Jason Pyle, MD, PhD Chief Executive Officer

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Dr. Pyle was formerly Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of Epoc, Inc., a privately held medical engineering company. Dr. Pyle holds an appointment as adjunct professor of bioengineering at Vanderbilt University where he has worked to develop cross-disciplinary programs of biological and engineering research. As the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Pria Diagnostics, Dr. Pyle was named Innovator of the Year (2006) by Frost and Sullivan. Dr. Pyle holds numerous pending and issued patents in the engineering and biological sciences and has worked in diverse cross-discipline areas such as nanofabrication, optical engineering, and structural biology.

In addition to his broad technical abilities, Dr. Pyle has established numerous corporate partnerships between small technical companies and some of the world’s largest corporations. He has directly supervised and coordinated both business development and operational activities within large co-development partnerships. Dr. Pyle has worked in finance, technical and manufacturing transactions in Singapore, Japan, and China. His post-doctoral research focused on the large-scale expression and control of neural proteins. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Physiology and an M.D. from Stanford University. He received degrees in optical engineering and physics from the University of Arizona. 

Cynthia (C.J.) Warner President and Chairman

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Cynthia (C.J.) Warner joined Sapphire Energy in February 2009 as President. She brings more than 27 years of experience in the energy, refining and transportation industries. At Sapphire Energy, Ms. Warner is tasked with driving the company’s initiative to transition technology trials and research into commercial-scale crude oil operations. Using only sunlight, CO2 and non-potable water, Sapphire Energy’s production of Green Crude is the environmental and economically wiser renewable option for replacing petro-based gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

A chemical engineer by training and one of the very few senior women in the oil and gas industry, Ms. Warner served as an executive with energy industry giants British Petroleum, Amoco Oil Company and UOP. Ms. Warner is currently a member of the National Petroleum Council. Prior to joining Sapphire, she most recently served as Group Vice President, Global Refining for BP where she was instrumental in turning around BP’s US refining business and achieving record performance in International refining. During her 10-year career with BP she held numerous leadership roles including overseeing refining operations in five continents and developing long-term technology strategies for low carbon and sustainable fuels. Ms. Warner led the groundbreaking cooperative effort with the US EPA to shape a framework for Clean Air improvements which was eventually signed on by the entire US Refining industry.

Ms. Warner began her career at UOP where she had significant hands-on experience learning refining process operations. That was followed by several years at Amoco where she held key operational leadership roles. She is a featured leader in the 2008 book ‘Becoming a Resonant Leader: Develop Your Emotional Intelligence′ (Harvard Business School Press).

Ms. Warner has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology. 

James H. Lambright Chief Operating Officer and President-International

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Jim Lambright joined Sapphire Energy in early 2010 as CFO and President-International.  In late 2011, he was elevated to COO and a member of the board.   

Jim was formerly President & Chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the independent government corporation responsible for financing U.S. exports to over 150 countries.  In this role between 2005-2009, Jim oversaw a $60 billion credit portfolio of project and export finance transactions.  Under Jim’s leadership, Ex-Im Bank became a self-financing institution operating without taxpayer funds. 

During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, Jim also served as Chief Investment Officer of the U.S. Treasury Department’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) under secretaries Paulson and Geithner.  He and his team engineered and managed over 600 investments in the country’s largest banks, insurers, and auto manufactures, with the goals of optimizing returns and preventing the collapse of the financial system.

Jim began his career in private equity at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (later Credit Suisse) after receiving degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Law School.  He is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Nathaniel David, PhD Board Member

Teaming with ARCH in 2009, Dr. David is building new companies that create disruptive technologies to address global-scale problems. Co-founder of Sapphire Energy and formerly Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Kythera, he also co-founder of Syrrx (acquired by Takeda for $270 million in 2005) and Achaogen.  Dr. David has clearly demonstrated experience creating and growing innovative biotechnology companies.

Dr. David was named one of the Top 100 innovators in the world under 35 (2002) by the MIT Technology Review. He holds numerous pending and issued patents in fields such as nanovolume crystallography, antibiotic resistance, and aesthetic medicine. He sits on the executive board of the College of Letters and Sciences, University of California, Berkeley and is a member of the board of trustees of the UC Foundation. He holds a PhD from UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology and an AB in Biology from Harvard College.

