The Team

Founding Executives

KARIM KASSAM

GDT Founding Member, Co-Chief Executive Officer

Karim Kassam brings over 25 years of worldwide experience in business development as President and CEO of his Canadian company, Prescient International. Mr. Kassam developed a clear and differentiated strategy for Prescient that focused on client-centric solutions based on understanding the client's future needs. He developed technology solutions years before implementation and has several patents. Mr. Kassam's expertise is capitalizing on opportunities in technology and financing, focusing on the Middle Eastern region where he is presently based. Mr. Kassam's core expertise is client negotiations, identification of potential investment opportunities, and offering viable business solutions.  Mr. Kassam also provides strategic, operational and tactical advice for projects and ventures.

BRUCE MATHESON

GDT Founding Member, Co-Chief Executive Officer

Bruce Matheson brings over 38 years of North America-based experience in strategy and finance. He is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Infrastar Advisors LLC, a power, energy and waste management industry advisory firm that provides corporate clients with strategic, acquisition finance and structuring advice. Mr. Matheson has previously invested in the municipal solid waste in the solid recovered fuel area. Before founding Infrastar Advisors in 2002, Mr. Matheson was a Managing Director responsible for US project finance clients of Scotia Capital, and he managed a leveraged loan portfolio of over $6 billion.

Lead Functional Executives

KIM B. ERICKSON

Senior Executive Vice President

Mr. Erickson is an Advisory Partner of Infrastar Advisors LLC, a power, energy, and waste management industry advisory firm that provides corporate clients with strategic, acquisition finance and structuring advice. Mr. Erickson spent over eight years in waste-to-energy waste remediation. The most prominent role was President at Resource Recovery Technologies (RRT), a waste-to-energy process manufacturer. RRT annually processes 740 thousand tons of municipal solid waste into a fuel to generate sufficient electricity to power approximately 55 thousand homes. Throughout his career, Mr. Erickson has held senior-level operational and financial management roles in various industries, including manufacturing/processing, distribution, value-added services, and mortgage banking.

ERIC KNIGHT

Senior Executive Vice President

Mr. Knight is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Infrastar Advisors LLC, a power, energy and waste management industry advisory firm that provides corporate clients with strategic, acquisition finance and structuring advice. Before founding Infrastar Advisors in 2003, Mr. Knight was a Managing Director of the Leveraged Finance Group at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. and was responsible for structuring over $4 billion of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds. Before joining Bear Stearns, he was a Managing Director of Scotia Capital's Acquisition Finance & Private Equity Sponsor Group, responsible for over $5 billion in committed leveraged loans, high-yield bond assets, and equity commitments to over 30 private equity funds, as well as select direct private equity investments.

Lead Operation and Process Design Executives

CASEY URBONAS

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Urbanos is a former CEO of the Dongara Pellet Plant in the City of Vaughan, Ontario (a waste conversion to fuel pellet energy facility). As CEO, he oversaw all business operational and commercial aspects to improve sales growth, operational excellence, and manufacturing output. Before Dongara, Mr. Urbonas was COO of Turtle Island Recycling, a Canadian multi-location, multi-material Recycling and Waste Removal Company that provided services for the collection of waste recyclables, residential to small business and large corporations as well as for government municipal contracts. In his role, Mr. Urbonas planned and managed the daily operations of a 450-employee organization. His core expertise is in business operations excellence, Profit and loss accountability, multi-facility management,  process and performance improvement, change management, complex problem resolution, and supply chain management.

NASIR VIRANI CPA, CA, Master of Management

Senior Vice President - Corporate Affairs

Results-driven senior management professional and Canadian CPA with a progressive management career in public accounting, finance, business ventures, international development, health care and tertiary education. Mr. Virani is an effective cross-cultural leader with proven results in establishing and growing new programs and institutions in the Healthcare and Education sectors in North America and Asia. His core expertise includes community-based healthcare services, international ventures and government relations, advisory for SMEs, enterprise-wide risk management, infrastructure relocation, and IT and CRM system solutions.

IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE

Executive Vice President - Operations

This identified executive has been a senior leader in the energy industry for Thermal and Renewable platforms up to 4 gigawatts and 400+ projects for 30 years. He has been responsible for diverse operations, maintenance, construction, commercial, and engineering in his previous positions. His core competencies include physical asset management, sustainable continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and implementation of lean Six Sigma.

IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE

Chief Financial Officer

This identified executive is a senior-level financial executive with over 30 years of experience as a Managing Director, CFO, and Board Member in corporate capital raising, private equity investing, and investment banking. The executive brings his expertise in asset management (acquisition and buildout), strategic equity, debt, domestic and international tax, financial construction management, financial restructuring through asset growth, acquisition and divestment finance, board and investment committee experience, negotiations (government, procurement, tax), insurance structuring, and HRM.

IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE

Independent Design Consultant

This identified executive is an internationally experienced engineering professional with 30+ years of power industry experience in generating up to 3.7 gigawatts, large-scale construction, commercial management and leadership development in both the US and international markets. He is an expert in electrical and process control engineering, new construction design review, construction management and commissioning support, asset management systems, safety review systems, audit process control systems, controls (operational, instrumentation, electrical, shift), and technical due diligence.

Identified executive with 15+ years of experience in energy infrastructure development from origination and construction through operations. He is well-versed in all aspects of project structuring, project management, contracts, construction, financial planning, and controls for global projects totaling investment of $10B+. His core competencies include strategic planning, priority setting, project management, procurement and cost management, stakeholder management, market intelligence, planning and risk analysis for construction and operations, and team motivation presentations.

IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE

Senior Vice President - Plant Rollout

Key Advisors

ROGER KELLEY

Advisory Board Candidate

Mr. Kelley has over 45 years of experience in the energy industry. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the New York Independent System Operator ("NYISO"), which administers the wholesale power markets in New York State. Past CEO of several private equity investments for the EQT private equity fund and the Fortistar Group. Former CEO of the New York Power Authority (NYPA). Mr. Kelley is an expert at global construction management and cGMP/regulated asset standard operating expertise. In the ten years before this, Mr. Kelley served as CEO and a member of the board of directors of several multibillion-dollar companies, including Peregrine Midstream Partners LLC, a midmarket gas storage company; Fortistar Renewables, a large biomass and landfill gas business; Midland Cogeneration Venture a large power generating company and the New York Power Authority ("NYPA") one of the largest public power entities in the United States. Mr. Kelley also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ("NYSERDA"), which oversees the investment of renewable and development funds in New York State. In his many years, Mr. Kelley has been involved in the design, construction, operation and overall management of many facilities and business enterprises.

WILLIAM STOUGH CPA, MBA, CGMA

Advisory Board Candidate

Mr. Stough is the former EVP – Strategic Acquisitions and CFO of Washington Penn Plastics ("WPP"). WPP is the global car industry's largest independent private polypropylene plastics compounder. Mr. Stough spent his entire career with WPP and saw its rise from a 7-digit revenue firm to a 10-digit and mid-9-digit free cash-flowing firm in 25 years. Mr Stough is an expert at contracting for global firms and chemical compound pricing under multi-year B2B arrangements. WPP is and remains a private firm. Aside from compounding, Mr. Stough participated in diversifying the industrial group into colourants, direct polypropylene refining and broader plastics wholesale distribution. Mr. Stough retired from WPP approximately seven years ago and charitably gives back his expertise to a local university undergraduate business program.

IDENTIFIED CANDIDATE

Advisory Board Candidate

This executive is a former counsel in the Corporate group of a leading international law firm. He was a Vice Chair of the Global Board and Presiding Member of his home country Board. Throughout his career, he focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations and corporate finance transactions, including multinational transactions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. Much of the executive’s practice involved coordinating legal services for several of the firm’s major clients. He retains significant experience managing large takeover bids, corporate reorganizations, going-private transactions, public and private financing and corporate governance matters. His clients included public and private corporations, underwriters, institutional investors and private equity funds.