MEET THE TEAM

Richard A. Gephardt is both an equity shareholder of Convalt and advisor of ACO. Mr. Gephardt is also President and CEO of Gephardt Government Affairs. He provides strategic advice to clients on issues before the House, Senate and Executive Branch in the federal government. Mr. Gephardt has brought successful resolution for clients on issues related to negotiations, crisis management, and strategic communications. He represents a broad array of Fortune 100 clients on Capitol Hill and before the Administration, in addition to serving as public spokesperson for clients on coalitions to bring about policy solutions to healthcare reform and climate change. Mr. Gephardt served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004. 

In his role as Leader, Mr. Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party’s platform and chief architect to landmark reforms ranging from healthcare, pensions, education, energy independence and trade policy. He was elected to serve as House Democratic Leader for more than 14 years, as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.

Mr. Gephardt was a colleague in the House to 49 currently serving U.S. Senators and members of the Executive Branch. He enjoys strong bipartisan relationships in the House of Representatives, serves as a trusted advisor to senior officials in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and has counselled numerous CEOs during negotiations with labor. He has been featured in national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, Roll Call, The Hill and Time.

Bill Nelson is a Director and Shareholder at Convalt Energy. Prior to joining Convalt as a director, Bill was the 14th Administrator of NASA, served from May 2021 to January 2025, leading the agency through a transformative period marked by landmark missions, technological milestones, and a renewed global focus on space exploration.

Under his leadership, NASA launched the Artemis I mission—an uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft—laying the groundwork for humanity’s return to the Moon and future crewed missions to Mars. Nelson’s administration commissioned new lunar landers, spacesuits, and rovers, initiated the Artemis II mission preparations, and enabled the first Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) landings—marking the first return of the American flag to the Moon since Apollo. During his tenure, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful telescope ever sent into space, unlocking unprecedented insights into the origins of the universe. Nelson also advanced the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and initiated plans for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, ensuring continued scientific discovery for decades to come.

Nelson oversaw historic milestones in planetary science and innovation including the DART mission (the first successful test of planetary defense), Ingenuity’s first powered flight on Mars, Perseverance’s ongoing discoveries, and the launch of Europa Clipper, the largest planetary spacecraft to date, set to explore Jupiter’s moon for signs of life. He also championed advanced propulsion systems like DRACO, a partnership with DARPA to develop nuclear thermal propulsion, and invested in nuclear electric propulsion for deep space missions.

In Earth science, Nelson expanded NASA’s Earth-observing satellite fleet and spearheaded the Earth System Observatory to improve climate monitoring, disaster response, and agriculture. He launched Earth.gov as a centralized public access point for climate data and opened Earth Information Centers at NASA HQ and the Smithsonian.

Under Nelson’s leadership, NASA launched eight commercial crew missions to the ISS, advancing research in medicine, including cancer treatments, and deepening international collaboration with partners like CSA, ESA, JAXA, and Roscosmos. He also led aeronautics innovation efforts with the development of the X-59 supersonic jet and the X-66 sustainable aircraft, aiming to revolutionize air travel. Nelson helped secure over 50 signatories to the Artemis Accords, promoting peaceful space exploration meeting with twenty heads of state to gain their participation.

Nelson’s NASA tenure was the culmination of nearly 50 years in public service. A Yale and University of Virginia Law graduate, he served as a U.S. Senator (2001–2019), U.S. Representative (1979–1991), and Florida state legislator. 

Mark Berti is an director at Convalt Energy, Inc. Prior to joining Convalt Energy, Mark spent 35 years in the banking industry where he led and developed sales trading teams with distinction for the majority of his career. When he retired at the end of 2017, his run had taken him through highly respected teams at Nomura, Baring Securities, Credit Suisse First Boston, WestLB and Mizuho Securities.

In his last role prior to his retirement at Mizuho, he was entrusted to head Mizuho’s share repurchase trading effort for the Bank’s enviable list of US blue chip corporate customers. Mark’s personalized trading expertise was widely appreciated and exemplified by many clients’ reliance on his advice when shaping their buyback programs, and the high percentage of their carefully discerned awarding of successive rotations.

In 1982, Mark was one of four college graduates in the US selected to participate in Nomura’s first ever International Training program in Tokyo and the only one designated to return to the New York office as an equities trader. Mark has witnessed the evolution of markets from people intensive trading posts with wide spreads and limited liquidity to those of the modern day with digitized speed, decimal pricing and ever more efficient size and price discovery.

