The Top 100 People in Bioenergy: profiles of #1 through #20

October 11, 2010 |

1. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture

A runaway winner in the voting, Vilsack has been driving hard to implement a strong biofuels policy on behalf of the Obama Administration, and as chair of the Interagency Working Group (comprising the USDA, EPA, and DOE) has clearly been identified by the Digest readership as the key player in establishing policy stability, and pioneering the financing mechanisms to drive bioenergy forward in the 2010s.

2. Jeff Broin, CEO, POET

A number of POET execs polled strongly in the voting – but head and shoulders above the rest has been CEO Jeff Broin, who took charge of a small family ethanol enterprise in the 1980s and transformed it into the Starbucks of corn ethanol – everywhere, strongly branded, home to its own unique culture, and a pioneer both in achieving first generation scale and next-generation technical leadership as the company pioneers its Project LIBERTY cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, IA.

3. Bob Dinneen, President, Renewable Fuels Association

A number of association executives polled strongly with readers, but Dinneen, who rules over the large and influential RFA, is still recognized as the face of first-generation biofuels on Capitol Hill among the readership.

4. Miguel Soldateli Rossetto, CEO, Petrobras Biocombustiviles

Among the many Brazilians gracing this years list, the fast growth and determination of the state-owned Petrobras propelled biofuels division CEO Miguel Rossetto into the global top five. Incredibly aggressive growth targets and the backing of the Brazilian government proved to Digest readers that Petrobras management now means business when it comes to controlling (some grumblers say ‘strangling’) the Brazilian markets for ethanol.

5. Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme / Harrison Dillon, PhD, CTO, Solazyme

The gold dust twins of advanced biofuels, Jonathan Wolfson and Harrison Dillon at Solazyme have been working nearly a decade on their Solazyme brainchild and ran the gamut on ways to grow algae before settling on their “grow in the dark” strategy, but in the past couple of years the company has been achieving serious traction in racking up investor dollars and (as algal fuels go) big orders from the US Navy among others. Many insiders in the industry have tapped Solazyme as the next big IPO candidate, and while it may mean a big payday for these two co-founders, Digest readers take the view that its a payday well deserved.

6. Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy

A surprisingly low finish for the godfather of US biofuels funding may have suffered in the poll from the unabashed love that has been lavished on electric cars during his time at DOE, but Chu remains the most technically astute Secretary of Energy on the subject of biofuels in the troubled history of that US Department, by about a million miles. His portfolio strategy, emphasis on forming scientific collaborations, and sponsorship of ARPA-E will prove a formidable legacy, and Digest readers appear ready to not begrudge him a shiny Tesla or two when he chooses to leave office.

7. Marcos Lutz, CEO, Cosan

Nothing like a $12 billion biofuels JV / merger to propel an executive into the Top 10 faces in bioenergy. Though Cosan has yet to articulate its advanced biofuels vision, it has proven its Branson-like ability to grow and attract attention like no other bioenergy venture since, well, the forays of Sir Richard Branson. No one is quite sure where the Shell-COsan venture will head, but it will have the balance sheet and downstream market to head just about anywhere it wants, subject only to the titanic capabilities and desires of Petrobras.

8. Alan Shaw, PhD, CEO, Codexis

The first biofuels IPO in several years, and the first advanced biofuels IPO ever? Welcome to the Top 10, Alan Shaw. Though the stock nose-dived after its NASDAQ debut, those who bought in at its low-point under $7 per share will have realized a tidy 73 percent return on their investment over the past few months, making quite a few happy shareholders in and around Redwood City.

9. Marcos Jank, President, UNICA

Filling out a trio of Brazilians in the global Top 10 is Marcos Jank, the head of the Brazilian sugarcane association UNICA, whose organization has been building up its presence around the world as it presses for open markets and export opportunities for Brazil’s in-vogue streams of cheap sugar.

10. Vincent Chornet, CEO, Enerkem / Esteban Chornet, CTO, Enerkem

Canada’s top representatives in the Top 100 poll are the father and son combination of Vincent and Esteban Chornet, who have propelled the once-unknown Enerkem to a leading position among advanced biofuels developers. Signature projects in Alberta and Mississippi are also likely to take the company to new heights in the Hottest 50 Companies in Bioenergy in polling later this year.

