Team OF LEADERS
Our team consists of highly skilled rubber professionals with many years of experience in the rubber industry and other parts of the chemical industry. We have strong capabilities within manufacturing, sustainable materials, purchasing, and logistics, and we have been part of setting up several world-class sourcing and manufacturing organizations in the chemical industry.
GREGORY N. NELSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Mr. Nelson has over 40 years of experience in the chemical and rubber industry. He is currently the CEO of Circular Rubber Solutions and EW Polymer Group, global rubber companies supplying sustainable rubber solutions and rubber products worldwide. He was the co-founder and CEO of East West Copolymer, one of two leading merchant synthetic rubber manufacturers in the US, for 3 years. Mr. Nelson was also CEO, President and Director of Lion Copolymer, a leading global EPDM and SBR rubber chemical producer, for 5 years. Prior to joining Lion Copolymer, Mr. Nelson spent 4 years at Nalco, a global leader in water technology. He served as President of Nalco EMEA and Group President of Nalco’s Equipment and Services Business. Before joining Nalco, Mr. Nelson was Global Vice President for Purchasing and Supply Chain for Sun Chemical; and before joining Sun Chemical, he was Global Vice President for Purchasing for Dow Chemical. Mr. Nelson began his career at Exxon Chemical, where he held various management and leadership positions of increasing responsibility for nearly 20 years before leaving to join Union Carbide, which Dow Chemical later acquired.
Mr. Nelson has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Mr. Nelson also served as President of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP) for the 2015-2016 term.
HELENA L. NELSON, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Ms. Nelson has 25+ years of experience in operations, purchasing, and competence development, and she has extensive experience developing new ventures and models for large corporations and start-ups.
She is co-founder of Circular Rubber Solutions and EW Polymer Group, global rubber companies supplying sustainable rubber solutions and rubber products worldwide; North South Investments, an investment firm; and Enjoin Partners, a niche consultancy. She was a Consultant, Global Knowledge Manager, and Expert with McKinsey & Company, based in both the US and European offices. She served as Business Development Manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Sweden, and she was CEO and co-founder of Yourniverse, a Swedish start-up company focused on competence development.
Ms. Nelson has a Master's in Economics and International Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden and Columbia Business School in New York.
Larry Harris, VICE PRESIDENT OF R&D
Mr. Harris has 50 years of experience in multiple technical roles in the rubber industry. He is currently VP of R&D at Circular Rubber Solutions, LLC. He was a Research Fellow at Lion Elastomers, focused on Tech Service, R&D SBR and PBD solution, hot/cold emulsion SBR, and Black Masterbatch. And he was R&D Manager at DSM Copolymer, Lion Copolymer, focused on ESBR and NBR, and he was Committee Chair at IISRP Environmental and Health. Prior to Lion, he was a Plant Chemist, Product Manager, and Technical Manager of military and commercial products and Tech transfer at BF Goodrich. At General Tire, he was a Non-Tire Product Development Compounder, Plant Chemist, Technical auditor, and Asset relocator. He started his career at Goodyear, where he worked with Lab Tech Fabric Development, Process Development, Compounding, including Tire Compounding. He has a BS Biology from the University of Akron.
Per-Anders Enkvist, SENIOR ADVISOR
Mr. Enkvist has 25+ years of experience as a senior-level consultant, entrepreneur, and investor in the sustainable material space. He is the founder of Materialize Ventures, a venture firm working with the most promising early-stage materials technologies. He was Founder and Managing Partner of Material Economics, a business consultancy focused on materials transition. Material Economics was acquired by McKinsey, and after the acquisition, Mr. Enkvist was Partner and co-leader of materials circularity globally at McKinsey. Prior to starting Material Economics, Mr. Enkvist was a consultant and partner at McKinsey, where he focused on heavy industry and, over time, sustainable materials. He has a M.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Chalmers University of Technology and a B.Sc. in International Business from Gothenburg Business School.
