Sandeep Nijhawan

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

"I believe in nurturing a team culture to support transformational innovations that have a place in the market."

Sandeep Nijhawan is the co-founder and CEO of Electra, the company decarbonizing iron and steelmaking through an electrochemical, renewable-energy-powered process. Sandeep has been at the center of deep-technology and venture investments for over 20 years, leading international companies and garage-based start-ups, transforming nascent ideas into global enterprises. Prior to starting Electra in 2020, he was an operating partner of True North Venture Partners and president of two electrochemistry-focused cleantech startups: AquaHydrex, which developed an electrolyzer for the hydrogen economy, and Staq Energy, which developed distributed energy storage solutions. Earlier in his career, Nijhawan was a senior vice president at Intermolecular, specializing in accelerating R&D of innovative materials for electronics; founded and was CEO of LED start-up Siorah Incorporated; and incubated Applied Materials’ LED business from concept to commercialization.

Sandeep has a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, India, a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Quoc Pham

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Quoc has been at the forefront of clean tech for almost 30 years, building world class teams, and leading R&D and demonstrations of innovative solutions to a broad range of climate and energy challenges. Prior to co-founding Electra, Quoc was the VP of Technology for AquaHydrex, which developed an alkaline water electrolyzer for the hydrogen economy, and Staq Energy, which developed sealed nickel-iron battery for distributed use in energy storage solutions. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President of Technology for EnerVault, which developed a second-generation Fe/Cr flow battery for grid-scale energy storage, and CTO and co-founder of Evogy, which developed and demonstrated a solid oxide fuel cell for portable and distributed power generation.

Upon graduating with his Bachelor of Science at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie - Toulouse, France, Quoc went on to receive his PhD in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Caen, France.

Francois Perras

Chief Commercial Officer

“Electra offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to introduce a clean iron product that will transform the global steel industry while improving the lives of billions of people. Electra’s commitment to their people, communities and planet aligns with my own values, and I am honored to lead the commercial adoption of Electra’s Clean Iron for Green Steel .”

With over two decades of technical and senior executive experience in the steel sector, Francois understands the voice of the customer and the need for sustainable development. An accomplished team builder known for collaboration and a comprehensive approach to stakeholder engagement, he will accelerate Electra’s path to market while prioritizing the health and safety of our team and communities. He was most recently President & CEO of Tergeo Critical Minerals, and prior to that held several C-suite positions at ArcleorMittal, including President & CEO of ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada. Francois has also been Chairman of Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA), Chairman of the Quebec Industrial Electricity Consumers (AQCIE), and Chairman of the Industrial Gas Users Association (IGUA).

He holds a Bachelor degree in metallurgical engineering from Laval University and the Michigan Technological University (MTU) and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Sherbrooke University.

Karen Robertson

Chief Human Resources Officer

“Electra is dedicated to building a world-class team and an inclusive company culture, while also rapidly advancing its technology. This dovetails perfectly with my approach to attracting and retaining the best talent while also implementing the best HR practices to ensure long-term commercial success and growth.”

Karen brings over 25 years of experience building and leading high performing global teams for rapidly scaling organizations. A results-oriented leader, Karen has developed and operationalized human resource strategies that engage employees in highly competitive markets. She has spearheaded workforce planning, implemented government funding training programs, provided oversight for HR matters related to a significant number of mergers and acquisitions on a global scale, and facilitated change management initiatives to support organizational goals. Prior to joining Electra, Karen was the CHRO for Genapsys, a developer of next-generation DNA sequencing technology. Before that, she led HR organizations at ArcherDx, Market Force Information, and Intrado and supported their growth from 100 employees to over 1,100 employees with global, multisite operations.

Karen studied Human Resource Management at Regis University. She obtained her Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), as well as her Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

James Rutland

Chief Financial Officer

“The market for clean iron, essential for green steel production, is expected to grow significantly as global demand for sustainable infrastructure increases,” said James Rutland, Chief Financial Officer at Electra. “This substantial market growth, coupled with Electra’s innovative technology, presents an incredible opportunity to deploy creative financing, business, and partnership models to realize Electra’s vision to build a green future from the ground up.”

With over 20 years of experience in international finance and commercial leadership at fast-growing start-ups and established Fortune 500 companies, James understands the global financial landscapes of both project finance and fundraising. Most recently, as North America CFO at Northvolt, James worked to secure private and public funding to project-finance a $5 Billion lithium-ion battery production plant. His deep understanding of the intersection of finance and the energy and infrastructure sectors will be vital as Electra reaches commercial scale.