Kristina Burow Board Member

 Kristina Burow is a Partner with ARCH, joining the firm in 2002. Her investment focus includes biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, alternative energy and chemicals. Ms. Burow is a co-founder and director of Sapphire Energy and a director of Lycera, Receptos, Kilimanjaro Energy and Limerick BioPharmaceuticals. She has participated in the funding and development of several other portfolio companies including Siluria Technologies, Ensemble Therapeutics, Achaogen, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Ikaria, Accelerator Corporation and Quanterix.

 Ms. Burow joined ARCH from the Novartis BioVenture Fund in San Diego where she was involved in numerous investments in the life science sector. Previously, as an early employee at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), she directed Chemistry Operations and was active in Business Development.

Ms. Burow holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago, an M.A. in Chemistry from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Steven Goldby Board Member

Steven Goldby joined Venrock in 2007 after spending nine years as CEO of Venrock-backed materials science company, Symyx Technologies, where he is currently Executive Chairman. Mr. Goldby has served as the CEO of MDL Information Systems, a leading scientific information company, before its sale to Reed Elsevier. Prior to MDL, he held various management positions at Alza Corporation (acquired by Johnson and Johnson), including President of Alza Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Goldby was also President of Dynapol, a specialty chemical company and is a registered patent attorney. Mr. Goldby serves on the board of Intermolecular, Inc. Previously, he served on the boards of Vitae Pharmaceuticals (a Venrock-backed company), Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen), Affymax (acquired by GSK), Scios (acquired by Johnson and Johnson), PeopleSoft (acquired by Oracle), Aspect Development (acquired by Itwo), TGV (acquired by Cisco), One Touch Systems (acquired by Apollo Group), Scientific Software (acquired by Agilent). Mr. Goldby is director of Orecon Ltd and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals and Chairman of Nanosys Inc.

Robert Nelsen Board Member

Robert Nelsen is a co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. He focuses on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. Mr. Nelsen joined ARCH at its founding and has played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing and development of more than thirty companies including Ikaria, Adolor (ADLR), Aviron (AVIR, acquired by Medimmune-MEDI), Caliper Life Sciences (CALP), Illumina (ILMN), Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), Array BioPharma (ARRY), NetBot, deCODE Genetics (DCGN), Nanosys, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), XenoPort (XNPT), GenVec (GNVC), R2 Technology (acquired by Hologic-HOLX), IDUN Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer-PFE), Genomica (GNOM, acquired by Exelixis-EXEL), Surface Logix, NeurogesX (NGSX), Classmates.com (acquired by United Online-UNTD), Nura (acquired by Omeros), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Spaltudaq, VLST, Ensemble Discovery, Accelerator, Apoptos, Fate Therapeutics, Agios Therapeutics, and Everyday Learning.

Mr. Nelsen is a director of Sapphire Energy, Ikaria, Agios, NeurogesX, and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals. He previously served on the boards of Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Surface Logix, NetBot, Everyday Learning, Spaltudaq, Array BioPharma, Caliper Life Sciences, Illumina, R2 Technology, and Classmates.com, among others. He also serves as a director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.S. in Economics and Biology from the University of Puget Sound.

Robert Shapiro Board Member

As the former CEO of Monsanto, Robert Shapiro transformed Monsanto into the largest agriculture company in the world. Having spent a career in agriculture and biotechnology, from G.D. Searle to NutraSweet to Monsanto, from which he retired in 2001, he brings to Sapphire a unique perspective on the merging of agricultural science with fuel production. Based in Chicago, he has served on numerous boards, including the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup, Rockwell International, and Pharmacia. Shapiro holds a BA from Harvard University and J.D. from Columbia University.

David Allen, PhD Board Member

David Allen brings a wealth of experience in the oil and energy industry to Sapphire after spending 30 years working internationally in the energy business. He retired from BP plc in 2008, having spent the previous five years as an executive director on the main board. He drove BP’s corporate strategy and held a variety of posts across BP, primarily in the exploration and production sector but also in oil trading and renewables. Based in London, Allen currently sits on the boards of the UK Ministry of Defense and of Imperial Innovations, Imperial College London, and also serves as an advisor to PetroSaudi International.  He holds a B.A. in Chemistry and a Doctorate in Physical Chemistry from Oxford University.

David E. Shaw Board Member

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist David E. Shaw has been involved in several highly successful bio-technology companies, including founding Ikaria Holdings, IDEXX Laboratories, and Fetch Enterprises, among others. He currently serves as managing general partner of Black Point Group LLC, a private equity partnership. Active on numerous boards and organizations, he served on the faculty of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government leading programs in corporate governance and business social responsibility, and serves on the advisory board of the school’s Center for Public Leadership.