Mark grew up on the east end of Long Island, endlessly enjoying the Atlantic Ocean. He attended Columbia University earning a BA in Economics and was a member of its Division I NCAA Wrestling team. He and his wife lived in New York City for more than thirty years, raising three children during that period. Together they supported numerous academic, athletic, civic and faith-based and humanity-focused organizations with their time and resources. They currently reside in Rhode Island.

Jeff LeSage, is a director at Convalt Energy and is a highly accomplished and skilled senior executive with extensive domestic and international tax, audit, and M&A experience. Throughout his 34 year tenure at KPMG, Jeff has had extensive involvement with Fortune 1000 clients as well as with major private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Jeff has led Boardroom and Audit Committee assignments by presenting proposals, analyses and opinions on matters including acquisitions, dispositions and spinoffs. Jeff joined KPMG in 1986 and was named to the firm’s partnership six years later but began his career in the tax and international M&A groups at Arthur Andersen.

Beginning in 2010, Jeff served as the U.S. National Managing Partner of tax services at KPMG. Two years later, in 2012, Jeff was promoted and assumed his current position as Americas Vice Chairman for KPMG’s tax practice, where he oversees a team of over 10,000 partners and professionals across all tax disciplines - federal, international, state and local, as well as specialty practices such as mergers and acquisitions, private equity, economic and valuation services, and international executive services. Most notably, during Jeff’s tenure as U.S. National Managing Partner and Americas Vice Chairman, KPMG’s tax practice’s revenue has grown from $1.1 billion in 2010 to $3.0 billion presently.

In addition, Jeff has held several other leadership roles at KPMG including East Regional Managing Partner for tax services, area Managing Partner for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region and Global Partner-in-Charge of KPMG’s International Corporate Services practice leading an international team of more than 1,500 tax professionals in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. During the five years Jeff served as the Global ICS leader, he was credited with tripling the ICS’s revenues, helping to establish its strong position in the industry.

For over a decade, Jeff served on the Board of the New York City chapter of the American Heart Association, with five of those years as Chairman of the Board. Today, Jeff is a member of the American Heart Association Founders Board. Jeff also sits on the Board of The Marfan Foundation and on the Villanova University Provost’s Board. Previously, Jeff was a Board member of the Junior Achievement of Miami and was head of the Miami Chamber of Commerce. To acknowledge Jeff’s passion for community involvement, Jeff was honored by the Patriots’ Path Council of the Boy Scouts of America and received the 2018 Distinguished Citizen Award.

A Certified Public Accountant in Florida and New York, Jeff is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Corporate Directors. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting (summa cum laude) from Villanova University. Jeff resides in the New York metropolitan area and in Florida with his wife and daughter. Jeff enjoys reading, playing golf, collecting wine and watching his daughter’s tennis career flourish.

Dr. Stephen Shea, Chief Scientist at Convalt Energy, has earned a career spanning over 40 years in the alternative energy sector. An expert in photovoltaic (PV) design, manufacturing, and deployment, he has seamlessly executed the entire value chain from feedstock to final solar power plant. Throughout his career, Dr. Shea has been dedicated to transitioning groundbreaking lab technologies into mass production.

His professional journey includes roles such as the VP of Manufacturing Engineering at Beamreach Solar and VP and Chief Engineering Officer at Suniva for over eight years. Before these positions, he lent his expertise as an industry consultant, marking his tenure as the Visiting Senior Solar Energy Technologist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).

Dr. Shea played a pivotal role in the design and installation of a cutting-edge PV cell factory in Cairo, Egypt, and was at the forefront of screen print metallization materials development. Earlier in his career, Dr. Shea spent two decades at Solarex/BP Solar, holding various roles in R&D, Engineering, and Technology management.

Dr. Shea is a graduate of Swarthmore College with both a B.S. and B.A., he furthered his studies at the University of Delaware/Institute of Energy Conversion. Here, he undertook pioneering thin-film PV research, earning him a Ph.D. in Applied Science (EE) and an M.E.E.

Dr. Shea has authored over twenty publications and holds several patents in PV technology. His extensive experience, innovative mindset make him an invaluable asset to Convalt Energy and the broader renewable energy landscape of the United States.

