Board of directors
Biographies of non-executive and executive directors
Jeff Vander Linden (COO) and Nauman Babar (CFO)
Ian Pearson, Non-Executive Chairman
Ian was the chairman of AIM-listed OVCT2 for five years. OVCT2 invested in a variety of renewable energy companies and was successfully merged into Apollo VCT plc in 2019. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Thames Water Utilities Limited, the UK’s biggest water company and Chairman of Quantum Exponential Group plc. Ian has also previously been a member of the UK Advisory Board of the accountants PwC and between 2001 and 2010, he held a number of ministerial positions in the UK government, including Minister for Trade & Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment, Minister for Science, and Economic Secretary to the Treasury. He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford and has a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in Industrial and Business Studies from the University of Warwick.
David Palumbo, Chief Executive Officer
David Palumbo is an experienced entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in private equity, venture capital and asset management. Since 2006, he has founded and co-founded a number of companies in various industries such as cleantech, digital technology and real estate. David is also the Founding and Managing Partner of Origen Capital LLP, a private investment firm representing family offices and private consortia in Europe, CIS and Latin America. He holds a BSc and an MSc in Electrical Engineering.
Nauman Babar, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Nauman is a senior Finance professional who has almost 20 years of international experience within corporate finance, audit and finance function transformation with a track record of scaling up growth companies and working in private equity-backed businesses. He has predominantly worked within the Energy & Utilities space with a focus on renewables and cleantech. Nauman initially worked with international accountants, PwC and has gained experience with Accenture, EY and Mott Macdonald and most recently served as Finance Director at Woodlands Energy Services. Nauman is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from University of Essex.
Jeffrey Vander Linden, Chief Operating Officer
Jeff’s 25-year career in operational performance and organisational change includes five years building global scale in leading, consumer products businesses and 16 years designing and delivering business strategy, process and technology transformation as a business consultant and programme director at PwC, IBM and Capgemini. He has worked with both private- and public-sector leaders on matters of business strategy, operations strategy, organisation design and large-scale execution of major projects. His dozens of clients include NTT, NEC, AT&T, Motorola, BAE Systems and National Grid. Jeff spent 10 years based in Japan, also working in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore; he has worked predominantly in the UK and Europe since 2001. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies (Economics, Politics, History, Philosophy) from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, USA.
Dr. Yoel Alemán, Chief Technology Officer
Yoel Alemán Méndez is an experienced chemical engineer with over 20 years’ experience in Biomass Gasification. He has designed, built and operated gasification facilities of various industrial capacities. He is the author of four technology patents related to speciality power generation, has been a University Associated Professor and researcher at three universities, and holds a PhD in chemical engineering. Prior to his appointment to the senior management of the company in June 2019, Yoel was Chief Technical Officer of EQTEC Iberia from April 2010.
Thomas Quigley, Non-Executive Director
Tom Quigley has had an executive career spanning over 25 years, mainly at board level, as Managing Director, CFO and CIO. This included being a Managing Director of Close Brothers Corporate Finance; a Managing Director and Head of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sector investment banking at ING Barings, London; and a Director of Terra Firma Capital Partners. Tom originally qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Price Waterhouse in London and has amassed considerable financial and management experience across multiple sectors. Through his executive and non-executive positions, Tom has worked in real estate, financial services, healthcare and banking, and across a number of jurisdictions.