Canada’s most advanced and environmentally friendly biodiesel company
The Management Team
Success is defined as bringing the right team to the right technology, leading the team to identifying critical objectives, developing the necessary strategies and executing tactics.
Our board of advisors has extensive knowledge in the petro and chemical industries and provides the nucleus for advising interim director roles. These include Steve Bolt as operations advisor, Bernard West as marketing advisor, and Dean Chambers as CFO advisor.
Until full funding is in place and additional human resources can be acquired, this team is augmented by the Reo and Benefuel teams.
Jose Laurentino - CEO
Jose has considerable experience in commercialization of technology. Graduating with an MSc in Electronics, Ontario Hydro provided his first insight into what the future would hold. Working in the Nuclear Divisions New Systems team the genesis of the IRIS system was developed. Bell Canada next offered an opportunity with the INSS project as contract lead in the integration of the cross Canada telecommunications system, followed by TeleSat and the Anik Nimiq transition for Bell. These endeavor's required quick assessment of risk and profiles of how to mitigate that risk, the final component of IRIS. Application of IRIS has led to the development of Azule.
The past few years have been used to acquire knowledge and experience in the area of conversion technologies, specifically in the bio fuel space. Some of the projects Jose has worked on include Bio diesel in Brazil as well as microbial biogas, syngas from thermal conversion in Mexico, bio alcohol from high performance enzyme and bacterial reactors.
Steve Bolt - COO interim
Steve Bolt is recently retired from Dow Chemical after a 35-year career. At retirement he was Eastern Canada Operations Director, as well as the Global Supply Chain Director of Technology, Process & Systems. He is currently Co-chairing a competitive council for the Chemical Industry in Ontario through which he is co-leading the development of a strategy to integrate the traditional industry with the evolving Bio based industry to drive long term sustainability. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Ontario Biotech Innovation Network, and is Chairman of the Board of Governors at Lambton College. These minor distractions get carried out between sail boat races.
Dr. Bernard West - Business and Market Development Interim
Bernard West holds a BSc and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester where he also taught for 6 years. In 2008 he was President and CEO of CANSOLV Technologies of Montreal, and was previously President and COO, Canada Colors and Chemicals Limited. Prior to that, he had 30 years of experience in the chemical industry with Rhone-Poulenc, Imperial Oil and Polymer Corporation.
Bernard has also been very active in industry associations and industry-government bodies, including; member of the Board of the Canada's Chemical Producers Association (Chair 1995–1997), Chair of The Chemical Institute of Canada, Chair of the Society of Chemical Industry–Canadian Section, member of the Board of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (Washington, D.C.) He is currently; Chair of the Board of Ontario BioAuto Council, Co-Chair of the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance], Co-Chair of the Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Network, and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technologies in the National Research Council of Canada.