CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cool Planet Energy Systems announced today that Barry L. Rowan will be joining the company in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Rowan brings to Cool Planet more than thirty years of experience in building and turning around sizable technology companies in a variety of industries.
“Barry is a seasoned financial executive with a proven blend of strategic and operational experience,” said Cool Planet President & CEO, Howard Janzen. “Barry brings to Cool Planet a successful track record of leadership and strong execution. We look forward to his contributions as our company moves from its development phase through the large scale commercialization of sustainable carbon negative gasoline.”
Mr. Rowan said, “I am thrilled at the prospect of joining the Cool Planet team. The company is well-positioned to achieve significant scale in a short period of time, while simultaneously contributing to society in meaningful ways through its disruptive technology.”
Prior to joining Cool Planet, Mr. Rowan served as EVP, CFO and Chief Administrative Officer for Vonage Corporation, a $900 million Internet communications company. As part of the executive team at Vonage, Mr. Rowan contributed to a comprehensive financial and operational turnaround at the company, resulting in significantly increased shareholder value. Mr. Rowan will step down from his position at Vonage effective upon the Company’s filing of its 2012 Form 10-K in February 2013, and will begin his role as CFO of Cool Planet on February 15, 2013.
Previously Mr. Rowan served as EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer with Nextel Partners, a Fortune 1000 company whose equity value grew from $2 billion to over $9 billion under Mr. Rowan’s leadership, culminating in its sale to Sprint for $10 billion in June of 2006. Mr. Rowan received a Master’s of Business Administration from Harvard University, and his B.S. summa cum laude in Chemical Biology and Business Administration from The College of Idaho.
In October, Cool Planet announced it was the first company to produce carbon-negative biofuel for less than $1.50 per gallon. Using a patented mechanical process and unique scaling approach, the Camarillo, CA, based renewable fuel company converts non-food biomass into high-octane gasoline that can run in any vehicle on the road today without the need for government subsidies. The process actually removes carbon from the atmosphere during the course of production.
Cool Planet’s technology has attracted investors including General Electric, Google Ventures, BP, ConocoPhillips, NRG and the Constellation Energy division of Exelon. For more information, visit www.coolplanetbiofuels.com.
About Cool Planet
Cool Planet has developed ground breaking, disruptive technology that economically converts non-food biomass into sustainable, high-octane gasoline. Cool Planet’s technology is based on nine accelerated patents. Biomass is processed through a mechanical biomass fractioning system that uses pressure and heat to create a series of useful volatile components that then go through proprietary catalytic systems to make high octane fuel. The process also captures the carbon to create a byproduct, biochar, which is an inert carbon that enhances soil quality through improved water retention and thereby increasing crop production. This carbon negative process removes atmospheric carbon to reverse the effects of fossil fuel consumption resulting in up to 150% carbon footprint reduction for every gallon used.