JAMES LARSEN, P.Eng, MBA

Chief Executive Officer

James has over two decades of business and engineering leadership experience in cleantech and energy, including strategy, operations, finance, design, and engineering. Prior to e-Zinc, James held positions as Director of Business Development with MaRS’ Advanced Energy Centre and Manager at Bain & Company. James also spent many years as an engineer working in the renewable energy industry with a variety of technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, as well as micro-hydro and geothermal generation.

James holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University (Honours) and an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University (Dean’s List). James is also a registered Professional Engineer.

Rhonda Landers, CPA, MBA

Chief Financial Officer

Rhonda Landers has more than two decades of experience in leadership roles within finance, strategy, and operations. Through similar advanced technology CFO positions at companies such as Nanosteel, Globe Wireless, and Seawave LCC, she has demonstrated leadership in capital raising, strategic planning, scaling operations, and strategic initiatives including strategic investments, licensing and acquisitions to progress technology maturation and achieve commercialization. Her experience spans diverse environments including startups, turnarounds and large industrial, public and private international companies in advanced materials and communications industries. Rhonda began her career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Rhonda holds a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) from Babson College and an MBA from IESE.

Rob Howard, MBA, MBB

Chief Operating Officer

Rob brings over 25 years of experience in executive leadership to e-Zinc. Rob spent the last 15 years of his career launching operations for new cutting-edge technologies in the energy and consumer electronics sector. Rob served as both COO and CEO at HiQ Solar, as well as Senior Director of Global Manufacturing at Enphase. Rob’s earlier experience includes 17 years in the automotive industry with companies such as Daimler, Chrysler, and General Motors, and he has a long history in operations management, quality, and commodity management.

Rob holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Alabama A&M University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is Six Sigma Sensei Certified.

Balki Iyer, MEng, MBA

Chief Commercial Officer

Balakrishnan (Balki) G. Iyer is a seasoned energy industry management professional with a track record of driving business growth in global conglomerates and steering startups from inception to exit, including a public listing on the NASDAQ. Previously he was CCO of Eos, a zinc-based stationary energy storage company, and Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Utopus Insights, a global renewable energy analytics company. Balki began his career at Schlumberger; has served as COO of Enel Green Power, and as VP, Business Development at GE, where he drove technology developments for renewable energy and smart grid.

Balki earned a Master’s in Engineering from Binghamton University in New York, an MBA from New York University (NYU) Stern, a Joint Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering & Masters in Chemistry from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science by Binghamton University.

Laura Strickler, MBA

VP People & Culture

Laura is a business-oriented Human Resources professional with over 15 years experience leading people and culture in different industries. She is respected for collaborative leadership, building trust and partnering at all levels from executive to front-line employees. Laura previously worked at ADP Inc., a leading global provider of human resources management software and services where she partnered with senior leadership on strategic priorities and drove results through people. Laura also held progressive roles at Maple Leaf Foods Inc. where she gained industrial experience working on various aspects of human resources from employee engagement, training and development, labour relations, health and safety, project management, coaching and legal compliance.

Laura earned her Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University in Boston, a Certificate of Labour Relations form Queen’s University Industrial Relations Centre, and an MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management.

Pieter de Koning, P.Eng, MBA

Chief Engineer, SVP Engineering

Pieter de Koning has 25 years of experience in technology development, global manufacturing and business development. Most recently, Pieter was the Director of Production for Temporal Power. On sale of their flywheel technology to a foreign buyer, he was hired to lead knowledge transfer, design a new factory layout, conduct supplier due diligence and develop a roadmap for the next generation product. Previously he ran projects in Energy Storage, Renewable Power and Microgrid for firms including Hatch and Canadian Solar. Early career Pieter worked for Xerox and Spin Master Toys and holds several patents for his work.

Pieter is a Licensed Engineer with a Civil Structural degree from University of Waterloo and MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management with a double major in Marketing and Technology Innovation. He is on the Board of Directors of SolarShare and enjoys mentoring young engineers at the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship Hatchery.

Vikram Bhatia, MBA

Chief of Staff

Vikram has nearly a decade of experience across engineering, operations, and strategy, in start-up, corporate, and consulting environments. Prior to joining e-Zinc, Vikram was a management consultant with Bain & Company, where he worked in a variety of industries including telecom, utilities, mining, IT, and private equity due diligence. Before joining Bain & Company, Vikram spent time in project management, strategy, and operations at Evercloak, an advanced materials nanotechnology start-up, focusing on financial modeling, manufacturing roadmap development, and corporate strategic planning. Vikram began his career at Ontario Power Generation, starting as an Assistant Technical Engineer in the Reactor Physics department before moving on to a strategy role in Regulatory Affairs & Stakeholder Relations.

Vikram holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSc.E (First Class Honours) in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University.

Robert van Beers

Chairman

Robert van Beers is an accredited corporate director with over thirty years’ experience growing, financing and leading energy companies around the world. Today as CEO of RvB Capital Projects Inc., he leads a private global business corporation focused on financing and developing renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Robert has been founder, CEO and director of several energy sector start-up companies. He took his last company (Tonbridge Power Inc.) public before selling it to Enbridge. Today he sits on the boards of several innovative companies, assisting them in their financing, growth and development strategy.

