Algenol CEO Exits; Staff Cut by 25%, Investors Re-Up for Two Years, New Direction Tipped

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Sudden re-focusing and trimming of Algenol by its lead investors leads CEO Paul Woods to resign; new direction focused on carbon capture, fresh water production until oil prices recover.

In Florida, the hammer dropped swiftly and without warning in Ft. Myers as Algenol lost its CEO, changed its near-term strategy, chopped 45 staff members from its payroll, and saw its two lead investors re-commit to an additional two years of funding for the company, in the space of a morning.

The drama is not unheard of in staff reductions — employees told “all is OK” until, for them, it is entirely “not OK”. But in the case of Algenol, the dramatic shift in the company’s direction included a divergence from an all-fuels strategy to a “water treatment and carbon capture now, and maybe fuels later” focus, without much warning, if any, to its stakeholders.

Outgoing CEO, Paul Woods made no official comment in the terse three sentence release that came from Algenol HQ on Friday morning, and said:

Algenol Biotech LLC (“Algenol”) announced today that its Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of CEO, Paul Woods. Paul is resigning for personal reasons, his decision is voluntary and he will remain on the board of the company for continuity purposes and to assist the company on its road to commercialization.

Mr. Gonzalez, who is Chairman of the Board and represents the interests of the Gonzalez Group, a significant investor group, commented: “We thank Paul for the huge contribution he has made to Algenol and for helping us to get to this point in the company’s development. We are grateful that he has chosen to remain associated with Algenol. His experience, insight and knowledge will help us to achieve our goals. We, the Gonzalez Group, and our co-investor, Reliance Group, remain committed to commercializing Algenol’s DIRECT TO ETHANOL® technology.”

“Many governments, companies, institutions and people talk a good game about helping our planet, but none of them are willing to put in a dime to back that up.”

There was no mention of the change in strategy, or reductions in force, in the initial release. But later, Woods added in a note, which he was careful to characterize as “not speaking for Algenol, Ed can do that now, these are just my personal thoughts.”

I am very proud of the huge accomplishments to date at Algenol over the last 9 ½ years. I believe I brought enthusiasm and passion for developing truly the most advanced low carbon fuel system on the planet. I am very proud of the work I did, and even more proud of my co-workers.

Truth is I was never able to convince people outside of Algenol that carbon reduction was needed.

Many governments, companies, institutions and people talk a good game about helping our planet, but none of them are willing to put in a dime to back that up. Hopefully, starting with Paris in December, the next 2 years will change rhetoric into action. Are we going to do something about climate change or not? I hope the world catches up with Algenol in seeing the need for carbon mitigation is now, not 10 years from now. Fancy accounting doesn’t remove carbon from the atmosphere we all share.

Alex Gonzalez should be applauded for being the original visionary who has back Algenol year after year. He has a strong commitment to helping our planet and climate change mitigation and he backs that commitment with real money. He has committed even more support for Algenol ensuring at least 2 or more years of funding guaranteed, so the amazing work i started will continue and be seen through.

I continue to want Algenol to succeed, and my co-founder Ed Legere has been elevated to COO, so I know Algenol is in good hands along with Dr. Paul Roessler and Dr. Ron Chance.

Algenol will continue to push Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), using its current and very successful Direct to Ethanol platform to help companies lower their carbon footprint, while producing new sources of fresh water for countries and regions in such desperate need for fresh water.

A new focused CCU Algenol will work diligently over the next 2 years to finalize and further develop its system adapted primarily for carbon capture and fresh water creation. Low cost fuels cannot continue to be the sole focus of Algenol, we live in a new reality of low oil prices, low demand and abundant supply.

The reductions in force

Later in the day, the hammer dropped on the expenses side. The investors made a two-year funding commitment. In return, the company, it was reported by local media, made a commitment to cut expenses by $18 million. Leading a reduction in headcount of 45, out of a current staff of between 170 and 208. and the afore-mentioned re-focusing on carbon capture and water treatment. It was the headcount reduction, Woods told a local reporter, that triggered his resignation.

However, expect that capturing carbon may produce a focus on secondary products that more permanently sequester CO2.

What do we think? We’re thinking ethylene. READ MORE and MORE (WINK News) and MORE (NBC-2; includes VIDEO) and MORE (News Press; includes VIDEO)

Algenol CEO Exits; Staff Cut by 25%, Investors Re-Up for Two Years, New Direction Tipped

“Many governments, companies, institutions and people talk a good game about helping our planet, but none of them are willing to put in a dime to back that up.”

The reductions in force

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