11. Steen Riisgaard, CEO / Steen Skjold-Jørgensen, VP for R&D Biofuels, Novozymes

Novozymes, like Danisco/Genencor, DSM and Dyadic, have been aggressively launching product this year, driving down enzyme costs faster than wide-screen TV prices have been plummeting of late. A bunch of Novozymes execs landed votes in this competition, but readers focused their attention on a pair of Steens, CEO Steen Riisgaard and R&D VP Steen Skjold-Jørgensen – apt for a company driven by a  combination of strategic investments and fast-moving technologies.

12. Philip New, CEO, BP Biofuels / Sue Ellerbusch, President, BP Biofuels

Though BP could not be said to have had a banner year in its storied history, BP Biofuels has remained a stellar “beyond petroleum” unit of the company that, in the midst of difficulties in the fossil fuels side, acquired 50 percent of Vercipia from Verenium and ploughed forward aggressively in developing its Butamax biobutanol venture with Dupont. Not to mention its progress on its UK ethanol project with British Sugar in Hull. The driver at BP on biofuels – Phil New, who picked up a surprising Top 20 ranking in this year’s poll.

13. Brent Erickson, VP Industrial Biotechnology, BIO

Way, way out in front on renewable chemicals and other bio-based products, not to mention a strong sense of the value equation across the gamut of advanced biofuels, BIO’s Brent Erickson has led a team that has made “industrial biotech” a phrase worth knowing on Capitol Hill, as well as being an incisive advocate on all things biofuel.

14. Jason Pyle, CEO, Sapphire Energy, Cynthia (C.J.) Warner, President

The polling for Sapphire president CJ Warner and CEO Jason Pyle of Sapphire was so evenly and closely paired, that we’ve jointly awarded them the #14 slot in this years poll. Warner’s appearance in a major layout in Fast Company this summer when they surveyed the “Beyond Petroleum” generation of ex-BPers, and a well-received addres at this years Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, pushed her to the #1 slot among female bioenergy execs (a rising cadre, for sure), but in general readers have strongly supported Sapphire for holding fast to its “we’re making fuels, darn it” strategy, and the steady progress it keeps making towards its 2014 demonstration plant debut and a proposed 100 Mgy plant by 2018.

15. Mike McAdams, President,  Advanced Biofuels Association

Master of the biofuels elevator pitch, Mike McAdams has taken the Advanced Biofuels Association from formation to a recognized player on a small budget and a relentless message. A “most-know” conduit for Capitol Hill dialogue on advanced bioenergy, Mike’s legion of fans has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years, as more companies have signed on with AFBA and its mastery of tax-writing through to image shaping at the leading edge of biofuels.

16. Vinod Khosla, Managing Partner, Khosla Ventures

A popular figure with readers, Khosla has toned down his biofuels profile in recent years, but still rates high for his teams’ wide portfolio of biofuels bets, his strong voice on policy, and for unparalleled financial commitment to transformation of energy.

17. Jay Keasling, PhD, Professor,  UC Berkeley

If Jay Keasling did nothing but supervise the collaboration between Lawrence Livermore, U of Illinois and Berkeley known as the Energy Biosciences Institute and run a storied lab, he probably would have taken a high slot on our list. But his signature (commercial) discovery, the underlying technology behind Amyris, helped to power a very successful IPO this year, and may well transform, the Brazilian biofuels landscape with its sugar-to-diesel microbiology.

18. Patricia Woertz, CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

Among the ABCDs in global ag trading (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus), none have taken a strong a role in developing both first generation and second generation biofuels technology as ADM. Though when calling corporate HQ, you’ll be told that “we don’t like to talk about ethanol,” the company is neck and neck with POET for leader in global corn ethanol capacity, and has skin in the game on biodiesel as well as other advanced biofuels as well. Calling the shots? Former Chevron exec Patricia Woertz, who ascended to the ADM throne and is managing its advancement with great aplomb, according to our poll.

19. John Melo, CEO, Amyris / CTO Neil Renninger

A big number of folk associated with the successful Amyris IPO figure in the Top 100 poll, but John Melo and Neal Renninger have been raking in the votes – not surprising for a company neatly balanced between a bold Brazilian-focused, capital-light strategy and a hot technology moving towards oil parity and scale. Amyris’s exces jhave been out of the limelight in recent months, owing to the IPO, else we might have expected them to poll even higher in the Top 20.

20. Paul Woods, CEO, Algenol Biofuels

Rounding out our Top 20 is Paul Woods, who has shepherded Algenol Biofuels from a little-known start-up to near household-recognition status within biofuels, landing a signature partnership with Dow and a massive grant from DOE for its unique algae-to-ethanol process.

Category: Fuels

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