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The Natel Energy Team

Gia Schneider

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Gia holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from MIT and has 10 years of experience in the energy and renewable industries. She provided strategic and tactical solutions to several major energy companies as a consultant for Accenture and has significant experience in energy-related strategy development and deal valuation. In 2005, Gia started the carbon emissions trading desk at Credit Suisse, building a profitable multi-million dollar business in its first year. Gia is also an advisory partner at a boutique principle investment and advisory firm focused on climate and ecosystem investments called EKO Asset Management Partners.

Abe Schneider

President and Chief Technology Officer.

Abe received both an undergraduate and a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and has established himself as a leading mechanical engineer with both large firms like Timken, where he worked in Advanced Product Development; and small, innovative startups such as the Google-funded high altitude wind company, Makani Power. At Makani, he managed a group of 5 engineers broadly responsible for their mechanical systems. He is co-named on Natel's new SLH patent, and brings 8 years of Product Development experience to bear on Natel's engineering activities.

Joe Blankenship

Director of Sales & Marketing.

Joe has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry and in project development. He was Director of Project Finance for a major commercial finance company where he invested over $150 million in projects for independent power production and waste recovery for recycling and waste to energy. Joe has also run a public company that processed municipal solid waste (MSW) for recycling and production of refuse derived fuel. He led the development, engineering, construction and operation of a $50 million MSW recycling and fuel production project in Florida that was sold to Waste Management Inc.

Erick Davidson

Senior Engineer

Erick Davidson received an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a masters degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining Natel, Erick worked as the lead mechanical engineer at two new-technology start-ups where he was responsible for all aspects of product design and contributed several key ideas resulting in nine issued patents. Erick has a strong backround in machine design and the processing and behavior of materials. He also has extensive prototyping experience including CAM and the use of various CNC machines.

Rodrigo Linares

Manufacturing Engineer

Rodrigo Linares holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar and a master's in Manufacturing from MIT. Mr. Linares has a broad set of previous experiences in industries ranging from oil and gas to electronics manufacturing to medical devices. He specializes in design for manufacturing and assembly and development of stochastic models for systems design.

Adam Reich

Product Engineer

Adam received an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a masters degree in Mechatronics from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining the team at Natel, Adam worked as a consultant with GreenMountain Engineering developing hardware and software solutions for various clients within the renewable energy industry. Adam brings to Natel varied experience in machine design, embedded systems, and software development

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Raymond Tsang

Hydraulic Structural Engineer

Raymond received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2006 and PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2010 at University of California, Davis. He had previous internship experience working in the California Department of Water Resources. He is responsible for designing hydraulic structures and planning infrastructure integration for the SLH.