James is a Professionally Qualified Chartered Accountant (FCA) and has received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a Master of Business Administration from Cass Business School in London, UK. 

Simon Wandke

Chief of Projects & Advisory Board Chair

"Having served a career in mining of mainly iron making raw materials, I truly believe in the vision of Electra. The potential to use iron ore inputs with high impurity levels including phosphorous, silica, and alumina without any beneficiation, reduces the overall cost of steelmaking, reduces the upstream carbon and ESG footprint and creates new sources of economic value for the iron ore producers. This is very exciting!"

Simon has been leading multi-country strategy development and implementation for global mining and mineral assets for over 40 years. An accomplished C-suite leader and a Non-Executive Director of Magnetite Mines Limited, he has focused his expertise in the resource sector on maximizing value while achieving decarbonization goals. He was most recently CEO of ArcelorMittal Mining and has held senior executive roles at Ferrexpo, Destra and BHP Billiton with experience leading international teams in Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Canada and the USA.

Thomas Mannik

VP of Finance

“We are building a sustainable business with people who will motivate and inspire others to do more and become more in the pursuit of extraordinary emissions reduction targets. We can do this.”

Tom has been providing financial leadership, management, and advice to sustainability-focused companies for almost a decade. He is a CPA with an extensive background in financial modeling, analysis and reporting for start-ups, and is adept at implementing financial controls and processes while maintaining Electra’s entrepreneurial vision. Tom has worked with Sandeep and Quoc since 2017 as the VP of Finance and Controller at AquaHydrex, which developed an electrolyzer for the hydrogen economy, and Staq Energy, which developed distributed energy storage solutions. Before transitioning to electrochemistry-focused cleantech startups, he was a CPA and financial leader for publicly held manufacturing companies, boutique investment firms and startups, including RSG Energy, Connectivity Wireless, MadisonGrey Fund Services and EMCORE.

Tom received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from James Madison University, and a Master of Taxation from the University of Denver.

Steve MacManus

VP of Engineering

"As manufacturers and steelmakers seek innovative solutions to curb their overall carbon footprint, there’s a clear need for Electra’s technology," said Steve MacManus, Vice President of Engineering at Electra. "I'm excited to contribute to Electra’s commercialization efforts to meet the industry’s surging demand."

Steve brings a deep expertise in manufacturing engineering and product design from his career with industry leaders such as Tesla, Apple, and Aston Martin Lagonda. He has managed teams of over 400 members to successfully execute complex engineering projects, including the Mini R50, Jaguar XJ, Bentley Mulsanne, and Tesla Models S/X/Y/3. With his background in the automotive industry and track record of building world class teams, he will be instrumental in driving commercial adoption of Electra’s Clean Iron solutions to directly address the growing demand for low-carbon materials in the automotive sector.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Product Design from Coventry University in Coventry, UK.

Holger Koehler

Head of Strategy

Holger is the Head of Strategy for Electra with responsibility for the development of a winning go-to-market strategy for the company’s innovative green iron production technology.

For over 20 years, Holger worked with top strategy consulting firms Arthur D. Little, Bain & Co, Monitor Group (now part of Deloitte) and Accenture where he helped C-level executives tackle their most difficult growth and innovation challenges before launching his own investment and advisory business in 2015. Since then, he has focused on working with founders and leadership teams of high impact startups to secure funding, launch and grow game changing products and solutions, develop customers and strategic partnerships, create winning business models, and build high-performance leadership teams. “Electra is a textbook example of a disruptive innovator. There are many ways for us to go to market. The key to success is that we choose a path that will allow the company to grow profitably and at pace while allowing for learning and changes to our business model on our journey.”

Holger received undergraduate and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Regensburg, Germany, and lives with his family near Boston, MA.

Thirumaal Mahalingam

Head of Energy & Procurement Strategy

With over 20 years of international power and renewable energy experience, Thirumaal has a thorough understanding of optimizing the value of power portfolios. He has developed and implemented CCUS strategies, managed hydro, natural gas, nuclear, wind and solar assets, built and managed speculative power trading desks, and led legislative and regulatory initiatives for renewable markets. He has extensive experience managing $1B+ electricity capacity portfolios and negotiating $100M+ power purchase agreements. As the Head of Energy and Procurement Strategy for Electra, Thirumaal is executing a power procurement strategy for low-cost intermittent renewable energy that capitalizes on the demand responsiveness of Electra’s technology, accelerating the decarbonization of iron, and steelmaking. Prior to joining Electra, Thirumaal was a Commercial Director at The DOW Chemical Company and has held numerous executive and senior management positions at public and private companies, and hedge funds throughout North America.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Civil Engineering with a minor in Management Science from the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada.

