The Company

EnerGaia Co., Ltd. was incorporated in April 2009 after years of research of the best way to utilize algae to capture and recycle gaseous CO2 emissions from industrial sources, with specific focus on the Asian market and environment.

Senior Management

Managing Director, Saumil Shah

Saumil is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA USA.  He holds both a Bachelors and Masters in Aerospace Engineering. After completing his schooling, he worked for 3 years as an aircraft engine design engineer for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines before moving to the Energy division of GE. Over a period of more than 9 years at GE Energy, Saumil held various positions including roles as a field engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt, commercial director (technical sales), lead contract negotiator and senior manager.  In his final position, Saumil led a team of more than 60 commercial specialists handling business risk management and contract negotiations for over $1.8 billion of sales annually in the largest of GE's 8 global regions.

Marketing Director, Sang Sae-Lao

Sang is a graduate of the King Mongkut Institute of Technology in Thonburi, Thailand and a post-graduate of the University of New South Wales, Australia.  He holds a Bachelors degree of Chemical Engineering and a Masters degree of Environmental Engineering.  After graduation, he worked in the environmental consultant industry for 8 years with ERM, Coffey and CH2M Hill. He then joined GE Energy in 2006 as a commercial manager and later moved to a sales manager position in 2008.

Technology Director, Alby Steffens

Alby is a graduate of both the Australian Maritime College and the University of Tasmania.  He holds a Master of Science Degree in Aquaculture & Fisheries.  Alby has successfully designed, built and operated several fish hatcheries and farms.  He has also built and operated multiple algal photo-bioreactor systems in Australia to produce feed for oyster hatcheries.  Alby has been a Director of several companies both in Australia and Singapore.  He has acted as a consultant over the past several years to various companies in Asia primarily with regard to the feasibility of different types of aquaculture.  His current focus is in the mass culture of algae using PBRs in a continuous mode to produce a high quality axenic product.

Strategy Director, Wesley Cross

Wesley is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington D.C., USA.  He holds a Bachelors of Science in Foreign Service as well as an Honors Certificate from the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy.  He is an expert in enterprise development, drawing from ten years experience at the intersection of international policy and business.  Wesley has created and tested innovative structures and processes to manage cross-border social and commercial enterprise development. He has deployed these practices with over 40 private and public sector entities in extensive on-the-ground experience in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.  Wesley is a co-founder of Jumpstart-up and a member of the Executive Committee of its Board of Directors. He is a co-architect of the Impact Programme and the Impact Methodology.

Advisory Committee

Steve Kupetz

Dr. Steve Kupetz is an American who has been living in Thailand for the past 8 years.  He is a serial entrepreneur,  professor, and philanthropist. Steve has taken a step away from his businesses to pursue a life long passion of  philanthropy through social entrepreneurship.  Today, Steve dedicates his time to working with small NGO's, a  number of social projects in India and Thailand, and his own charity trust.  He is also an advisor to the Ashoka  Foundation, the second largest global association of social entrepreneurs; the Earth Net and Green Net  Foundation, emphasizing on the education and promotion of branding and marketing for organic products; and to  Frontier Investment and Development Partners, with a focus on sustainable development in Cambodia and Laos.  Previously, Steve owned businesses in the retail, commodity and real estate sectors.  He was also a professor at the University of Illinois and has served with the Peace Corps.  Steve studied at the University of Chicago and received his PhD from the University of Minnesota.

Suriya Ayachanun

Mr. Suriya Ayachanun is a Thai citizen with more than 30 years of experience working in the various agro-industrial sectors of the Kingdom.  He has spent 3 years as a pulp and paper engineer, another 3 years as an engineering manager in the sugar cane industry, and more than 27 years working for the Chumporn Palm Oil Industries company.  Mr. Ayachanun has also held several roles for the Thai government to help shape sustainable energy policies, including Chair of the “National Energy Policy Set-Up Committee” and the “National & International Energy Road Map Set-Up Task Force.”  As part of these efforts, he has presented at many local and international meetings, including invitations to speak from the German government and the Asian Development Bank.  Mr. Ayachanun holds a Bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering from Prince of Songkla University in Thailand, and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University.

Ingo Puhl

Mr. Ingo Puhl is a German citizen with a distinguished 15 year career in the international carbon market. Most recently, he has established and grown the carbon asset management practice of South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd. in South East Asia, of which he is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner. He has broad expertise in the appraisal, development and financing of clean technology projects in the region.