Matthew Morris is a Chief Operations Officer at Convalt Energy and Lincoln Infrastructure, both portfolio companies of ACO Investment Group, where he is currently focused on development and operations including the buildout of potentially the second largest solar module manufacturer in the United States. Prior to joining Convalt Energy, Matthew was a United States Army Colonel with a distinguished 30-year career as a Logistics Officer. During his military career he conducted world-wide operations in Haiti, Panama, Europe, Republic of Korea, and five combat tours to the Horn of Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Matt commanded the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Fort Drum, NY where he was directly responsible for the training, welfare and morale of over 2,250 Soldiers and for managing a multi-million dollar budget. Matt also commanded a 1200-Soldier task force, the 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Afghanistan where he was responsible for providing Logistics throughout Afghanistan. 

Matt has extensive experience in large organizations from tactical to strategic levels of operations where he led and managed significant amounts of equipment, facilities, resources and personnel of all skills and experience. Matt was commended with two Legions of Merit and three Bronze Stars for his accomplishments and expertise in providing tactical and strategic logistics in austere and remote combat environments by leading teams and large organizations to success.

Richard (“Dick”) Angotti is Convalt Energy’s Operations Manager in the State of Maine in charge of power generation project development and construction of projects. For over fifty years, Mr. Angotti has worked in a variety of positions in the manufacturing sector. Dick’s career thus far has afforded him the opportunity to hold positions of Army Corp. of Engineers precise power-man, Mechanic, Machinist, Hydraulics and Pneumatics Technician, Computer repair Technician, Process Instrumentation Technician, Electrical/ Instrumentation Supervisor, Electrical/ Instrumentation Planner, and Field Supervisor for an Electrical Contractor.

Dick has provided electrical and instrumentation planning for large scale mill outages as well as planning for the normal maintenance of a production facility especially at Great Northern Paper Mill. Dick has developed in his career from the bottom up taking his knowledge from his mechanical career and blending it with his electrical career and now as a project manager utilizes the two together to manage engineered projects. Dick continues to develop and has earned his level 2 certification in Thermal Imaging. Thermal imaging is a non-destructive testing procedure for predictive preventative maintenance in the manufacturing and engineering world. 

Dick had taken on a new role as a Code Enforcement Officer for the Town of Millinocket as well as Interim Town Manager prior to joining Convalt Energy.

Tord Thott serves as Vice President of Global Business Development in the Office of the CEO at ACO Investment Group and Convalt Energy, where he functions as a trusted strategic partner to the CEO and a key driver of the company’s global vision and growth initiatives.

Since joining ACO in 2013, Tord has held leadership roles spanning business development, renewable energy project execution, research and development, environmental assessment, feasibility analysis, and strategic marketing. This breadth of experience has equipped him with deep operational and commercial insight, expertise and a comprehensive understanding of ACO’s business model across the energy and technology sectors.

Over the past decade, he has been instrumental in advancing utility-scale renewable power projects throughout the United States and Southeast Asia, including major developments in Myanmar and Laos, contributing directly to the success and expansion of ACO’s portfolio companies.

Tord’s record demonstrates a sustained commitment to the organization, innovation, performance, and the long-term advancement of ACO’s global initiatives and projects.

Aaron Randall is a Quality Control Manager at Convalt Energy, where he is currently focused on supporting the implementation of supply chain operations. Aaron is responsible for defining and refining processes to maintain both efficiency and quality throughout production.

Prior to joining Convalt Aaron gained experience in production with BAE Systems Inc. as an Assembler building and inspecting circuit cards for DoD aircraft components, and a Material Handler managing inventory and inspecting electronic components for quality control. Aaron has completed 2 years of coursework in Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton University and is currently working towards completion of a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on Supply Chain Management.

Aaron served a distinguished 10-year career as an Infantry Staff Sergeant in the US Army. During his career he conducted worldwide operations in Afghanistan, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Romania. As a Stryker Master Gunner he was responsible for the training and readiness of dozens of vehicle crews on advanced gunnery techniques, doctrine, and technical procedures. He also implemented a new training program for over 300 personnel on new weapons platforms. Aaron’s final position in the U.S. Military was the 2nd Cavalry Regiments Operations Sergeant, where he was responsible for overseeing the operations center for an organization of over 4000 soldiers spread across more than 20 countries.

Darren serves as Project Manager and Sales Lead at Convalt Energy and Lincoln Infrastructure, both portfolio companies of ACO Investment Group. He oversees project development and operations across Maine, including solar field installation, maintenance, and performance optimization. Darren also leads site development initiatives at the former Great Northern Paper Mill in East Millinocket, focusing on infrastructure, construction, and renewable power projects.

