Invest NY: Climate Tech 2021

John Sirman

Vice President Electronic Deposition Materials at Linde

Makini Byron

Director of External Technology at Linde

Makini Byron is committed to driving innovation from concepts to commercialization. She has over 12 years’ experience within the energy and chemicals sectors, with a focus on emerging technologies for decarbonization. Currently the Director, External Technology at Linde, Makini identifies companies and universities with innovations that can be leveraged for the company’s growth. In her position, Makini acts as a bridge between the financial, legal, commercial, and technical teams to foster productive collaborations and partnerships in technology development.

Makini has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and is a registered Project Management Professional. Prior to Linde, Makini worked as a reservoir engineer for bp.

Nicholas Querques

Director of New Ventures at SUNY Research Foundation

Nicholas Querques is Director of New Ventures at SUNY Research Foundation (RF). RF is the largest comprehensive university-connected research foundation in the country, administering over $1 billion in research expenditures annually throughout SUNY’s 64 campuses. Nick leads a growing portfolio of initiatives focused on promoting entrepreneurship and commercialization across the research enterprise, helping SUNY companies start strong and scale, and building partnerships with investors and development partners to get more SUNY technology into the market.

Charlotte Hamilton

CEO and Co-Founder, Conamix

Charlotte has 15+ years of experience commercializing new materials for global products. She is the co-inventor of multiple pieces of intellectual property on the composition of matter for novel sulfur cathode material and the former President of Novomer through launch of first global product.

Jennifer Tegan

Managing Director, New York Ventures at Empire State Development

Jennifer is Managing Director of New York Ventures at Empire State Development, a $100 million investment fund allocated toward direct equity investments into promising Seed and Series A start-ups and their diverse founding teams across New York State. Prior to joining Empire State Development, Jennifer spent 18 years with Cayuga Venture Fund where she invested in and supported entrepreneurs in technology-based start-ups. Jennifer has served on the boards of GiveGab, Pom, True Gault and Venuebook. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Tompkins Financial Corporation and the National Venture Capital Association.