green building certification process, is now under the auspices of the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), of which Mr. Fedrizzi is chairman. Spun off from USGBC last year, this separate credentialing body will continue to work closely with USGBC, allowing the organization to more fully advance the broader educational aspects of its mission. Mr. Fedrizzi’s passion for collaboration as a driver for rapid change is evidenced in USGBC’s work with the Clinton Global Initiative, the International Codes Council, the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers, the American Society of Interior Designers, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Building Owners and Managers Association, and the International Facility Management Association, among others, on numerous programs designed to accelerate the green building movement. This collaboration is evident internationally as well. Working closely with the vice minister of construction in China, Mr. Fedrizzi has assisted that country’s green building efforts, building on his work in helping establish the World Green Building Council in 1999, serving as its chairman until 2004, and now as an active member of its board of directors. He also serves on the board of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative. Broad outreach and education have been realized with expanded accessibility to USGBC educational programs through www.greenbuild365.org, and a green homes consumer education Web site,www.greenhomeguide.org. That outreach has extended to the public sector, where Mr. Fedrizzi is an adviser to the Conference of Mayors, White House and Hill staff, and other state and local municipal bodies, in an increasingly activist role for the Council in public policy initiatives at the local, state and federal level, especially as it relates to green schools. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fedrizzi was the founder and president of Green-Think, an environmentally focused marketing and communications consulting firm. He founded Green-Think after a distinguished twenty-five-year career at United Technologies Corporation (UTC), where he served as an in-house environmental marketing consultant. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Indoor Environmental Quality (NYIEQ) Center and The Environmental Project™, as an Advisory Council member for Planet Green, Discovery Channel’s environmental network, and is an active alumnus of Syracuse University, where he received both his B.A. and his M.B.A. degrees. He recently received the 2008 Environmental Stewardship Award from the Queens Botanical Garden and the Home Depot Foundation’s 2008 Visionary Award.
For more than twenty-five years, Kathleen Gilligan’s leadership has built successful organizations. During her career, she has consistently demonstrated an ability to drive revenue and gain market share in highly competitive environments, ranging from early-stage, venture-backed startups to public companies. She has built and managed sales teams in multiple industries, and she has led global teams through significant change efforts. As partner and co-founder of EcoStrategy Group, Ms. Gilligan has combined two lifelong passions—environmental issues and technology—by helping companies develop business-oriented sustainability strategies and bringing clean technologies to market. Ms. Gilligan’s experience includes executive positions at Symantec, AMR Research, and OnDemand, as well as deep expertise in enterprise and channel sales, marketing, and communications. She is a founding member of Array Partners, a consultancy that focuses on revenue acceleration for small businesses. She has managed teams as small as two and as large as sixty. In the past, Ms. Gilligan has worked as an executive coach and mentor through the Growth and Leadership Center and Small Business Incubator. She served as a member of the board of directors for Kurant Corporation from 1999 to 2001. Most recently, she completed an assignment as an interim-chief executive officer for an enterprise software company. She is the chair of the Alumni Program for the California Cleantech Open, a non-profit organization to accelerate the development of clean technology startups.
Prior to founding RecycleBank, Ron Gonen was a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, where he focused on developing customer relationship management (CRM) and strategic account management programs for clients such as Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, Bank One, GE, and DIRECTV. He was a co-recipient of the Deloitte Consulting National Impact Award in 2002 for developing a program that provides pro bono consulting services to non-profit and charitable organizations. Ron’s interest in community and environmental issues began in high school, where he started his school’s first recycling program and was a founding member of the National Conference for High School Students Against Hunger and Homelessness. Mr. Gonen is a partner in Linhardt Design (www.linhardtdesign.com), a jewelry store in New York City, that designs jewelry using recycled metals and sustainable materials. Mr. Gonen received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, where he was a Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship award winner, and received a B.A. in history and economics from the University of Massachusetts, where he graduated cum laude and was awarded Massachusetts Commonwealth Scholar honors.