His previous experience includes 5 years in international climate policy advisory for the International Energy Agency in Paris, the Center for Clean Air Policy in Washington, DC and the Institute for Applied Ecology in Germany. He worked on various assignments for the World Bank related to the launch of its 100 mil USD Prototype Carbon Fund, its carbon footprint and World Bank Staff Climate Club and has been a task force leader for the GHG Protocol. He is also a pioneer in the European voluntary carbon market.

Ingo holds a Joint Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Management from the University Darmstadt, Germany. He is a fellow of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and recipient of three Sustainable Entrepreneurship awards.

He currently resides in Thailand with his wife and two children.

Aaron Grieser

Mr. Aaron Grieser is a Bangkok-based international transactional attorney and founder of Inspirati Ventures Pte., Ltd., a company focused on international trade and distribution of premium consumer products.  In his role as an attorney with Hunton & Williams (Thailand) Limited, Aaron focused his practice on the development and financing of major renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia.  In addition to his entrepreneurial background, Aaron brings 13 years of activity in the environmental field with rich exposure to international business transactions, public interest environmental law and policy, and corporate sustainability services in both the citizen and private sectors.

Before attending university, and over a period of four years, Aaron launched, grew and sold a thriving landscape design and construction firm in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio USA.  Aaron graduated Tufts University with honors. After graduating, he enjoyed a year in Berlin studying German renewable energy policy as a Fulbright Fellow. Prior to attending law school, Aaron assisted a consortium of Thai public interest groups advising the Thai government on establishing a publicly accessible national database on pollution emissions.  He then matriculated at the University of Oregon School of Law where he received several fellowships and honors over the course of his legal studies.

During law school, Aaron supported the well-known Indian environmental attorney M.C. Mehta in the Indian Supreme Court and also co-authored the book "In the Public Interest" with him, which is a narrative of Mr. Mehta’s most famous legal victories.

Jeff Turner

Dr. Jeff Turner is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Fisheries Service Northwest Fisheries Science Center and NOAA's West Coast Center for Oceans and Human Health.  His research is focused on genomic-level comparisons between virulent and avirulent strains of Vibrio parahaemolyitcus, with an objective to develop improved genetic markers for early detection of pathogenic strains of the virus.  He holds a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from Mercer University, and his Doctorate was completed in the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. Prior to completing his undergraduate degree in Chemistry, Dr. Turner spent four years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard on various assignments.

Aimee Webb Girard

Dr. Aimee Webb Girard is an assistant professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University.  Her research efforts are primarily focused on infant nutrition and health and she has spent extensive time in Africa and Latin America in support of this work.  Dr. Webb Girard received her Doctorate in Nutrition and Health Sciences from Emory University.  She then completed post-doctorate fellowships in Nutritional Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and in Anthropology at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Webb Girard completed her undergraduate work at Mercer University where she earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology.

George H. Bergmark III

George graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He holds a Bachelors of Industrial Engineering degree, with concentrations in Engineering Economics and Systems Engineering. He completed his graduate work at the University of Oklahoma for a Masters of Business Administration majoring in Finance.  George brings over 29 years of strategic financial management expertise to EnerGaia. He has helped business owners of emerging and mid-sized businesses maximize cash flow and profits as well as develop successful exit strategies.  Prior to joining EnerGaia, George was Corporate Controller of ASRC Energy Services in Anchorage, Alaska.  AES is a $540MM international services company with over 3,700 employees.  George has also served as Controller of ARAMARK Parks & Resorts - Alaska, a division of a Fortune 500 company; President of Houston-based Business Systems & Solutions Inc.; and prior to that he had founded Business Systems & Solutions in 1994 to provide business information technology expertise to mid-sized businesses, primarily relating to financial, operational and business process systems.  For 14 years prior to founding BSS, he gained experience in the energy industry as a director of project economics in refining, marketing and supply and as a refinery controller, division controller, planning & analysis manager and senior operations planning analyst.

Team Strengths

We have a team of experts with diverse backgrounds and skill-sets. These include:

• More than 25 years of practical marine biology experience including construction and 10+ years operating algae photo-bioreactors for aquaculture feed production in Australia
• Over 15 years of power plant industry experience ranging from practical field engineering to high value commercial sales and major contract negotiations with some of the largest global energy clients
• Partnership with top Thai universities specializing in algal research
• Deep understanding of Southeast Asian cultures and markets
• Strong existing relationships with numerous utilities, independent power producers, plant operators and Original Equipment Manufacturers
• Extensive fluid mechanics, biochemistry, marine biology and nutritional knowledge
• Project management expertise in power plant and civil engineering scopes
• Excellent business sense, including an understanding of commercial proformas and the Clean Development Mechanism
• Highly innovative spirit