John Hammond
CEO
John Hammond has held a variety of strategic business leadership positions prior to joining AirGreen and has led three prior successful start-ups. Prior to joining AirGreen, John was working as a consultant in the defense, aerospace, and chemical industries. Before that, he was Vice President & General Manager for Tencate Advanced Armor USA Inc (TCAA), located in Hebron Ohio, and was responsible for the Company’s North American advanced composite armor business and operations. John joined TCAA in October 2015 and became the VP/GM in February 2016.
From 2003 to 2015, John was Vice President – Business Development & CFO of Hardwire LLC, a supplier of advanced composite armor solutions for various military, infrastructure, and commercial applications. John was responsible for business development, sales and marketing, finance, accounting, and government and commercial agreements.
Before that, John was Vice President for e-Product Management for ChemConnect, an on-line provider of e-commerce solutions for clients in the Chemical, Life Sciences, and Energy industries. Earlier, John spent 13 years at DuPont in various assignments, including Vice-President, Marketing & Operations, Noranda DuPont LLC; Chadds Ford, PA., Business Development Manager, DuPont Specialty Chemicals, Wilmington, DE., and a variety of other business, operations, and engineering positions at DuPont.
John has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, plus graduate business education at both the University of Richmond and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Awards
- Recognized in 2009 by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) for commitment and dedication in supply chain support of the US Army and Marine Corps MRAP production program.
- Won the Corporate DuPont Marketing Excellence Award for forming the Noranda DuPont LLC joint venture in 1998.
- Recognized with DuPont Specialty Chemicals’ Safety, Health, and Environmental Award for the development of a hazard training & marketing seminar for customers.
- Inc 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies.
Eric Holloway
Chairman
Eric was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended Hamilton College and majored in Economics with a minor in Literature. Having worked every summer in the family industrial distribution business and having an interest in working in the industry, he attended Texas A&M to obtain a Bachelor’s of Science from the Industrial Technology Department in Industrial Distribution which is a mix of business and engineering curriculum.
After Texas A&M, Eric joined Holloway Bros Tools Inc., representing the third generation of the family to work in the business. Five years later he bought out his father’s interest in the business and proceeded to grow it through acquisition over the next five years before selling beneficially to an industry consolidator, MSC Industrial Supply (NYSE: MSM). Eric had a two-year contract to help integrate the business into MSC but quickly realized he enjoyed the entrepreneurial style of work.
He partnered in the purchase of Signature Systems, today renamed Signature Furniture Services. That business spawned a couple of other businesses, Signature Construction Services LLC and Signature Executive Search LLC all of which Eric is the sole owner today.
Eric has always had an interest in small business having been a member of the Young Entrepreneur’s Organization (YEO), through his 30’s where he made many friends and contacts he is still close to 20 years later.
Len Kobylus
Director – Sales and Marketing
Len Kobylus has held various leadership positions in Operations and Sales for several globally recognized HVAC companies. A results-oriented senior manager with a record of accomplishments developing and executing strategic plans, establishing high quality standards, and improving sales & profitability in both domestic & international environments. Proven leadership ability to work effectively with customers, suppliers, and employees. He has developed and demonstrated outstanding results in:
- Improving profitability, cash flow, productivity, customer delivery, safety & quality
- International business start-ups & turnarounds
- Working globally with customers and suppliers
Len has had four papers published in different professional magazines about energy recovery within HVAC air distribution systems and has been recognized for his presentations in air distribution and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).
Len has a degree in Safety Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Business Administration from Marywood University in Scranton, PA. He also attended the Executive Leadership program at Penn State University in State College, PA.
Lavanya Jakka
Manager Research and Application Engineer
Lavanya joined AirGreen in 2019 after receiving her Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware. As a part of the University of Delaware’s Graduate Student Industry Partnership (GSIP) program, Lavanya gained familiarity with the concept of Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning and worked on a thermodynamic calculation model for a single-stage Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioner. She had been part of the Information Decision Science laboratory at the University of Delaware and worked on a heuristic model of manually driven vehicles and connected automated vehicles merging at an intersection. Prior to that, Lavanya obtained her Bachelor’s of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.
Lavanya is the Research and Process engineer for AirGreen and leads the testing and operations of AirGreen’s full-scale pilot plant located in New Castle, DE, as well as third-party testing for the AirGreen technologies. In addition, Lavanya works with AirGreen’s consulting engineer on HVAC design calculations to inform future designs and installations and develops reports for technical submissions and customer applications. She came to the United States in 2017. She has been an active member of ASHRAE since 2019 and Green Building United since 2021. Her interests include photography, gardening, and hiking.
Scott Kennedy
Project and Fabrication Manager
Scott joined AirGreen in early 2021 after completing a complex, three-year construction project where, as part of the work, he helped install one of AirGreen’s first commercial units. The project included the redesign and retrofit of an old import vehicle repair garage into a classic car museum, along with the design/build of an adjacent two-story diner. The AirGreen portion of this project was complicated and challenging in that the only space for this equipment was in two separate small mezzanines located above the primary floorspace. We at AirGreen quickly learned to appreciate his comprehensive problem-solving skills during this demanding project, and when the project was completed, we were lucky enough to have him join us and utilize his deep experience to our benefit.
Scott has a well-established fabrication background, having worked for Dewson Construction, as well as running his own custom construction company (Split Line Carpentry) from 1990 to 2016. Prior to that, he was a crew leader for Leroy Fisher Construction, building custom homes. Earlier, Scott drove for Tipton Trucking, and did various mechanical work as well. And to prove that he is a well-rounded individual, Scott has a culinary background also.
When not fabricating new equipment for AirGreen, Scott likes to spend time on his motorcycle and with his family, particularly his four grandsons. Scott grew up in West Grove, Pennsylvania and currently resides in North East, Maryland.
Ron Smorada
Partner/Materials Advisor
Ron brings over 30 years of knowledge and experience in nonwoven technology. He has created entirely new nonwoven products that are widely used in industrial and commercial markets world-wide. He was the first to commercialize spunbond fabrics for use energy conservation in residential and commercial buildings as Housewraps, including Tyvek, Typar and other brands. Many of his inventions resulted in large cost saving applications for his clients and all of them took advantage of the incredible potential of nonwoven technology.
After leaving BBA Group, Ron started up VersaCore Industrial Corp, which pioneered the VersaCore process for converting two-dimensional fabrics and films into three-dimensional structures, which created entirely new applications for these starting materials. The technology was subsequently sold is now owned by a Fortune 100 company. Ron has advanced degrees in Organic Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University. He served as a Naval Officer and is a Vietnam veteran.
Andrew Mongar
Founder (deceased)
Andrew Mongar was an energy innovator for over 30 years. At British Gas, he was Assistant to the Director of the $400 Million Substitute Natural Gas Program and then Manager of Long-Term R&D and Technology Policy. He worked in government in the U.K. Cabinet Office and the European Commission where he introduced the Technology Assessment process. Following work in Corporate Venturing at British Gas, Andrew joined a technology development start-up and raised $3.5 Million. Andrew has a degree in Mathematics from Bristol University, UK and a Masters in Operations Research from Imperial College, London, UK. He also studied and taught International Business at Temple University. We at AirGreen miss him.