Staff Profiles

CTP currently has a full-time staff of seven, complimented by a variety of on-call industry experts.  The team takes a inter-disciplinary approach to projects and assignments are frequently varied to provide the most added value to each potential situation.  Scroll down to review all of the CTP staff biographies.


Masood Akhtar, Ph.D. - President 

Masood’s key responsibilities include:
  • Managing CTP
  • Securing funding from state, federal and private sources
  • Establishing partnerships with federal agencies, states and private sectors
  • Informing forest products industry executives about energy saving and renewable energy technical advancements and financial opportunities
  • Leading CTP’s outreach initiatives
  • Creating new initiatives
Masood is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of research, development, commercialization, marketing, technology transfer, investment and management experience. Masood founded CTP in 2003 to improve the competitiveness of Wisconsin businesses by providing capital and other assistance needed to deploy energy efficient emerging technologies. Masood was the lead in getting a first of its kind Memorandum of Understanding signed between the US Department of Energy and the State of Wisconsin to promote greater energy efficiency throughout Wisconsin’s industrial sector. The memorandum is based on CTP’s successful technology deployment model and Focus on Energy’s successful industrial energy efficiency program.
  
Masood is also a founder and Chief Technology Officer of Biopulping International., Inc (BPI). Masood founded BPI in 1996 to develop and commercialize energy saving technologies for the forest products industry after serving as the project leader at the University of Wisconsin (UW)/USDA Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) from 1989 to 1996. Prior to joining UW/FPL, Masood served as a post-doctoral fellow in Plant Pathology at the Ohio State University between 1996-1998. Masood completed his Ph.D. in 1985 from the Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, and was one of the fifty Indian students who were awarded the Government of India Fellowship for Higher Studies Abroad in 1985.
  
Masood has received many awards including: the 1997 USDA Honor Award for Environmental Protection from the USDA Secretary in Washington, D.C for developing energy saving technologies; the 1998 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award; the 1998 U.S. Forest Service Chief's awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer; and the 2001 and 2002 Wisconsin Small Business Innovation Award for Outstanding Achievements. In 2003, Masood was selected as a Fellow by the International Academy of Wood Science, UK.  Masood has several patents and has published over 40 papers in the field of energy. Masood has also given many keynote addresses on energy related topics.

In 2004, upon the request of the U.S. Congress, Masood testified before a committee on energy related issues. In 2005, Masood was appointed to the Forest Research Advisory Committee that advises the US Department of Agricultural Secretary on funding and policy issues. In 2009, Masood will serve as the Vice chairman of this committee. The Governor of Wisconsin appointed Masood to a committee that wrote the Governor’s Grow Wisconsin Plan in 2002. In 2009 the Governor of Wisconsin appointed Masood to a committee, chaired by the Governor of Michigan, that is advising the Midwest Governors on “creating jobs in the new energy economy”.  
 
 

Tim R. Konicek, Ph.D. - Director - Venture Investments

Tim's key responsibilities include:
  • Business, product and technical due diligence
  • Structuring deals
  • Business development, operational, and strategic planning assistance
  • Optimizing commercialization strategies
Tim has extensive business management experience in both large multi-national and start-up companies.  He was most recently President and CEO of OpGen, Inc., an early stage Madison, WI biotechnology company.  Prior to joining OpGen, Tim was a management consultant to start-up and high growth technology companies in California, working on business plan development, strategic planning, technology licensing, joint ventures, market analyses and positioning, and product development planning.  Before joining the entrepreneurial world, Tim worked at S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in Racine, Wisconsin where he held management positions in product development, technology search and acquisition, business development, and strategic marketing.  While at S. C. Johnson, Tim built a successful track record creating significant new business by identifying and commercializing new products and technologies.  He is skilled in all aspects of corporate operations from product development and design to commercialization.  Throughout much of his career, Tim has structured and managed strategic alliances with venture-backed companies.

Dr. Konicek holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Organic Chemistry from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Chemistry from Carthage College.  He has also attended the Venture Capital Institute.



Ed Corrigan- Director - Finance and Operations

Eds key responsibilities include:
  • Performing financial due diligence on potential clients
  • Negotiating deal structures, investment agreements, IP licenses and other legal agreements with clients
  • Preparing CTP's strategic plan
  • Fund-raising for CTP's investment fund
  • Supervising CTP's financial reporting and accounting functions
  • Administers and manages the CTP investment portfolio
Previously, Ed served 10 years as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Diachemix, an early stage biotechnology firm developing diagnostic products for the veterinary disease and food safety markets. He was responsible for the company’s organization, strategic planning, equity funding, product development and regulatory approval, intellectual property, collaborative research agreements, grants administration, OEM contract manufacturing, license agreements, and financial management.
 
Prior, Ed worked as a Vice President and Regional Market President at US Bank. There his responsibilities included small business and commercial lending, retail management, bank acquisition integration, credit analysis, regulatory compliance and risk management.  Ed also has worked in the state government strategic planning and executive budgeting areas, and for non-profit organizations supervising program planning and grants allocations activities.

Ed has a Masters Degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in International Studies (Economic Development) from the University of Denver.
 

