Dr. Robert Graham – President & CEO
Canada's pre-eminent authority on pyrolysis, Dr. Graham initiated his work on thermal conversion technologies in 1978 at Forintek Canada Corp., a leading forest products technology company.
He developed the RTP™ process concepts at the University of Western Ontario. Since 1984, he has progressively developed the RTP™ process and Ensyn. Dr. Graham led the company as President and CEO from the start-up phase until mid-2007, when he relinquished the CEO position to continue serve as a non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Graham was a founding member and Director of the Biomass Energy Research Association (BERA) and was the Canadian delegate to the International Energy Agency for both the Gasification Committee Activity and the Energy Systems Analysis Activity.
He has published over 60 works in technical and trade journals, and has spoken at dozens of international conferences in North America and Europe. Dr. Graham has been granted numerous patents relating to biomass pyrolysis, and also sits on the board of Ivanhoe Energy.
Dr. Graham received a BSc from Carleton University, and an MEng and PhD from the University of Western Ontario.
David Boulard – Executive Vice President & CFO
In addition to his financial responsibilities at Ensyn, Mr. Boulard plays an instrumental role in day-to-day business development activities.
Mr. Boulard joined Ensyn in early 1998 from a senior management position with BCE Inc., where he gained extensive experience in corporate structuring, international tax and financing. Prior to that, he was a principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers, focusing on international transactions and cross-border issues. He was Chairman of the Canadian government’s Technology Roadmap on Bioproducts.
Mr. Boulard is a Canadian Chartered Accountant and has a BA from York University.
Barry Freel – Executive Vice President & CTO
Mr. Freel has worked with Ensyn Chairman Dr. Robert Graham on the development of the RTP™ technology as well as the development of Ensyn as a commercial enterprise since 1982. He is now responsible for the advancement of Ensyn’s technology and for ensuring that it is implemented effectively.
Mr. Freel has been granted numerous patents and has published over 40 articles in professional magazines and journals. He has spoken at a number of North American and European environmental conferences.
He holds a BESc from the University of Western Ontario.
Robert Pirraglia – Executive VP & Managing Director for Corporate Development
Mr. Pirraglia has worked with Ensyn since 1998, initially in a consulting capacity and since early 1999 as a senior executive.
An engineer and lawyer, Mr. Pirraglia has over 30 years of project development and management experience in the waste and energy sectors. He served as COO of a waste to energy business that grew from zero to $100 million in four years, and as General Counsel and President of another publicly traded company in the same sector. He also sits on the board of directors of Ivanhoe Energy.
Mr. Pirraglia received his BE in Electrical Engineering from New York University and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.
Randal Goodfellow – Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations
When Mr. Goodfellow joined Ensyn in 2008, he was already well known to the company, as Ensyn had been a longstanding client of his consulting firm. In his current capacity, he oversees the public affairs, government relations and communications activities of the company.
A consultant since 1991, Mr. Goodfellow has advised senior executives from the private, public and academic sectors on policy and communications issues related to bio-energy, bio-chemicals and renewable resource product generation. He was the founding President of BioProducts Canada.
Mr. Goodfellow has a BSc (Agr) from McGill University.
Stefan Müller – Senior Vice President, R&D
Mr. Müller has been employed by Ensyn since 2007.
Prior to joining Ensyn, he had 11 years of experience in the chemical industry, three of them in the syngas industry and the other eight in the bio-products and forestry industry. He has held various roles in plant operation, ranging from engineering to plant management, and has also held various roles in senior management, including engineering, business development, and research and development.
Mr. Müller is a chemical engineer with extensive experience in product development and commercialization. He received his BEng and MEng in Chemical Engineering from McGill University.
Geoffrey Hopkins – Vice President, Engineering
Mr. Hopkins joined Ensyn in 1994 as Project Engineer to assist in the design, construction and commissioning of RTP™ plants. In addition to involvement in all commercial projects to date, he provides ongoing technical support to business development, operations, and research and development initiatives. His responsibilities also include technical support in feasibility studies, permitting, equipment and plant design, management of construction contracts, purchasing of capital equipment, overseeing construction, and plant start-up.
Extensive hands-on experience with the RTP™ technology has been instrumental in Mr. Hopkins’ ability to lead Ensyn’s engineering team in furthering the technology and developing auxiliary processes that complement RTP™, such as the production of natural resins.
Mr. Hopkins, a registered Professional Engineer, holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University.
Doug Clarke – Vice President, Strategic Projects
Mr. Clarke has worked with Ensyn since 1990. He began as a Research Technologist involved in the operation, design and development of the RTP™ technology and advanced his engineering and operational expertise, including leadership and project management skills, to become Manager of Operations, Research and Development in 1996.
He has been involved in the design, construction, start-up, commissioning and training for all demonstration and commercial RTP™ plants to date, and continues to provide ongoing technical support for business development, operations, and research and development initiatives.
Mr. Clarke received his Chemical Engineering Technologist diploma from Algonquin College in 1989.
Michael van Gaal – Corporate Controller
Mr. van Gaal has worked with Ensyn since 1999.
He is a Canadian Chartered Accountant and has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, audit, accounting, tax, budgeting and control systems. Prior to joining Ensyn, Mr. van Gaal was a Senior Audit Manager with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), and Business and Inventory Control Manager with Digital Equipment of Canada Limited.
He received his BCom from Carleton University in 1986 and became a Chartered Accountant in 1989.
Matthew Gibbon - General Manager Operations
Mr. Gibbon has been employed by Ensyn since January 2007 to oversee the management of Ensyn’s commercial manufacturing plants. His task is to implement a solid environment of professional development related to safety, environmental performance, customer service and team building in Ensyn’s production facilities.
Mr. Gibbon holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining Ensyn he held senior executive positions with multinational forest products companies including Blue ridge Lumber, GP Flakeboard, Temple Inland and Trio Industries. Mr. Gibbon has served as chairman of the Canadian Particle Board Association as well as being a board member of other forest products industry associations.
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