A graduate of Eastern Maine Community College with an associate degree in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC/R), Darren holds NABCET Associate certifications and multiple credentials from Headspring in solar and power generation.

Before joining Convalt Energy, Darren gained extensive experience across the HVAC, mechanical, and energy sectors—working in installation, service, and fabrication for commercial and industrial clients throughout New England. His diverse background includes mechanical engineering, welding, boiler modification, electrical systems, carpentry, equipment operation, and property maintenance, bringing a comprehensive technical skill set to Convalt’s growing portfolio of energy and infrastructure projects.

Lin is a Project Manager at Convalt Energy and Lincoln Infrastructure, both portfolio companies of ACO Investment Group. Lin was managing supply logistics, administration and shipping arrangements for the move of a multi-million dollar solar panel factory from Oregon to New York for the subsequent buildout of Convalt's solar module manufacturing factory in the United States. Lin is also responsible for project development of the various power and construction projects being developed by Convalt Energy.

Lin is a graduate of Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning and has worked with various local government and community groups on economic development and built-space design within New York State. Prior to his work in New York, he worked in his hometown with the Yangon Regional Government and Yangon City Development Committee on municipal boundary formalization, urban space reclamation and grey water/waste water management.

Throughout his career, Lin has worked in many fields including logistics, economic development, community planning and as a translator/interpreter within the international steel, construction materials and automotive industries.

Jessie Walters is the Operations Manager of Maintenance at Convalt Energy and Lincoln Infrastructure, both portfolio companies of ACO Investment Group, where he is currently focused on maintenance of the fleet and factory operations. Jessie, in his role, is focusing on preventative maintenance of the company’s equipment while systematically collecting, analyzing and archiving data to better prepare for future operations. Prior to joining Convalt Energy, Jessie was a United States Army First Sergeant with a distinguished 24-year career as a Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor.

During his military career he conducted world-wide operations in Kosovo, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Qatar along with five combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jessie’s final position with the U.S Military was as the 10th Mountain Division Inspector General Noncommissioned Officer in Charge at Fort Drum, NY. He was directly responsible for providing the United States Forces-Afghanistan Commanding General and Fort Drum Commanding General with ongoing assessment of readiness, capabilities, emerging trends, and recommendations for issues and problems requiring intervention by the Inspector General for over 20,000 Soldiers, family members, and civilians.

Jessie has extensive management experience in managing personnel and equipment. As a First Sergeant, Jessie was the senior non-commissioned officer for three companies, responsible for the individual training, and professional development of over 500 Soldiers. As a Maintenance Control Sergeant, he expertly managed a brigade’s maintenance program with over 10,000 pieces of equipment, significantly increasing the effectiveness and readiness while supporting the brigades’ tactical operations. Jessie was commended with a Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars for his unparalleled achievements.

Manohar is the Chief Administrative Officer for all of Convalt Energy's operations in India. Working closely with the country head, Manohar is responsible for all administrative functions for Convalt's development portfolio and the existing waste to power plant in Chittoor district Andhra Pradesh.

Manohar started with Convalt in 2015 focused on accounting and bookkeeping and grown to become one of our critical team members for Convalt's India operations.

John Phelan is a Contract Manager within the Finance team at Convalt Energy where he assists in the drafting and review of all contracts for Convalt’s various supplier, investor, and labor agreements. Prior to joining Convalt, John spent three years working as a junior contract attorney for Trustpoint.one legal services where he accumulated significant experience in contract law.

John has a B.A. in Economics from Hamilton College where he was a member of the football team and president of the chess club from 2012-2016.

John is an enthusiastic team member with pertinent legal and risk management experience.

Thomas Eriksson is an Advisor for ACO Investment Group and Operating Executive at Convalt Energy. Mr. Eriksson has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Carnegie Investment Bank AB since August 2012. In addition, Mr. Eriksson has been Chief Executive Officer and President at Carnegie Holding AB since September 2012 and has more than 20 years of experience in wealth management.

Mr. Eriksson joined Carnegie Holding from Swedbank Robur AB where he served as the Chief Executive Officer from August 2010 to May 2012 and also served as head of Swedbank Robur Asset Management. Mr. Eriksson served as the Head of broker/dealer operation at Swedbank AB (publ) since April 2001 and served as Managing Director at Swedbank First LLC.

