C-VENTURES - Key Persons

Dr. Virginia Corless received her B.Sc. in Physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge, and was a Marshall Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She transitioned to the energy sector while a AAAS fellow at the US Senate Committee for Energy and Natural Resources, where she worked on international clean energy deployment, development, and domestic industrial efficiency issues. Upon leaving the Senate to return to Europe, she was instrumental in developing the Bellona Foundation's roadmaps for the deployment of CO2 Capture and Storage technologies, and is now the Science & Development Manager for The Sahara Forest Project A/S, a start-up developing technologies to sustainably generate food, freshwater, and energy in desert environments. There she manages the research program at the company's pilot facility in Qatar and develops scientific and commercial networks necessary for growth. She has worked in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and has won awards for her work in theater and writing. She has served on technology policy committees and is the author of multiple articles in scientific journals and professional publications. Virginia specializes in working at the boundary of scientific research, technology development, and public policy in the clean energy sector.

As President & CEO of Iogen Energy in Canada since July 2010, Duncan led the development program to advance commercialization of Iogen Energy's cellulosic ethanol technology, which is now to be built and integrated with a major sugar-mill in Sao Paolo state, in partnership with Brazils biggest sugar/ethanol producer Raizen. He was previously Vice President of Shell's Hydrogen business, developing hydrogen as a future fuel for mobility and power. Duncan has a Shell career spanning three decades working in Venezuela, the Caribbean, Nigeria, Japan and the Netherlands and has held key positions in Supply/trading, M&A, Upstream, Strategy, Government Relations and Alternative Energy. Duncan was also instrumental in setting-up Shell's biofuels technology ventures, including Iogen in Canada, from 2001 onwards. Mr. Macleod has been a member of the California Hydrogen Highway Network Advisory Panel and The California Fuel Cell Partnership Steering Team, the Boards of Icelandic New Energy and Cellana BV, and currently sits on the Boards of Conduit Ventures and the Canadian Renewables Fuels Association. He studied Economics & Geography at Birmingham University.

• 21 years with Royal Dutch Shell. Finance, commercial, operational and global business leadership roles in NL, Japan, UK, USA and Canada • Formerly CEO of Cellana (a Shell Algae joint venture), Chairman and CEO of HERA (a Canadian metal-hydride hydrogen storage company), CFO, and general manager Asia-Pacific of Shell Hydrogen, VP of Shell Capital, non-executive board member of Icelandic New Energy, Shell's LP-rep in two VC's: (Chrysalix and Conduit) • (Co-)authored publications on innovation, algae commercialization and hydrogen deployment

• 23 years with Royal Dutch Shell. Technical, commercial, operational and global business leadership roles in Netherlands, UK and Singapore

Ian has had a long career as an innovator in corporate environments working to identify new opportunities and to ensure that value is created through effective implementation. A founder member of Shell's Gamechanger organization, Ian has developed and fostered new technologies in many areas including: applications of Artificial Intelligence to Product Design; the first successful application of Genetic Algorithms to Financial Derivatives Trading; a new method of detecting hydrocarbon microseepage; novel methods to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Ian was responsible for introducing algal biofuel technology to the oil industry. In addition to being an active innovator Ian has a worked to develop the processes of innovation more generally, particularly making effective links to corporate strategy. Ian has worked in the IT sector, commodity trading, environmental affairs, corporate strategy, oil marketing, exploration geophysics, R&D management and biofuels development. His final job within Shell was as Technology Manager for Cellana Algae biofuels. Ian has degrees in Mathematics, Physics and Biochemistry.