By training a physical chemist, Dr. Overend has worked in bioenergy and renewable energy since 1973 as a researcher, research manager and coordinator of research and development in both Canada and the United States. Prior to that, he worked at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. He joined the U.S. DOE Biomass Power program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1990, and was the project leader during the 1990s.

Mr. Hughes has been in journalism and communication for more than two decades. He was the founder of Atoll, a company dedicated to monetizing online content for newspapers by placing content behind a single paywall. Mr. Hughes has worked at The Washington Post, the Washington Times and the Tacoma News Tribune, as well as several online media outlets. He has a degree in speech communication from George Mason University.

Mr. Leong spent 16 years in the Malaysian merchant banking industry, most recently as the Director and Head of Corporate Finance for Utama Merchant Bank Berhad in Malaysia. Mr. Leong was a Council member of the Malaysian Investment Banking Association, where he was actively involved in outlining policies and discussions with the regulatory authorities, like the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia.

Mr. Gorman has spent the last five years as a logistics expert for Enagra Inc, a biofuels trading company that has sold and transported more than 100 million tonnes of biofuels across the globe. Mr. Gorman had over 14 years of experience with Waste Management and Browning-Ferris Industries (“BFI”) where he managed sales in central US for Waste Management. At BFI, Mr. Gorman held various positions starting in sales and progressing.

Mr. Petras has been in the biofuels and energy sectors for more than a decade. Mr. Petras left Stanford University as a sophomore to found his first startup, which was later acquired by Lodgenet. Mr. Petras has started several other successful companies, including 1stUP.com, Franklin Power, and Enagra Inc., a company that trades biofuels to worldwide markets. Mr. Petras is an Australian citizen and a national of the Slovak Republic.