Robert has degrees in Economics (University of Guelph) and Public Administration (Queen’s University) as well as post-graduate work in Corporate Financial Strategy (INSEAD), Corporate Governance (University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management) and Organizational Leadership (University of Chicago). He was also amongst the first graduates of the Rotman/ICD Corporate Director program (ICD.D).

Sara Chamberlain

Maaging Director, Earth Foundry

Sara Chamberlain has worked in the energy and environment sector for nearly a decade, with a core focus on helping energy startups develop commercialization strategies. Working at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship is a personal passion.

She currently leads Earth Foundry’s investment activity and maintains an active role with each of the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Earth Foundry, Sara co-managed the government advisory practice for clean technology startups at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she successfully led multiple teams through more than two dozen federal and state grant and loan applications, including over $300 million in research grants, loans and guaranteed loan funding. Sara’s previous experience also includes roles with GE Energy, where she developed a solar manufacturing expansion strategy, and with GaiaTech, where she led the environmental due diligence and regulatory compliance process for over industrial and manufacturing transactions across North America.

From working with large Fortune 500 companies to startup businesses, Sara has broad and deep industry knowledge of the energy sector and was recognized by Midwest Energy News “40 under 40.”

She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and a BA in Environmental Studies from Emory University.

David Michael

Managing Partner, Anzu Partners

David Michael is an investor and advisor with nearly 30 years of international business experience. He co-founded Anzu Partners and developed the firm’s focus on breakthrough industrial technologies that shape and enable tomorrow’s industries.

Previously, Mr. Michael spent 24 years at The Boston Consulting Group, where he was a Senior Partner and served in numerous leadership roles. He founded the firm’s Beijing office, led the firm’s Greater China practice, and established the firm’s overall emerging markets practice.

Prior to his work at Anzu, Mr. Michael spent 24 years at The Boston Consulting Group, where he was a Senior Partner and served in numerous leadership roles. He founded the firm’s Beijing office and led the firm’s Greater China practice, and then subsequently established the firm’s overall emerging markets practice. His other roles have included member of BCG’s Asia-Pacific and North American Management Teams and head of the Asia Technology practice. Mr. Michael has lived and worked in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Silicon Valley, and served clients in technology and life sciences across Asia and the Western U.S.

Mr. Michael has advised many of the world’s leading companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. His business networks across Asia and globally are extensive. He has served on the World Economic Forum’s Emerging Multinationals Council, the Strategy Board of China Mobile Corporation, and the US-China Business Council. He is on the International Advisory Board of the School of Global Policy at the University of California. Mr. Michael chaired the launch committee of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, China, and founded the non-profit corporation Building Futures Now in East Palo Alto, CA.

Mr. Michael is the co-author of six articles in the Harvard Business Review, one MIT Sloan Management Review article, two business books, and has delivered a TED talk. Mr. Michael has an MBA from Stanford Business School, where he received the school’s highest honor, the Ernest Arbuckle Award. He earned his BA in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and was a Rotary International Scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Ron Dizy

Managing Director, Red Jar Capital

Ron is co-Founder and Managing Director at Red Jar Capital with over 25 years of experience as both an operator and investor in the technology and advanced energy sectors. Ron’s role is to manage the day to day operations and the investment process at Red Jar, lead investments and find ways to consistently add value to Red Jar’s portfolio and partner companies.

Prior to joining Red Jar, Ron was the Chief Commercial Officer at Spark Power, where he led sales, product management & marketing, business development, and corporate strategy, with a focus on bringing new customer-centric solutions to the industrial, commercial, and utility markets. Before that, he was the SVP of Partnerships at MaRS where he was responsible for helping utilities around the world find ways to adopt innovation at scale, to help them survive in a world being rapidly changed by technology, customer preferences, and regulation. His previous career experience also includes:

Founding Managing Director of the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS Discovery District
President and CEO of ENBALA Power Networks
Partner at Celtic House Venture Partners ($500M venture fund)
Founding member of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan venture capital team where he was responsible for sourcing and managing investments across the technology sector in Canada and in the United States.

Ron holds a BASc, Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Jane Kearns

Partner, Evok Innovations

Jane is a recognized leader in sustainable innovation and leverages over 25 years of experience in clean technology, sustainability and venture capital. She has co-founded, scaled and exited a renewable energy company.
Prior to Evok, Jane was Vice President, Growth Services and Senior Advisor, Cleantech at MaRS Discovery District, a launchpad for Canadian startups, where she oversaw development and delivery of products and services for 1,100 tech and hard tech ventures.

Jane sits on the board of Evok portfolio company e-Zinc, as well as Clear Blue Technologies International (TSXV: CBLU). Jane is also an advisory board member for StandUp Ventures and Amplify Capital, and is a member of the Expert Panel on Clean Growth for the Canadian Climate Institute.

She is a Cleantech and Energy faculty member at Singularity University, and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

INNOVATION IS A TEAM SPORT.
MEET OURS.

We are a purpose-driven team building a new technology, but our collective aim stretches farther – we want to change the world. It takes a collaborative and dedicated community to make it happen.

LEADERSHIP