Advanced Carbon Utilization
Overview
Management
Directors
Advisors
Investors


Directors


John Rockwell
CEO and President, Accelergy Corp


John has more than 25 years of experience managing and developing companies commercializing products in numerous CleanTech markets as well as making venture capital investments in these markets. Prior to Accelergy, he has served as the leader of four companies all of which became leaders in their market and realized successful exits for their investors. John has invested, developed and managed companies broadly across the CleanTech sectors including cleaner chemicals and fuels, materials substitution, manufacturing efficiency, supply chain, energy storage, energy efficiency, smart grid, and solar. During his career, he has invested in 22 companies in the CleanTech space, with 14 of those investments having realized an exit.

Previously he was a Founder and Managing Director of Element Partners, an $800 million venture capital and private equity firm focused on CleanTech investments. Prior to Element, John was a Partner at Advent International Corporation, now a $30 billion global private equity firm, during which time he managed the firm’s California office for 9 years

Before Advent, John spent 7 years at Materia Ventures Associates, investing in and managing early-stage companies that were commercializing applications of advanced materials technologies. He also served as CEO of Luxar Corporation, a manufacturer of CO2 lasers for the medical market and as President of SSC, Inc., a manufacturer of high performance ceramic oxide materials used in superconductors, fuel cells, catalysts and other applications. Both Luxar and SSC had successful exits, the former through a merger with ESC Medical and the latter through a sale to Praxair.

Early in his career, John held various positions at 3M Corporation in its Acquisitions and Business Development Department including working in the company’s corporate venture capital program.

Prior to his business career John had a successful hockey career including playing professionally, being a member of the U.S. Junior National Team and of a U.S. Select Team that won the Spengler Cup.

John received a BS in Business Administration from Michigan Technological University and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. John has served on the boards of more than 25 companies in his career including, among others, the boards of Accelergy Corp., EdeniQ, Inc., FiveCubits, Inc., GarrettCom, Inc., HiQ Solar, Inc., Luxar Corp., OK International, Inc., RedPrairie Corp. and SSC, Inc. John is a member of the Michigan Technological University School of Business and Economics’ Dean’s Advisory Board, past Chairman of the CleanTech Venture Network Advisory Board and former Chairman of the Michigan Technological University Hockey Enrichment Campaign. He is a member of the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.



Dr. Rocco Fiato
Chief Technology Officer, Accelergy Corp


Dr. Rocco Fiato brings over 30 years of experience in synthetic fuels catalysis science and process engineering, corporate strategic planning, and intellectual property management from the oil and gas industries to Accelergy.

Before joining Accelergy, he was with ExxonMobil, where he retired as a member of the executive staff for the Research & Engineering Company with responsibilities for advanced catalytic process technology development, strategic planning and IP program development on synthetic fuels. Over the course of his career, he served as Head of Catalysis Science in Exxon Corporate Research, Head of Competitive Technology Assessment in the Process Engineering Department, Intellectual Property Manager for the Gas-to-Liquids Technology Division, and Technical Advisor to the Corporate Planning Department of ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.

Dr. Fiato served on the 2011-2012 DOE Quadrennial Technology Review Panel for the US Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Strategy Development initiative.

Dr. Fiato served as 2005-2006 chairman of Energy Frontiers International, a non-advocacy association of the world’s leading oil-gas-power companies, and has been active in programs for the U.S. Department of Energy, the US Department of Defense, the NSF, and the National Research Council. He also serves as a corporate board advisor to Global Thermostat Corporation and to Calera Corporation, and has served as a contributing editor to the Materials Research Society.

He is a named inventor on 82 U.S. and 296 foreign patents and author of more than 48 publications on various aspects of alternative energy and synthetic fuels production. He holds a PhD in physical organic chemistry from the University of Rochester and BS in chemistry from Clarkson College.