Leadership & Governance
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Younger – Mr. Younger brings diverse experience in business development and most recently played a key role in formulating strategic options to reduce the carbon footprint of the world’s third largest nitrogen producer. Mr. Younger held various positions in the Corporate Development & Strategy group at Nutrien Ltd. – and previously, PotashCorp – where he worked on numerous large-scale, cross-border transactions covering agricultural inputs, lithium and specialty chemicals. Mr. Younger holds a BA from Trinity College, University of Toronto and an MBA from The Schulich School of Business at York University.
Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Secretary
Ryan Ptolemy – Mr. Ptolemy is a CPA, CGA and CFA charter holder and obtained a B.A. from Western University. He serves as CFO to a number of public and private companies in the mining and technology sectors. Mr. Ptolemy formerly served as CFO for an independent investment dealer in Toronto where he was responsible for financial reporting, auditing, budgeting and internal controls.
Legal Counsel
Kenny Choi – Mr. Choi is a corporate lawyer who is corporate secretary and legal consultant to various TSX and TSX Venture listed companies in the mining and technology industries. He was previously an associate at a large Toronto corporate law firm, where he worked on a variety of corporate and commercial transactions. Mr. Choi studied at Western University, where he obtained a Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law and an Honours Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School.
TECHNICAL TEAM
Pinakin Patel – Mr. Patel is a world leader in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies with over 40 years of experience and 30+ patents. He has received over US$500 million in R&D funding for development of projects, worldwide. He is the recipient of prestigious awards from US-DOE, State of Connecticut, ASME, Electrochemical Society and others. Mr. Patel has supported dozens of start-ups in alternate energy and associated supply chain development, including strategic alliance and funding development. He has a successful track record with multi-national sponsors, including BASF, Sempra, Exxon, EPRI, NASA, CARB, CEC, Canada-SDTC, amongst others.
Dr. Ludwig Lipp – Mr. Lipp is the lead project manager with deep expertise in fuel cells and hydrogen, with over 20 years of experience and 8+ patents. He has secured over US$15 million in R&D funding. Mr. Lipp is the recipient of the 2009 DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to electrochemical hydrogen compression (EHC). He has managed over a dozen interdisciplinary R&D projects and holds the world record for electrochemical hydrogen compression with 30,000 hours.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Martin Schuermann (Executive Chairman) – Mr. Schuermann is a serial entrepreneur with ventures across a number of different industries. He has been involved in the clean energy sector since 2009, having served as the CEO of Vision Motor Corp and Vision Industries – companies focused on developing zero emission transportation solutions using hydrogen as the dominant energy storage medium. Vision was the first company in the world to put hydrogen-powered Class 8 trucks through regular duty cycles in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Mr. Schuermann holds a BA from Westfaelische Wilhelms Universitaet Muenster and a MBA from UCLA.
Gregory Biniowsky – Mr. Biniowsky is a Canadian trained and licensed lawyer who has been a director or officer of a number of international businesses. He is a fluent Spanish speaker, with more than 30 years’ experience working in Latin America as a strategic advisor. He previously worked for the international law firms Gowling WLG and Heenan Blaikie, and also as an international development fund manager for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Program. Mr. Biniowsky holds a JD from the University of British Colombia and degrees from Carleton and York Universities in political science with a focus on Latin America.
Christopher Younger – Mr. Younger serves as the CEO of Aberdeen and oversees strategy and operations of the company. He joined Aberdeen in April 2021 and is focused driving shareholder value through investment in unique opportunities across the clean energy and industrial value chains. Under his leadership the company is seeking to transform the portfolio from an historically broad natural resources mandate towards a sharper focus on clean energy, industrial decarbonization and electrification. The vision is inclusive of upstream resource opportunities – to deliver key inputs for global electrification – as well as mid and downstream opportunities to accelerate the technologies and business models that will fuel the future.
Stan Bharti – Mr. Bharti has over 30 years of experience in operations, public markets and finance. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Bharti has been involved in acquiring, restructuring and financing resource companies. He is a Professional Mining Engineer and holds a Masters Degree in Engineering from Moscow, Russia and the University of London, England. During the past five years, Mr. Bharti’s principal occupation has been as the Executive Chairman of Forbes & Manhattan, Inc. (“F&M”). In addition, Mr. Bharti is a director of several public and private companies.
Bernie Wilson – Mr. Wilson is a senior financial professional. He is the former Vice-Chairman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. Further, Mr. Wilson is the Chairman of the Founders Board of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Wilson has served as Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce – Canada; and Member of the Canada/US Trade Committee. Mr. Wilson is currently a director of a number of other public Canadian companies
General Lewis MacKenzie – General MacKenzie retired from the Canadian Forces after 36 years of service. Since retiring he has authored two bestselling books and numerous newspaper articles and is a frequent media commentator. He is known for commanding Sector Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, under the United Nations Protection Force in 1992. General MacKenzie has served as a director for a number of public companies. He has received the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.
Wen Ye – Ms. Ye is a CPA, CGA and holds a Honours Bachelor of Commence from Laurentian University. Ms. Ye previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Cash Minerals Inc. She has served as an accountant to a number of public companies since February 2006.