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
COO and Investor
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.
Brett Riley-Design &
Development Engineer
Brett Riley is a graduate of Temple University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a concentration in Energy Systems. Fields of interest are renewable & alternative energy systems, HVAC design, and sustainable farming. He has had previous internship experience with a sustainable farming start-up based in Jerusalem, Israel where he helped to design aquaponics systems built out of recycled/repurposed material as an affordable means for families in lower income urban areas to be able to grow their own food.
Brett has also worked on a project to renovate a high tunnel greenhouse at a community garden near Temple University that grows fresh and affordable produce for the local community in North Philadelphia. His team installed a rainwater catchment system to decrease the dependence of municipal water, implemented a passive ventilation system to promote air circulation and better regulate the greenhouse environment, and installed a solar-powered system to provide a source of electricity to power the necessary equipment the farm might require. The produce grown in this greenhouse, managed by the Federation of Neighborhood Centers (FNC) a nonprofit organization focused on youth development and urban farming, provides fresh and affordable food to the local community that would normally not have access to. It has become a continuing Senior Design project for College of Engineering students at Temple University, and Brett continues to work with future groups to improve on the system and efficiency.
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.
Matt Zabiega
Project Engineer
Matthew Zabiega is a graduate of Drexel University where he holds a Master of Science in Architectural Engineering with a focus in Building Energy and Indoor Air Quality. His interests in energy efficiency and renewable practices led Matthew to get a minor in Sustainability in the Built Environment. Having worked as part of an internship program part time over three years while in university, Matthew has experience in MEP design, estimating, design modeling, energy modeling, and control sequencing.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude, Matthew went to work with Schneider Electric as a Systems Application Engineer where he gained valuable experience providing energy and automation digital solutions that promoted efficiency and sustainability in existing and new buildings. After a few years, Matthew made a lateral move into the Access Control field where he excelled in providing innovative solutions and design approaches to some notable buildings in Philadelphia, such as the Comcast Technology Center, Comcast Center, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Matthew joined AirGreen in 2021 as a Project Engineer, responsible for ensuring AirGreen’s novel solutions tie seamlessly into our customers’ specific applications.
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.