Leaders for the Global Energy Transformation

Sankar is an entrepreneur and an award-winning scientist with over 50 US patents who is passionate on the urgency to reduce the effects of Climate Change. He has been a member of many committees including the White House Committee on Energy & Environment, chaired by then Vice- President Al Gore. Recently he was an Advisor to the Indian PM on Climate Change and Energy

Professor Carolyn Hansson CM, FCAE, FRSC has a long and distinguished career in industries such as Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta), Danish Corrosion Labs and Bell Labs as well in academia (Waterloo, Queens, Columbia & SUNY) and was earlier a member of the Board of a TSX and NASDAQ listed Alternate Energy Company (Hydrogenics). A Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Hansson is the recipient of many awards including the Order of Canada and is a member of several influential committees within North America and Europe. During her tenure as Vice President of Research at Waterloo University Professor Hansson drove innovation across all disciplines of the University. She has wide connections within innovation circles in Canada, USA and Europe having lived and worked on both sides of the Atlantic.

Dr. Jacobs’ innovations have been instrumental in the development of Electrovaya’s SuperPolymer technology. He co-founded the company with Sankar DasGupta in 1996 and was an instrumental part of its IPO in 2000. He served as CTO of the company until 2003. Dr. Jacobs received a BA from Oberlin College, Ohio and completed both his MA and PhD in solid-state physics at the University of Toronto.

Raj has been with Electrovaya for over 10 years and has been involved with every aspect of the business from cell manufacturing, engineering activities and business development. Raj is currently responsible for Electrovaya’s overall Technology and Business Development functions.  Raj attended Imperial College, London; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and the University of Cambridge, where he received his Doctorate in Materials Science.

Kartick Kumar is a seasoned climate change and sustainability investor. He has two decades of investment and operations experience with a particular focus on decarbonization and energy transition issues across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. He has held a range of senior roles within the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the private sector (private equity/venture capital. Kartick holds degrees in economics and law from Cambridge University, Columbia University, and the University of Toronto.

Steven Berkenfeld is a seasoned industry veteran within both the clean energy and finance industries, spending more than 30 years at Lehman Brothers/Barclays Capital. Most recently, he served as a managing director in investment banking for Barclays Capital for 11 years. In this role, he was a senior sponsor of its Social Impact Banking Initiative and co-headed the firm’s Cleantech Initiative. He also led the banking effort for emerging industrial technology companies. Previously, he was a managing director at Lehman Brothers where he spent 22 years in various senior roles including chief investment officer of the private equity division, chairman of the Transaction Approval Committee, and head of the Legal, Compliance and Audit departments. From 2012-2018, Berkenfeld also was a board member and chair of the Sierra Club Foundation, a non-profit entity whose mission is to promote efforts to educate and empower people to protect and improve the natural and human environment.