Peter Gross is the chief executive officer of EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc., a company of HP. Since joining Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott Architecture and Engineering Inc. in 1997, he has founded and has been actively involved in the development and the rapid growth of the Mission Critical Engineering practice. His duties include strategic planning, technical oversight, and business development. Ensuring the quality of the consulting and engineering services and maintaining a direct line of communication with the major clients are also part of his responsibilities. Mr. Gross is considered a leading thinker and practitioner of mission critical information and infrastructure design. His focus centers on understanding the major trends shaping this industry and securing EYP’s thought leadership position in the mission critical industry. In addition, he is actively involved in the evaluation of new technologies, primarily in the field of energy conservation and alternative energy sources. Mr. Gross has published numerous technical papers and is a frequent speaker on the subjects of high-performance critical facilities, green IT, ultra-reliable design, and power quality. He has more than twenty years of experience in the engineering and design of data centers, trading floors, command and control centers, telecommunication, and broadcasting facilities. Prior to joining EYP MCF, Mr. Gross was chief engineer, 400 Hz Power Conversion and UPS Systems for the Inet Division of Teledyne Inc. and was a partner at PRK Associates, a consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Mr. Gross is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a registered professional engineer in California, Arizona, and New York. He is one of the founders of the Critical Power Coalition, an organization developing public policies for improving the reliability and the quality of electric power in the public and private sectors. Mr. Gross graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, with a degree in electrical engineering, and he received an M.B.A. from California State University.
Danny Kennedy is Sungevity’s president. A longtime social entrepreneur, Mr. Kennedy has achieved global recognition as an environmental activist, spokesperson, and opinion leader. Most recently, he was the campaign manager for Greenpeace Australia Pacific. In 2001, he ran Greenpeace’s California Clean Energy Campaign, the success of which helped lead to the current California Solar Initiative. Mr. Kennedy was the founder and first executive director of Project Underground and has served on several nonprofit boards. He lives in Oakland, California.
After graduating from the University of California Los Angeles with a concentration in international political economy, Aaron Lamstein co-founded Worldwise at the age of twenty-two. Eighteen years later, as the company’s executive chairman, he has succeeded in developing Worldwise into a leading brand of environmentally responsible consumer products. Worldwise is known as a pioneer in the field and sells 500,000 pet products per week through 25,000 leading retail stores across North America. Mr. Lamstein frequently speaks and is interviewed as an expert about issues surrounding the design, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of environmentally responsible consumer products. He was on Wal-Mart’s Environmental Advisory Board from 1999 to 2004, is a member of Social Venture Network, and sits on the Board of Directors of Worldwise and the Environmental Education Council of Marin. He lives in San Rafael, California, with his wife and two sons.
For twenty years, Joel Makower (www.makower.com) has been a well-respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. He is executive editor of the acclaimed Web site GreenBiz.com, as well as other Web sites, conferences, and reports (including the annual “State of Green Business” report) produced by Greener World Media, of which he is co-founder and chairman. He also is senior strategist at GreenOrder, a sustainable business consultancy, and co-founder of Clean Edge, a clean-tech research and publishing firm. He writes Two Steps Forward (www.readjoel.com), a popular blog on green business. As a strategist on corporate sustainability practices and green marketing, Mr. Makower has helped a wide range of companies align environmental strategy with business success, including Clifbar, Clorox, GE, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, and Nike, along with several startup clean-technology companies. The Associated Press has called Mr. Makower “The guru of green business practices.” A former nationally syndicated columnist, Mr. Makower is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, Strategies for the Green Economy, published by McGraw-Hill. Previous books include Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business and the World; The E-Factor: The Bottom-Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business; and The Green Consumer. Mr. Makower is a frequent keynote speaker at business conferences and events and at business schools around the world. He serves as an adviser to VantagePoint Venture Partner’s clean-tech venture capital fund and in a board or advisory capacity for more than a dozen other for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
David Murphy is currently president and chief executive officer of Better World Books. He worked more than twenty years in corporate finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions with firms such as International Paper Company, The First Boston Corporation, and Hutchinson SA (multi-billion-dollar French subsidiary of the Total Energy Group). He has started several companies, as well as served as chief financial officer, chief operations officer, and chief executive officer for both privately held and publicly traded firms in the manufacturing, health care services, and technology sectors. Additionally, he has served on both corporate and non-profit boards. Active in the annual Social Venture Business Plan Competition at the University of Notre Dame’s Gigot Center of Entrepreneurship, Mr. Murphy serves as an Advisory Board Member for Books for Africa and Globe Funder. Mr. Murphy received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, with high honors, from the University of Notre Dame. He received his M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
As managing director and director of research for Ardour Capital Investments, Walter V. Nasdeo supervises Ardour Capital’s Energy Technology group and is responsible for the equity research effort. He joined Ardour Capital from BlueStone Capital, where he was a vice president of research and headed the energy technology team. Prior to BlueStone, he was at Credit Lyonnais Securities, where he researched consolidating industries. Mr. Nasdeo has appeared numerous times on CNBC’s Closing Bell and Power Lunch, Bloomberg Television, BBC, and ROBTv and has presented at various energy technology conferences. He has been quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Fortune, CNNMoney, CNNfn, The Street.Com, Bloomberg News, Small Times, Sustainable Business.com, and other media outlets. He has been named a StarMine Award Winning Analyst for earnings accuracy. Mr. Nasdeo received his M.B.A. and his B.B.A. in entrepreneurship from the University of North Texas. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the Association for Investment Management and Research (now known as Chartered Financial Analysts Institute), and was named the “Distinguished Student in Entrepreneurship,” by the Chancellor of North Texas University for 1992-93. Having served in the U.S. Army European Operations, Berlin, Germany, Mr. Nasdeo held a secret security clearance as a member of the Berlin Brigade in the 1980s.