Brent English - Senior Technology Analyst

Brent's key responsibilities include:
  • Searching for and screening new technologies for potential CTP Investment
  • Providing technical due diligence for technologies in the forest products and plastics industry sectors
  • Assisting CTP clients in the preparation and submittal of grants that will further their business goals
  • Conducting CTP out-reach efforts around the state
Brent English has a broad technical background that gives him a good understanding of technologies used in the forest products, metal working and plastics industry.  He has ten patents ranging from packaging design to material processing.  While a researcher at a Federal laboratory, Brent won grants from the United States Department of Agriculture, US Department of Energy and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Founder and Technical Director of North Wood Plastics, Inc., a start-up venture producing composite compounds, and a recipient of a large low interest business development loan from the State of Wisconsin, gave Brent first-hand start-up experience.  Working as R&D Project Manager at Electronic Theatre Controls and as Engineering Project Manager at Gammex RMI gave him experience in bringing products to market. 

Brent has a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Industrial/Technology Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.


Tom Wroblewski - Senior Energy Specialist

Tom's key responsibilities include:
  • Helping the pulp and paper cluster identify and implement best energy practices and emerging energy technologies 
  • Screening new technologies for potential CTP investment or application within industry 
  • Providing due diligence for new technologies, including renewable energy
  • Assisting industry with the formation and successs of in-plant and corporate-wide energy teams
  • Providing advice for industrial energy efficiency, benchmarking and savings goals.  
Prior to joining CleanTech Partners, Tom was the Energy Engineer for Stora Enso’s North American pulp and paper operations, where he was responsible for energy efficiency, energy auditing and benchmarking, supporting corporate climate change initiatives, and implementation of energy and environmental conservation projects.  This provided a close working relationship with State and Federal energy programs, including best energy practices implementation, as well as technical experience and methodologies within the Scandinavian pulp and paper operations.  He also gained operating management experience in the power & recovery operations of a Kraft chemical pulp mill.  In addition to over eight years in pulp & paper, Tom worked 17 years in both power plant engineering and supervisory capacities for Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Electric Power Company, including six years in nuclear power engineering roles.

Tom has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and is a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin.
 

Doug Presny P.E. -  Emerging Technology Analyst

Doug's key responsibilities include:
  • Evaluating energy impacts and implementation aspects of technologies
  • Helping established business clusters identify and evaluate emerging energy  technologies
Doug Presny has 18 years experience in assessing and implementing  both best practice and emerging energy efficiency  technologies.  This experience has come from serving as a facility energy manager, a utility industrial representative, an energy consultant within the US and abroad, and extensive work with state and national energy efficiency programs.  Included in this work are technology validation demonstrations and detailed industrial sector initiatives to identify barriers and create solutions that enable industry to take advantage of energy cost reduction technology. 

Doug has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, and is a licensed Professional Engineer


Jeffrey B. Brewer, P.E. – Energy Efficiency Specialist
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Jeff’s key responsibilities include:
  • Guide clients to develop & implement energy efficiency projects
  • Meet with vendors/market providers to identify & align technology & opportunities
  • Educate industry on incentives and promote energy efficiency loan program
  • Document projects and how FOCUS/CleanTech made a difference
Jeff has 22 years of experience in the pulp and paper industry with 13 years of experience in the chemical industry earlier. He was most recently Sr. Energy Engineer at NewPage Corporation. Jeff has a wide range of experience in originating/developing projects, justifying projects, estimating projects, overseeing the installation of equipment, and starting the new equipment up. Jeff has also worked with maintenance on equipment repairs, equipment upgrades, preventative maintenance procedures, and parts control. There is further experience monitoring ongoing operations with an eye on operating changes for cost improvement. Project work scope covers installation of a boiler & steam turbine to replacement of a bearing/mechanical seal.

Jeff holds a B.S.M.E. degree from the University of Minnesota – Minneapolis and a M.B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina – Columbia. He also holds a professional engineering license in Wisconsin and Iowa.


Benjamin A. Thorp III - Renewable Energy Consultant

Ben is a leader in renewable energy, a former leader in pulp and paper associations, and retired director of pulp & paper engineering at Georgia-Pacific Corporation. In addition to his GP experience Ben was an officer with Chesapeake Corp., James River Corp., BE&K, Poyry-BEK and Huyck Corp. He has been instrumental in helping several companies start businesses in bioenergy or biorefining. He has published over 100 articles and is a co-author of two books. All publications since 2000 have focused on energy and/or advanced renewable fuels including, “An Open Letter to President Obama” published early in 2009.

Ben graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD with a bachelors degree in physics. He has completed advanced studies in Mechanical Engineering, Management, and Marketing. He is currently serving on the board for three private companies and three non profits and is also the strategic advisor to the Biorefinery Deployment Collaborative. He is a past board member of several prominent professional organizations.

Ben was named a TAPPI Fellow in 1986, awarded the TAPPI Paper & Board Division Leadership Award in 1994, received the PIMA Glen T. Renegar Award in 1999 and the 2002 PIMA-CPBIS Management Excellence award, among other honors. He is the holder of six U.S. Patents.