J. Kevin Berner

Chairman of the Board

Kevin is Chairman of the Board of ABS Materials, Inc. and currently a Venture Partner at JumpStart Inc. 

Kevin has been a committed clean energy and clean tech entrepreneur for 15 years.  Among others, his algal oil venture, Phycal, won a $51 million contract from the US Department of Energy to produce fuel oil in Hawaii.  He has advised several software startups, including Complion, MavenView and Wisr.

Before embarking as an entrepreneur, Kevin was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he ran the North American Manufacturing Practice, was seconded to a joint venture startup with Oracle, and served a range of industrial clients.  Before McKinsey, Kevin graduated from West Point, served as an Infantry officer in the 82^nd Airborne Division, earned a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT, taught at West Point, and served as staff on the Council of Economic Advisors in Washington, DC.

Adam Briggs

President and CEO of Briggs Financial Group

Adam Briggs is the President and CEO of Briggs Financial Group, a boutique wealth management firm headquartered in Wooster, Ohio. In addition, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Buckeye Oil Producing Company, and serves as a Director of Ashland Precision Tooling, LLC, and 7signal Solutions (). He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Fund For Our Economic Future, BVU, the Center for Non-Profit Excellence, Main Street Wooster, and sits on the Advisory Board of the Wayne Economic Development Council. He has a degree in Economics from Ohio University.

Paul Edmiston

Co-Founder and Board Member of ABS Materials

Founder and Chief Science Officer of ABSMaterials, Inc. and the Peterson Chair of Chemistry at the College of Wooster, Dr. Paul Edmiston currently serves on the National Science Foundation Committee of Visitors and is a member of the American Chemical Society. He has a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pepperdine University and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Arizona. His interests include bicycling and hiking.

Kedar Gupta

Co-Founder and CEO of Arc Energy

Co-founder and CEO of Arc Energy, Dr. Kedar Gupta has over two decades of experience in the clean technology industry and is well-known for his excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship. He has received the New Hampshire High Tech Council Entrepreneur of the Year Award and has been a New England finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Prior to founding Arc Energy, Dr. Gupta co-founded and subsequently served as chief executive officer for GT Solar, as well as served as vice president and general manager of the Systems Equipment Division of Ferrofluidics Corporation. Dr. Gupta earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from the State University of New York, Stony Brook , MBA from Lindenwood College, and a bachelor’s degree in technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Stephen Spoonamore

Co-Founder and Board Member of ABS Materials

Stephen Spoonamore has led several previous companies from start-up to exit, taking numerous technologies from bench-scale R+D to commercialization. Technologies developed by Mr. Spoonamore are used daily by government and private sector clients in mining, shipping, banking, advanced materials, military operations, and cellular communications. While he focuses on advanced materials and environmental remediation today, he remains a respected and oft-cited veteran from the early days of the cyber warfare, offering insights to NPR, BBC, CNN, and ABC News.