Catapult Conference - London 2007 Speakers
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 Robert J. JohnsenManaging Partner Mr. Johnsen brings together to BCP his senior management and entrepreneurial experience as CEO of two cellulosic ethanol companies over the last 10 years with his prior experience as a senior investment banker. His work in the field started in 1994 as an outside investment banker and board member, then later the CFO and then the CEO of the ground breaking cellulosic ethanol company, Celunol Corporation, which in February 2007 announced its $150 million merger into Diversa Corp. Upon its completion, the merged company was renamed Verenium Corporation (Nasdaq: VRNM). In 2005, Mr. Johnsen was the founder and initial CEO of another cellulosic ethanol company, Mascoma Corporation, for which he brought in a scientific team from Dartmouth College and raised $4 million of equity in its Series A round of venture financing. Mascoma subsequently raised an additional $35 million in equity and received a $14.8 million grant from NY State. Private Equity Analyst magazine named Mascoma its 2006 "Deal of the Year." In 2007 Mr. Johnsen embarked upon organizing and raising external funding for Biofuels Capital Partners Private Equity Fund I, a $250 million private equity fund for investments in a diversified portfolio of biofuels and other clean energy technology and production companies (www.biofuelscapital.com). Its investment team and advisory board consist of experienced professionals in the areas of biofuels, project finance and development, renewable energy finance, science and engineering. They will apply their extensive domain knowledge to source and create clean energy investment opportunities, as well as develop and support portfolio companies and provide them with access to the capital markets. Mr. Johnsen has been a speaker at numerous industry conferences, represented his companies with industry organizations and played a key role in including hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives, loan guarantees and grants for ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol in particular, into the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For over 20 years, he was an investment banker, completing over $3 billion in transaction amounts, primarily in private placements and asset project finance, as Managing Director - Head of Private Placements at Dain Rauscher Wessels, as Vice President of Lehman Brothers, and at other major institutions including Bank of America and Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr. Johnsen earned a BBA from Baruch College (CUNY) and a MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. Back to Catapult Speakers page |