Kellyn Blossom

Head of Communications & Policy

“Right now, there is unprecedented attention on decarbonizing the industrial sector from both public and private sectors. Electra’s low-carbon technology holds the potential to transform ironmaking and clean steel production – one of the largest industrial sources of carbon emissions. I’m thrilled to be a part of the team at Electra as we tackle one of the biggest climate challenges.”

Kellyn has been at the intersection of emerging technologies and public policy for over a decade, advancing initiatives that transform industries and strengthen communities.  Prior to joining Electra, she built policy and communications teams at Zipline, Thumbtack and Uber, working to increase access to critical medical supplies, advocating for local professionals and small businesses, and forging partnerships with cities to provide increased mobility options and economic opportunities. Before working with startups, Kellyn served in the Obama Administration at the White House as the Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and at the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ian Pearce

Strategic Advisor

With more than 40 years of experience as a leader and innovator within the mining industry, Ian Pearce has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by the mining sector. He has held senior engineering and project management roles at Fluor Inc. and executive roles at Falconbridge Limited and Xstrata Nickel. He currently serves as the Non-Executive Director of NextSource Materials, Inc., Northland Power Inc., and Metso Outotec, and is the Chair and Non-Executive Director of New Gold Inc. Ian is the Incoming President Elect(2024 -2025) of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) and a Senior Advisor at KoBold Metals and MineSense Technologies. He holds an Engineering HND in Mineral Processing and a BSc degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He also attended the Management Advancement Program at the University of the Witwatersrand and received strategic and general management training at Henley College in the United Kingdom.

Ken Schultz

Strategic Advisor

“Getting Electra’s technology productized and adopted globally will impact the lives of billions of people who are increasingly experiencing the harsh impact of climate change. It is rare to get an opportunity to help drive change for something so important and impactful.”

Ken has been growing, advising, and investing in technology companies for over thirty years.  He has worked in pre-revenue companies in the communications, semiconductor, and energy industries where he was responsible for defining new product offerings, bringing new products to market that captured leading market share, and driving revenue growth that achieved substantial liquidity events for investors. Ken has also served as an Executive Officer in three public companies and was EVP at First Solar when the company was pre-revenue through its transition to being a multi-billion-dollar public company. He has served as a board member and advisor in multiple early-stage technology companies and was most recently an Operating Partner at Energy Innovation Capital focused on assisting portfolio companies with product commercialization and go-to-market execution. 

Jeremy Jones

Strategic Advisor

Jeremy has been training, advising, and leading steel industry professionals from the shop floor level up to the boardroom for over 30 years. Currently a partner at CIX, his previous roles include Senior Manager for Hatch Associates, various senior positions at Florida Steel, Nupro Corporation and Acutus Gladwin and technical authority for iron and steel at Bechtel Corporation, and Vice President at Worley Parsons and Steel, Tenova Core and Transfield Services. Jeremy graduated from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada with a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. He has published more than 100 technical papers and is the primary author for the EAF Steelmaking chapter in the Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel. In 2013, Jeremy was inducted as an AIST Distinguished Member and Fellow.

Dan Steingart

Technical Advisor

“The challenge we face in maintaining and sharing a modern standard of living with everyone on Earth while halting climate change is beyond daunting. But once you see and understand the problem, it is impossible to work on anything else. We all have an opportunity to make the climate better without sacrificing modernity. Iron plays a crucial role in this, and Electra has a clear vision and plan. The goal is to decarbonize steel at scale as fast as possible, and Electra’s team and technology are on track to do that.”

An entrepreneur and academic, Dan has been redefining the boundaries of electrochemical energy storage for over a decade, transforming failure mechanisms into beneficial solutions. His enthusiasm for sustainable development can be traced back to grad school when a cross country road trip on Highway 40 in rural Arkansas exposed our reliance on foreign oil and unsustainable fuel sources. What started as geopolitical curiosity later gave way to an immutable interest in the environment. He has founded multiple startups, served as an associate professor at Princeton, and is currently an associate professor of chemical metallurgy at Columbia University, and is the co-director of the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center.