Karen Seitz founded Fusion Partners in January 2010, a global advisory and private placement firm (associated with BTIG). In May 2018 Karen formed her own broker dealer, Fusion Partners Global LLC. The firm raises capital for private companies and alternative investment fund managers globally from institutional investors.

Prior to founding Fusion Partners, Karen worked at Goldman Sachs & Co from 1997 - 2009. During that time, she led the Pensions, Endowments and Foundations Group for North America, serving as a liaison between the largest strategic institutional investing clients of the firm and the various divisions of Goldman Sachs. Karen became Managing Director in 1999 and a Partner in 2004. From 1995 – 1997, she was VP of Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Morgan Stanley & Co. Prior to Wall Street, for almost 10 years, Karen worked for GE Company (1986) and then GE Capital (beginning 1990).

In addition to running her broker dealer, Karen serves on six non-profit boards, as follows: the Board of Directors of The Saber Six Foundation (2022); the Board of Trustees of Iona University (2020); Vice Chair of the Museum of American Finance (2015); Center for a New American Security (2019); buildOn (2012); and The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (2005).

Karen earned a BS degree from Iona University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Mr. Pollard is the CEO of CVP with over thirty years of experience in Leveraged Finance and Stressed/Distressed Debt. Previously the Head of the Credit Suisse Credit Investments Group ("CIG"), overseeing its $17 billion of High Yield Bond, Leveraged Loan, CLO, and Distressed Debt investment portfolios. Prior to managing CIG, Mr. Pollard was the Co-Head of Credit Suisse's Global Leveraged Finance Group, which included Credit Suisse’s High Yield Bond, Leveraged Loan and Distressed Debt businesses.

Mr. Pollard served on the Management Committees for both Credit Suisse’s Securities Division (Fixed Income and Equities) and for Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division. Prior to Credit Suisse, Mr. Pollard was the Co-Founder and Head of DLJ’s Leveraged Loan Group and Distressed Debt Group, and Head of European Loan Trading and Distressed Debt at Citicorp Securities. Mr. Pollard is a CFA and the former Chairman of the Loan Syndication and Trading Association (“LSTA”). Mr. Pollard received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and is currently on the Advisory Board to the University’s College of Literature, Science and Arts.

Currently a Managing Director at Credit Suisse and responsible for the Global Currencies business and Short Term Interest Rate Trading. Prior to his current role he was Co-Head of the Equity Department for the Americas as well as responsible for equity capital markets risk globally. He is the co-chair for the committee that governs and commits capital to illiquid equity exposures (such as financial market structure holdings and pre-IPO exposures) for the Investment Bank. After graduating from Yale with a BA in Economics, he started his career at Citadel Investments in Chicago focusing on convertible bond arbitrage strategies, convertible credit trading, and equity derivatives trading.

Todd moved from Citadel to Credit Suisse in Hong Kong where he spent 9 years and held a number of roles in the Credit Suisse Equity Department culminating with responsibility for all of the bank's equity derivatives and convertibles business as well as equity trading and execution across Asia Pacific. In 2006 Todd relocated to New York with Credit Suisse where he assumed global responsibility for equity share trading across block trading, program trading, electronic trading, syndicate block risk, as well as the convertible bond group in 2007.

Madras Seshmani Ramachandran is a senior advisor at ACO. Mr. Ramachandran is a former CEO and Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). He is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification and started his career in Ashok Leyland before joining IOCL as a Manager Trainee in 1969. He has handled diverse assignments during the career with IOCL including supply logistics, shipping, commercial, sales operations and international trade.

He was the chief of the Oil Coordination Committee the de-facto Regulatory Body under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas during 1998 – 2000. He joined IOC’s Board in 2000 as Director Business Development and took over as CEO and Chairman in the year 2002.

Victoria L. Harmon, the founder of and CEO and Founder of VL Harmon Advisors is a senior advisor at Convalt Energy while also managing public relations for Convalt. Having built a career at the intersection of business, policy and media for publicly traded companies and government, Victoria is a seasoned communicator and problem solver with expertise in the financial services and the clean and renewable energy sectors. Her work includes partnerships with notable clients such as the X Moonshot division of Alphabet (Google), and New York State based Rise Light & Power, and Catalyst Power, showcasing her capacity to navigate highly regulated and complex environments successfully.

Before founding VL Harmon Advisors in 2021, Ms. Harmon served on New York State’s clean energy and climate policy team led by energy “czar” Richard Kauffman, where she established the team’s messaging, media, and stakeholder management and outreach plans. Prior to her New York State role, Ms. Harmon was a Managing Director for Credit Suisse, based in New York, responsible for Private Banking and Asset Management in the Americas while also serving as Co-Head of Investment Banking Corporate Communications globally.