Kevin S. Neumaier is president and chief executive officer of Ecology and Environment Inc., a $100-plus million multidisciplinary environmental consulting company (www.ene.com; NASDAQ: EEI). Ecology and Environment Inc. (E&E) has completed more than 35,000 environmental projects in eighty-three countries for a wide range of clients—developing innovative solutions to environmental issues in nearly every ecosystem on our planet. Mr. Neumaier is a licensed professional engineer with a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering from Clarkson University and a M.S. in natural science focusing on global ecology from the University of Buffalo. He was previously the company’s senior vice president for environmental sustainability and chief information officer, and is an expert in solutions to climate change, energy efficiency, alternative energy, and sustainability. In 2008, Mr. Neumaier received the Executive of the Year award from infoTech Niagara for his work on the development of innovative, scalable IT (information technology) solutions to climate change and environmental sustainability, such as GreenRide® (www.greenride.com), GreenMeter (www.greenmeter.com), and ProjectEarth (www.projectearth.net).
Sharon Rowe is the founder and chief executive officer of ECOBAGS Products Inc., an environmentally focused, woman-owned business since 1989. What began as a personal journey to “clean the planet, one bag at a time”™ has grown into a company with domestic and international sales and supplier relationships across the globe. Ms. Rowe has been featured in print and online media extensively. In 2008, she was featured in Time magazine (Global Business) “String Theory,” on National Public Radio, “No Economic Slowdown for Reusable Bags," the New York Post, and Forbes.com. In 2008 Ms. Rowe was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Westchester County (New York) Business Council. She has been invited to speak at several national conferences on the topics of building an eco-business and international sourcing. ECOBAGS® brand products have been seen on The Oprah Show, QVC, and The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and featured in: All You, InStyle.com, Los Angeles Daily News, Parade, People, The New York Times, WCBS-AM Radio and hundreds of popular blogs, e.g., www.journeypod.com, www.thefamilygroove.com, and www.journeytobecoming.com. Ms. Rowe holds a B.A. degree from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her hobbies include kayaking, hiking, swimming, travel, and spending time with family. ECOBAGS Products Inc. is located in Ossining, New York. For more information about Sharon Rowe and ECOBAGS, visit www.ecobags.com.
Norbert Sporns is one of the founders of HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries Inc., a vertically integrated aquaculture company focused on toxin-free production. He has also served as our chief executive officer and president and as a director since March 2004. Prior to joining HQS, between June 1994 and March 2004, he worked for SSC, where he was instrumental in completing Western-sourced funding for China projects, as well as interfacing with Western technology providers and managing Western supply and systems deployment in China. Mr. Sporns has also been chief executive officer of Red Coral Group Limited since February 2003. He has extensive experience in project development and investment consultancy. Mr. Sporns graduated from the University of British Columbia, Canada, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also holds Bachelor of English Common Law and Bachelor of Civil Law degrees from McGill University, as well as a Certificate of Tax Law, a Certificate in Condominium Law, and a Diploma of Notarial Law from the University of Montreal.
Kevin J. Surace, a noted speaker and writer on climate change and the built environment, is on a mission to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment. As chief executive officer of Serious Materials, he leads the company in its mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor—its buildings. By developing new materials and processes that require little energy to manufacture and advanced products that dramatically improve the insulation and comfort of homes and offices, a worst-case climate and energy catastrophe can be avoided. Before joining Serious Materials in 2002, Mr. Surace held executive and technical positions with Perfect Commerce, General Magic, Air Communications, National Semiconductor, and Seiko-Epson. He received his degree in electrical engineering technology from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees. He has been awarded multiple patents. He also serves on the boards of FreeLight, Array Converter, Zeta Communities, and Integrity Block; chairs the Sunnyvale Mayoral Green Ribbon Committee; and co-chaired the California Clean Tech Open Building Materials contest.
