ADVISORY TEAM
Ron Leng
Process Adviser
Ron is experienced with working in both R&D and manufacturing in the chemicals industry. He is skilled in Process Development primarily involving specialty Organic Chemistry. He has a strong knowledge in development of batch and continuous processes, reaction kinetics, distillation, extraction, crystallization and filtration unit operations, as well as significant scale up experience, supply chain development and cost estimation. Ron is assisting Aquafortus with commercial process scale-up.
Dr Steve Gluck
Process Advisor
Dr Gluck is a highly respected and renowned expert in the water industry. His expertise includes water chemistries and systems for water treatment, membrane and filtration technology and application and analytical chemistry. Dr Gluck worked for Dow Chemical for over 30 years in the fields of water technology, organic chemicals analysis and exploring new technology and wastewater process troubleshooting. He has 6 US patents/applications as well as >30 publications. Dr Gluck is supporting Aquafortus with its R&D, scale-up and commercialisation activities.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Earl Jones
Earl is a recognized thought-leader in the areas of water and the environment and has extensive leadership experience in growing technology-based organizations. In his role at DCVC, Earl brings focus to the water industry and building a portfolio of Deep Tech water solutions that will have a transformative impact on the availability, quality and affordability of water resources globally.
Previously, Earl served as Chief Executive Officer at Heartland Water Technology, Global Commercial Leader at GE Water, and a Partner at Liberation Capital. Earl co-founded and is Chairman Emeritus of the Northeast Water Innovation Center (NEWIN).
Earl received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the US Naval Academy, an MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland, an MS in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Earl is honored to have served as an Officer in the United States Navy’s Submarine Force.
Jason Pontin
Jason Pontin is a Partner at DCVC, where his belief that emerging technologies and new scientific insights can solve urgent challenges and expand human possibilities inspires his investments in Deep Tech and life sciences companies. Among his operational responsibilities at DCVC, he helps portfolio companies tell their stories.
He was the first investor in DCVC-backed Totus Medicines, where he is a founding board member, and in Menten.AI. Before joining DCVC, he was a senior partner and senior advisor at Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge, MA, where he worked with the enterprise’s therapeutics and agriculture companies.
Jason was raised in Berkeley and on a farm on the North Coast of California, where his family raised game birds for restaurants in the Bay Area. He was educated in the United Kingdom at Keble College, Oxford University, where he was awarded a B.A. and M.A in humanities fields completely unrelated to his investment interests.
Daryl Briggs
Daryl is the inventor, co-founder and CEO of Aquafortus. He steers the development and execution of the company’s strategy. He is responsible for developing and leading the commercialization and strategy of the company. Daryl has more than 12 years’ experience in executive roles and directorship. He has vast engineering and chemistry experience, having being an R&D project leader at a large engineering multinational. He also has a number of patents that have been successfully commercialized.
Stephen Van Helden
Stephen is a Principal at Novo Holdings, an investment firm focused on human and planetary health through science based innovation. Stephen and Novo’s investments span a broad set of technologies, from healthcare to water to chemicals, agriculture and beyond, and he also sits on the Boards of MycoWorks and Evosep.
Prior to Novo, Stephen spent over 15 years developing new products, partnerships and businesses at The Production Board, Zymergen and McKinsey and Company. He has extensive experience in numerous industrial sectors, and the technologies that support these industries.
Stephen holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town.
Tom Ferguson
Tom is the Managing Partner of Burnt Island Ventures, a specialist early stage venture fund for the $900bn water sector. A new generation of technologies & services are emerging to meet society’s water needs, and they need informed early capital to build the foundations of their businesses. Burnt Island Ventures is designed to identify and support the entrepreneurs and technologies that can transform water management, access and security globally in the face of climate change. Founded in 2020, BIV’s rapidly-expanding portfolio includes technological leaders from across the water market.
Prior to Burnt Island Ventures he ran Programming at Imagine H2O for six years, working with the team to expand from one program to three, and establishing Imagine H2O as the leading global accelerator for water startups. He had the privilege of working with 170 of the best founders in water of the past decade, and screened 2,500 water companies globally. Companies selected under his purview at Imagine H2O have raised over $600m. He sits on the boards of Daupler and Ziptility, and the advisory board of 120Water. He holds an MA from the University of Edinburgh, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
