Meet the Team
Bala Padmakumar
Chairman and CEO
Bala Padmakumar, is our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors. Mr. Padmakumar is a partner at Advantary Capital Partners, where he specializes in business development and advises on strategic matters. He has been actively partnering with the Asia practice of FocalPoint Partners LLC, a boutique investment bank on deal flow diligence in the clean transition space in Asia. Mr. Padmakumar has also advised on deal flow and provided operational support to portfolio companies for a fund set up to support SK Telecom Co., Ltd.’s strategic interests. Mr. Padmakumar has been a Venture Partner at X/Seed Capital Management, LLC, where he focused on transactions in the cleantech and materials sectors. Additionally, from 2011 to October 2020, Mr. Padmakumar was the Chief Executive Officer at Amperics, Inc., a developer and vendor of high energy density ultracap hybrid storage systems. Mr. Padmakumar has a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology from the University of Madras and a Master of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.
Dr. Vivek Soni
EVP and Board Director
Vivek Soni, is our Executive Vice President and a member of our board of directors. Dr. Soni is a member of Prithvi Ventures LLC, a fund for investments in innovative cleantech companies. Dr. Soni is on the Advisory Board of Reading Municipal Light Department, the largest municipal electric utility in Massachusetts and currently is the Vice Chair. He has also been a Managing Director for TiE Boston Angels. Dr. Soni is also a member of the boards of directors of A.T.E Private Limited, A.T.E. Enterprises Private Limited and A.T.E. Huber Envirotech Private Limited, where he provides expertise on governance, technology, innovation, cleantech, fundraising, acquisitions and global expansion. In the past he was a Venture Advisor to Nomura International plc’s New and Clean Energy Technology Ventures fund. Dr. Soni holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India, a Master of Science Degree and Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Daniel Davis
CFO
Daniel Davis, is our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Davis serves as the Chief Financial Officer of SeQure Dx, Inc., a company focused on providing off-target diagnostics in gene editing. Prior to that, Mr. Davis was a Director in the Life Sciences and Technology Practice at Accounting Management Solutions (“AMS”), and subsequently, following its acquisition, at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, an accountancy firm. Mr. Davis is also co-founder, acting Chief Financial Officer and Director of AngioWave Imaging, LLC, where he led an over-subscribed seed round, and was a key contributor to the strategic plan and drove the forecasting for the five-year plan. Mr. Davis received his B.A. in Political Science from Brown University and his M.B.A from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.
Brigadier General (RET) Leela J. Gray
Board Director
Leela Gray, a member of our board of directors, is a retired Brigadier General with 30 years in the U.S. Army. Ms. Gray served as Strategic Advisor to United States Army Cyber Command, and as a Deputy at the Department of State, where she created interagency and international partner initiatives. Prior to Army Cyber Command, Ms. Gray served as a Deputy Commanding General at the U.S. Army Central Command. As a National Security senior executive with Top Secret clearance, Ms. Gray represented the United States internationally, shaped policy, and advised logistics and governance. Ms. Gray currently serves on the Boards of Empower Rideshare, SaaS ridesharing company alternative to Uber and Lyft and Cycurion, a global provider of Network Communications and Information Technology Security Solutions. Ms. Gray holds the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship Certification™ and earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, an M.A. in Journalism from Ball State University, and a B.A. in Communications from Elon University.
Kathy Cuocolo
Board Director
Kathy Cuocolo currently sits on the board of Monterey Acquisition Corp. Ms. Cuocolo is also the Audit committee chair and Independent Director at Greenbacker Group, LLC, a public Kathy Cuocolo, a member of our board of directors, is a versatile executive and director with demonstrated success in developing and managing financial services operations on a global basis. Ms. Cuocolo is currently a director and Audit Chair of Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC and a director at Syntax ETF Trust. Her prior directorships include President and Director of The China Fund, Inc., Chairperson of Select Sector ETF Trust, and director of Guardian Life family of funds. Ms. Cuocolo has been the president of Syntax Advisors, LLC. Prior to that, Ms. Cuocolo was a Managing Director and Division Head for the Mutual Fund and global ETF Services for The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Prior to that Ms. Cuocolo served in various roles at State Street Corporation, including as an Executive Vice President, Division Head of Investor Products and Services. Prior to State Street, Ms. Cuocolo was an auditor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ms. Cuocolo received her B.A. in Accounting, summa cum laude, from Boston College, and holds a Masters Professional Director Certificate from the American College of Corporate Governance. Ms. Cuocolo received her CPA license in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1981.
Stephen Markscheid
Board Director
Stephen Markscheid is a corporate finance professional with 30+ years experience in the US, Stephen Markscheid, a member of our board of directors, is currently the Chairman of Still Waters Green Technology Limited, a UK based renewable energy developer and currently serves as a director of Fanhua, Inc., JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., Zhongjin Technology Services Group Company Limited, UGE International Ltd., and the Global Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation. In addition, Mr. Markscheid is currently the Chief Financial Officer of ChildWise International Corporation and serves as a Board Advisor to several companies, including NanoGraf Corporation, Intelligent Generation LLC, SeedVantage LLC, Clean Energy Trust, and Kearsarge Energy L.P. Mr. Markscheid has served as a Director of Business Development and Senior Vice President and led GE Capital’s business development activities in China and the Asia Pacific region. Prior to GE, Mr. Markscheid worked with the Boston Consulting Group throughout Asia. Mr. Markscheid earned a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Princeton University in 1976, an M.A. in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University in 1980, and an MBA from Columbia University in 1991, where he was class valedictorian.
Kunal Sethi
Board Observer
Kunal Sethi is our Board Observer. Mr. Sethi is the Founder and CEO of Prithvi Ventures, a startup that funds other startups with an inner calling to help founders build and scale up their companies that are tackling the world’s biggest problems. Through a career in risk management and portfolio construction, Mr. Sethi has become relentless in pursuit of the most innovative technologies. He is a Board Observer in 6K, Inc. Mr. Sethi has spent the last 20 years investing in and managing M&A deals in ClimateTech and has been lucky enough to see many cycles like CleanTech 1.0. Through mistakes in the process, the lessons learned from the last two decades make him a more thoughtful investor.