Gregory L. Bafalis
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO, Greg Bafalis brings the Company over 25 years of global experience in the energy sector, where he has successfully closed, financed, and operated over $3 billion worth of projects. Prior to joining Aurora Algae, Greg founded and served as CEO of Green Earth Fuels, where he successfully raised $168 million and grew the company from zero to $250 million in revenue in under three years. While at Green Earth Fuels, he directed the construction of a 90 million gallon per year biodiesel production facility and the development and implementation of an 8,000 acre palm oil plantation in Guatemala to supply the biodiesel production facility. Previously, Greg was Senior Managing Director – Americas and Europe Region for El Paso Corporation, responsible for 14 power plants and two pipelines in eleven countries. He lived in Brazil for seven years building and managing El Paso’s South and Central American business and, before that, served as Vice President of Business Development, European Region. Prior to El Paso, he served Mission Energy as the Executive Director for Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogen, successfully developing a 380 MW gas fired power generation facility in New York City. Before Mission Energy, Greg spent eight years developing waste-to-energy and waste wood fired power projects for Waste Management Co.
Brian L. Hinman
Executive Chairman
As Executive Chairman, Brian Hinman provides strategic and operational guidance to the management team, leveraging three decades of entrepreneurial successes. Brian is currently a Venture Partner at Oak Investment Partners, serving on the board of directors of portfolio companies focused on breakthrough “clean” technologies including Aurora Algae, eSolar, GreenVolts, NanoH2O, Phononic Devices, and Sundrop Fuels. Brian is the co-founder, and formerly the President and CEO, of 2Wire, a provider of broadband service platforms for the DSL market. Brian is also the co-founder, and formerly the CEO, of Polycom, Inc. (NASD: PLCM), the world’s leading teleconferencing company. He is the also the co-founder and former VP Engineering of PictureTel Corporation (formerly NASD: PCTL). Brian has received multiple awards for entrepreneurship, including being named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2005. To catalyze entrepreneurship at his alma mater, he sponsors the Hinman CEO (Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities) Program at the University of Maryland. Brian holds a B.S.E.E. summa cum laude from the University of Maryland, and an S.M.E.E. from M.I.T.
Thomas D. Willardson
Chief Financial Officer
Tom Willardson joined Aurora Algae in October 2011 with an extensive track record of successful financial leadership, including CFO positions at Energy Recovery, Cost Plus, WebSideStory, and Archimedes Technology Group Holdings. In 2008, he led the successful IPO of Energy Recovery, a leader in seawater desalination technology. In 2004, he led the IPO of WebSideStory, a cloud-based provider of on-demand digital marketing applications, subsequently acquired by Omniture. Prior to that, Tom served as Senior Financial Officer and one of the founding executives of Leap Wireless, where he led a $2.4 billion equipment financing and played a key role in a $900 million public offering. He began his career in finance at the Bechtel Organization where he worked for 14 years, including 10 years in private equity investing. Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Paul Angelico
Chief Operating Officer
Paul Angelico joined Aurora Algae as Chief Operating Officer in January 2012, with over 15 years of experience in building, growing, and leading profitable enterprises. Immediately prior to joining Aurora, Paul was a Principal at The Dover Group, a management consulting firm, where he implemented successful strategic reorganizations for clients including Chase Corporation, Burke Oil Company, and Quincy Medical Center. Prior to that, he cofounded Twin Rivers Technologies, a $350 million company serving the oleo chemicals, renewable biofuels energy, and food ingredients markets, which he grew in size, production capacity, and profit while serving as President and COO. The company was sold to the Federal Land Development Agency of Maylasia in 2007 and Paul was retained as President until 2009. Paul began his management career as a Plant Manager and Operations Manager at The Procter and Gamble Company, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Matthew Caspari
Managing Director, Aurora Algae Pty Ltd
Matthew Caspari is responsible for cultivating strategic relationships and oversees the Company’s Australian operations. Prior to co-founding Aurora Algae, Matthew was a management consultant with Cambridge Pharma Consultancy, where he provided strategic advice to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. His professional experience also includes time with Hana Biosciences, where he was involved in Business Development and Marketing, and with Bloomberg, LP, where he worked in Mergers and Acquisitions. Matthew holds an MBA with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a BS in Biochemistry from Georgetown University.
Guido Radaelli
Vice President, Engineering
Guido Radaelli defines the Company’s proprietary technology roadmap and oversees its implementation through the design, procurement, and construction of facilities, from lab to large scale production. Prior to co-founding Aurora Algae, Guido worked for Casale Group, a leading engineering company located in Switzerland. He began in Casale’s Process Engineering Department, where he developed expertise across all aspects of chemical plant design. Guido then gained managerial experience while leading Casale’s R&D department. During his time at Casale Group, he led interdisciplinary teams, managed multi-million dollar R&D projects and cooperated with leading academic institutions and engineering companies. Guido holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and an MS with honors in Chemical Engineering from Politecnico of Milan in Italy.
Dr. Bertrand Vick
Chief Scientific Officer
Bertrand (“Bert”) Vick is responsible for the Company’s scientific direction. Prior to co-founding Aurora Algae, Bert’s doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley focused on gene expression in complex eukaryotes. He developed deep expertise in protein biochemistry and molecular biology while gaining broad experience in cell culture, molecular genetics, antibody production and cell-based assay development. Bert also earned the Management of Technology certificate from the Haas School of Business. Previous to his doctoral research, he studied one-carbon metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and developed a biological method for producing a valuable industrial chemical. Bert earned his B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas, Austin, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Connie Sandusky
Senior Vice President, Sales
Connie Sandusky is a seasoned sales executive with 18 years of experience driving growth in B2B food ingredient businesses. She joined Aurora Algae from D.D. Williamson, a global leader in natural food colorings, where she served as Director of Sales, Americas. Prior to that, Connie spent 10 years in various sales and marketing leadership roles at Kalsec, a producer of natural colors, flavor extracts, antioxidants, and nutritional ingredients for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. She began her sales career at Protein Technologies International, a DuPont subsidiary, providing soy protein products to the meat and poultry industry. Connie earned an MS and a PhD in Food Science from the University of Maryland, and has recognized expertise in oxidation management in fats, oils and processed food products.
