Thomas E. Unterman

Chairman of the Board

Tom has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2007 and as Chairman since 2021. Tom brings substantial legal and business expertise to the company. He is the Founding Partner of Rustic Canyon Partners and served as its Managing Partner from 1999 to 2009. Prior to founding Rustic Canyon Partners, Tom served in several executive positions at The Times Mirror Company, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He currently serves as a director of Blackline, Inc. Tom holds a B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

Crystal Nix-Hines

Director

Crystal joined our board of directors in November 2020 and brings extensive public and private sector business expertise to Fulcrum. Crystal is currently a Partner at the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP where she focuses on complex litigation including class actions, shareholder, contractual and unfair business practice disputes and other matters. She also co-chairs the firm's Crisis Law & Strategy Practice Group. Prior to rejoining Quinn Emanuel in 2017, Ms. Nix-Hines was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) where she represented the United States Government in the 195-member body and launched two innovative education-related public-private partnerships. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the late William Norris of the Ninth Circuit and to former Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O'Connor. Crystal holds a B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she graduated with honors and served as the Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

David F. Philipp

Director

Dave has served as a member of Fulcrum's board of directors since September 2020. He is a Managing Director at Crestline Investors and has more than 25 years of experience in investment banking and alternative investments. Prior to Crestline Investors, Dave co-founded and managed several family-owned investment and advisory firms with holdings and operations around the world. He has founded and/or served on the boards of several companies in the solar and hydro sectors. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years in various roles at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse where he focused on providing structured financing strategies for alternative investment managers. He is a CFA Charter holder and a member of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. Dave holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Colorado, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Rick Barraza

Vice President of Administration

Rick has been with Fulcrum since the company’s inception in 2007. He manages the insurance, asset management, public relations, board communications and other corporate and other administration activities for Fulcrum. He has also developed all of Fulcrum's systems, back office processes and controls. Rick brings more than three decades of experience in corporate business management, communications, accounting and finance. Prior to joining Fulcrum, he held senior accounting, finance and communications positions, most recently serving as Senior Vice President for both Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Calpine Corporation. While at Calpine, he established the accounting system, led their annual corporate and project budgeting process, managed communications with Wall Street and worked closely with the CFO on all debt and equity capital markets transactions. In 2000, Rick was awarded "Investor Relations Officer" of the year by Investor Relations Magazine. Rick has a B.S. in accounting from San Jose State University.

Karen Bunton

Vice President of Human Resources

Karen joined Fulcrum in 2008 and has played a key role in developing the company's human resources infrastructure and building the organization to where it is today, which includes a world-class workforce for Fulcrum's first waste-to-fuels plant, Sierra. Karen has 30 years of experience in the fields of human resources, investor relations and corporate communications. Her career began at Calpine Corporation in 1988 as the company's first human resources professional where, over a span of ten years, the organization grew from 30 employees to more than 400. While at Calpine she also served as Director of Investor Relations where she worked closely with investors and analysts in ensuring transparent, effective and accurate disclosures. Karen obtained a B.S. in personnel and industrial relations from California State University, Chico.

Alain Castro

Vice President of Development

Alain joined Fulcrum in 2021 and leads business and project development for the company. An international business executive and industrial engineer in the energy and industrial sustainability sectors, Alain has more than 25 years of experience in financing and developing utility-scale renewable energy projects and supporting the full-scale commercialization and deployment of alternative energy technologies, including waste-to-energy, energy storage, fuel cells and wind energy. Before joining Fulcrum, Alain led the development of an industrial eco district involving the acquisition and industrial conversion of a $250 million industrial process plant into a sustainable infrastructure site. Earlier in his career, Alain was a Partner at Ernst & Young Consulting, where he specialized in international supply chain optimization projects. Alain earned his Master’s in Business Management from the Sloan Fellowship program at the London Business School, and his B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Texas.

Jason Dunaway

Managing Director of Construction

Jason has managed the construction of Fulcrum's first waste to fuels project, the Sierra BioFuels Plant, since joining the company in 2018. He now serves as Managing Director of Construction with oversight responsibility for the construction of Fulcrum's growth program. He has more than three decades of experience in complex industrial construction projects, including multimillion-dollar energy production facilities. Jason's career has included overseeing upgrades to major American refineries and leading the overall planning and day-to-day construction of a large solar photovoltaic plant as well as biofuels plants in the Midwest.

Pete Tiverios

Chief Technology Officer

Pete joined Fulcrum in 2010 as a Principal Process Engineer and now oversees all aspects of Fulcrum’s proprietary technology processes. Pete prepared the original waste to fuels studies and led the overall process effort for the development of the Sierra BioFuels Plant, Fulcrum’s first landfill waste-to-clean fuels facility. Prior to joining Fulcrum, Pete led the process portions of large-scale chemical industrial engineering at Jacobs Engineering. Pete received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of South Carolina.

Ivan Varela

Vice President of Operations

Ivan joined Fulcrum in 2021 and managed the safe and successful start-up of the Sierra BioFuels Plant. Ivan is responsible for management oversight of the safe and efficient operations at the Sierra BioFuels Plant and future waste-to-fuels plants. He is tasked with standardizing plant operations throughout Fulcrum’s fleet ensuring the company’s safety, production and economic goals are achieved. He is a proven industry leader with a strong understanding of process safety, energy systems, energy economics, refining and operational excellence. Prior to joining Fulcrum, Ivan served as Sr. Manager of Refinery Operations at Delek US. Ivan earned a B.S. in energy management and an A.S. in process plant technology from Bismarck State College.

About Fulcrum

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