Advisory Board
Gerald (Jerry) Grinstein - Business and Strategic Advisor
Jerry is a co-founder and a strategic director of Madrona Investment Group. Previously, he served as CEO of Delta Air Lines for almost four years, was non-executive chairman for Agilent Technologies, and is the former chairman and CEO of Burlington Northern Inc. (BNI), where he oversaw the company's acquisition of Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, creating the nation's largest railroad.
Prior to joining BNI, he was chairman and CEO of Western Airlines and was chief counsel to the United States Senate Commerce Committee, and counsel to the Merchant Marine & Transportation Subcommittee. Jerry is trustee of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and a board member of Long Live the Kings, University of Washington Foundation, The Seattle Foundation, Foster School of Business and the William D. Ruckelshaus Center.
Donald M. Hussong Ph.D. - Business and Scientific Advisor
Begun while earning an Engineering BSE from Princeton and a Geological Engineering MS and a Geology/geophysics Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii, Dr. Hussong has participated in numerous research cruises, often for months at sea, for which he typicall held the position as Scientific Party
Chief, conducting exploration seismology and seafloor mapping experiments, as well as cable and pipeline route surveys.
He was also Survey Party Chief for an extensive electrical resistivity survey for ground water on
the Island of Hawaii, and seabed research projects including a $1.4 million grant for development
of the SeaMARC II towed swathmapping system from the United States Office of Naval Research.
Dr. Hussong, after his degree in 1972, taught for 22 years at UH's Hawaii Institute of Geophysics,
and has published 55 refereed scientific articles and edited three books. He also has been involved
in organizations and firms engaged with sea floor mapping and related issues. He has been director
of the Hydrophysics Corporation, Vice President for Technology of International Subsea Mapping,
Inc., and as founder and president (since 1985) and current president and director of Seafloor Surveys International, Inc., he continues his sea-bound professional efforts. Dr. Hussong has been part of numerousprofessional advisory boards, including for the United Nations, the National Science Foundation, and many more. He has been honored as Hawaii Scientist of the Year, in recognition
of his many accomplishments.
Thomas R. Tuttle CFA - Business Development
Tim is the Senior Founding Partner of Newport Asia LLC with over 40 years experience in the investment industry. Prior to forming Newport Asia LLC, Tim was President and CEO of Newport Pacific Management, joining the Company in 1984. Newport Pacific Management managed $3 billion in client assets. While at Newport Pacific, Tim co-managed the Liberty Newport Tiger Fund and the Liberty Newport Greater China fund and also managed Newport’s Asia-Pacific Region, Asia-Pacific Region ex Japan, and Greater China Strategies.
He has extensive experience in the International Private Equity business both as an individual investor and as the founder and manager of the $150 million Liberty/New World China Enterprise Fund. Prior to affiliating with Newport Pacific, Tim was Chairman of the Lone Pine Group, an investment banking firm he established in 1981 and continues to manage today. Prior to 1981 Tim was a Senior Manager at Security Pacific Investment Advisors and was Chief Investment Officer for Trust Assets at Seattle First National Bank.
Tim, a graduate of Williams College, earned his CFA designation in 1973. He has traveled extensively throughout the Pacific Rim each year visiting company managements and other information sources. Tim has conducted numerous investment seminars on investing in Asia and is frequently quoted in business publications and news programs including: the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, CNBC, CNN, FNN, Pensions & Investments, Forbes (Asia), and Worth Magazine. He also serves as a Director of Polybiotech LTD (UK) and Jadora LLC (Seattle). Newport Asia LLC is a 40 Act registered investment advisor located in San Francisco. Newport Asia manages public equity investments in Asia for clients. Newport has approximately 600 client relationships split equally between Endowments & Foundations and high net worth individuals and aggregating $1.2 billion USD in total assets.
John Plaza
is President, CEO and Founder of Imperium Renewables in Seattle, Washington. A recognized national expert in the field of biodiesel and alternative fuels, he has testified before Congressional committees and presents regularly at forums and events related to energy policy and renewable fuels in Europe, the Americas and Australasia. His expertise has been requested at several conferences to illustrate the importance of biofuels to the aviation industry, as well as the opportunities for growth with 2nd generation feedstocks.
Mr. Plaza founded Imperium Renewables in February 2004 by building Seattle Biodiesel, the first commercial scale biodiesel production facility in the Western United States. The company's core focus was to develop and build advanced technology for biofuel production which differentiated itself in the market with fuel quality and scale. This innovative direction which was led by Mr. Plaza helped Imperium to grow significantly over short time period. By 2007, Imperium developed, built and now currently operates one of the largest biodiesel production facilities in the world at 100 million gallons per year
Prior to founding Imperium Renewables, Mr. Plaza was a commercial airline pilot for 20 years, starting his career in Alaska as a bush pilot flying Super Cub, Cessna 206 and Cessna 402C, then going on to fly for Northwest Airlines for the last 10 years of his career