Ms. Harmon has worked for Citigroup, and its former entities, Salomon Brothers and Salomon Smith Barney, in their Corporate Communications department in New York. She also served as head of their Asia Pacific communications team based in Hong Kong. Previously Ms. Harmon has worked for US Trade Representative, Mickey Kantor, NBC News and for Senator Joseph R. Biden in Washington D.C. Ms. Harmon holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ed Strobel was a Solar Pioneer in the Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean Marketplaces. He founded one of the first PV only companies in the geography and quickly built it to be the most technically advanced off-grid and on-grid companies in the area.   Sunshine Solar Services, Inc was sought after to do the most difficult electrical and structural solar engineering and installation projects including The Frost Science Museum in downtown Miami & Adams Key island in Biscayne National Park.  Ed had a successful exit from Sunshine Solar Services, Inc in late 2020. Since then, he has been doing  financial and technical consulting for on and off-grid solar projects as CEO of Island Solar, Inc as well as continuing his work on several not-for-profit boards.   

 Prior to Sunshine Solar Services, Inc, Ed had various sales management and executive roles in the infrastructure sector of the computer industry including positions with fortune 500 companies Dell Computer, EMC, Sun Microsystems, Inc and Hewlett-Packard.  He also has experience with smaller companies in the industry  including the Qualix group which had a successful public offering followed by a merger with Legato  and then a buyout by EMC.

Ed until his recent relocation served as a  board member of Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale &  Winterfest Fort Lauderdale, he was a founding member  and board member of The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy and Hope4Hopetown (A rapid response NGO to get aid to hurricane ravaged areas of the Bahamas) and a former board member of Rippletech, Inc, The City of Fort Lauderdale Marina Advisory board and the City Sustainability Board.

Ed holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tulane University and an MBA from Georgia State that he finished at the University of Miami.

Harri Koponen was the CEO of SSH Communications Security until February 2016 and now acts as a senior advisor for the company, concentrating on the firewall and governmental business in Finland and abroad, and will assist in sales in the Telecom sector. Harri has extensive experience from the technology sector together with strong skills in operations, sales, and in leading companies and organizations.

Prior to joining SSH Communications Security, Harri was the CEO of NPTV, a cloudbased interactive TV software company, board member at Stonesoft (a security software company that was acquired by McAfee), and prior to that the COO of Rovio Entertainment, creating the global merchandising and licensing business of their Angry Birds brand. Harri has a vast global network in the industry and government sector having been the President and CEO of three major telecommunications companies, Sonera (Finland), Wataniya (Kuwait), and Tele2 (Sweden). He has also lived in the United States for several years serving as the Managing Director of Sony Ericsson (North and Central America) and the Head of Ericsson Consumer Products Division for North America.

Prior to that, he worked as the global account executive for AirTouch, Vodafone, and Sonera at Ericsson, and in the early 1990s ran HP's telecom global sales for Sonera.

Frank brings over 25 years of experience in private equity, banking, and corporate finance, with a strong background in fundraising, M&A, business transformation, financial analysis, and applied data science.

Before joining Convalt Energy, Frank was the CFO of Jenzabar, a leading provider of SaaS based solutions to higher education institutions. Prior to that, he co-founded WovenLight, a hybrid investment and technology firm that leveraged data science to create value for portfolio companies and investors. He served as the Managing Partner and CFO, leading the financial and operational aspects of the firm, as well as the development of data-driven solutions.

Prior to WovenLight, Frank was a Partner at Charterhouse Capital Partners from 2005 till 2019, a leading European private equity firm, where he was a member of the Investment Committee and involved in several successful transactions across multiple sectors and geographies. Frank started his career at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker from 2000 till 2005.

Chris Brooks is senior advisor at Convalt Energy focused on capital formation. Chris is a highly experienced international Board-level investment banker, specialising for over three decades in the industrials, aviation and infrastructure sectors. Most recently, the Vice Chair of RBC’s European industrials investment banking business, he previously held global sector franchise leadership roles with both Barclays and Rothschild & Co.

Chris has an extensive track record in originating and leading strategic M&A, ECM and financing transactions across multiple European and international jurisdictions, for a range of corporate, private equity and infrastructure investor clients.

He has advised on over $150bn of corporate transactions in his career. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.