Board of Directors

David Gallo, Ph.D., Director of Special Projects emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects at RMS Titanic, Falmouth, Mass. David Gallo is an oceanographer and recently director emeritus of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He started at Woods Hole in 1987 as assistant director of the Center for Marine Exploration and has since participated in expeditions to all of the world’s oceans. He was one of the first scientists to combine robots and submarines to explore the deep seafloor. He was involved in the search for missing Malaysia Air flight 370. His TED presentation “Underwater Astonishments” has attracted 11 million views, placing it among the top ten. He is a member of James Cameron’s Deep Ocean Task Force and a 2014 recipient of the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas medal.  

Mohsen Mortada, CEO, Cole Engineering, Toronto, Canada. Mohsen Mortada is President of Cole Engineering Group in Ontario, Canada. Mr. Mortada started his career in the public sector working with Tucson Water department operations. After several years with Tucson Water, Mohsen moved into consulting at Arcadis with a focus on strategic planning, utility business optimization and large infrastructure projects throughout North America and the Middle East. Mohsen relocated back to Canada to work with Cole Engineering Group as Chief Executive in 2014.

Gerald Page, General Manager, Asia, Via Motors, Managing Partner TCT Capital, Group, Taichung City, Taiwan. Gerald has focused on developing a deep knowledge base and investment banking skill set worldwide, advising international clients in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean with a specific focus on renewable sustainability in emerging markets in the past 20 years. In 2007, Gerald founded Equinox Energy and Borderline Capital Asia, a global advisory and investment banking group with offices in Toronto, New York, Paris and Beijing. Formerly Gerald also served as the President of Investment Banking for a prominent offshore bank in the Caribbean. He is currently a Strategic Advisor to JUCCCE “Joint US China Co-operation On Clean Energy,” a global NGO. Gerald is a regular keynote speaker at global energy and i-banking conferences.

Carl Nettleton, Nettleton Strategies, San Diego, CA.  Carl Nettleton is an award-winning writer, acclaimed speaker, and a subject matter expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico affairs.  He is the founder of OpenOceans Global, the past president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation – Pacific Region and the former founding executive director of the San Diego Oceans Foundation. In those positions he energetically worked with government agencies, educational organizations, and ocean interests to develop collaborations and consensus to resolve ocean issues. He operates Nettleton Strategies LLC, a consulting firm specializing in resolving complex public policy and business issues. 

Chris Stern, Strategy and Corporate Development, Trimble, Irvine, CA. Chris Stern is an accomplished technology executive and entrepreneur, with experience leading and developing software and technology businesses focused on addressing global industry and environmental challenges. He currently serves as director of strategy and development at Trimble, a Silicon Valley NASDAQ-listed worldwide leader in GPS, AEC and industrial technology solutions with over $2.7 billion in annual revenue.   Chris joined Trimble through the sale of his company in 2006 and has served as a founder, board director, advisor and investor to multiple technology companies through formation, financing, development and acquisition.   Chris holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from UCLA and Loyola  Marymount University respectively, is a licensed engineer in California, and serves on the board for UCLA and Loyola Marymount Universities.

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT - Carl Nettleton, Nettleton Strategies, San Diego, CA.  Carl Nettleton is an award-winning writer, acclaimed speaker, and a subject matter expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico affairs.  He is the founder of OpenOceans Global, the past president of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation – Pacific Region and the former founding executive director of the San Diego Oceans Foundation. In those positions he energetically worked with government agencies, educational organizations, and ocean interests to develop collaborations and consensus to resolve ocean issues. He operates Nettleton Strategies LLC, a consulting firm specializing in resolving complex public policy and business issues. 

CFO - Ryan Craft. Ryan is OOG’s Chief Financial Officer, keeping OOG’s finances in line and on point. He provides a unique combination of business experience with product and packaging development. Serving as CEO of a leading product and packaging testing firm, coupled with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from SDSU, Ryan lends OOG an edge in understanding plastics role in industry and consumer products. Ryan is native Californian and an avid sailor currently pursuing his US Coast Guard Captains license, hoping to share his love of the ocean with others on and off the water.

Corporate Secretry - Shauna Buffington, Experiential Event LeaderShauna brings a career of experience in event management and marketing to OOG. One of the founding staff of the Rock and Roll Marathon, Shauna became the Vice President for Events and Marketing, based in London and charged with expanding the marathon’s globally. Shauna will develop OOG’s special event fundraisers.

GENERAL COUNSEL

Gino Mazzanti, Attorney at Law, San Diego. Gino Mazzanti is an attorney who earned his law degree from California Western School of Law in 1976. He has been in private practice with the Law Offices of Gino V. Mazzanti in San Diego since 1977. His practice concentrates in the field of business law where he is engaged in forming and advising partnerships, corporations (both for profit and not for profit) and limited liability companies. He also handles business litigation. In addition to OpenOceans Global, he is currently general counsel for the following nonprofit corporations: Interface Community Services, San Diego Urban Corp, and the Chapel Of Awareness Spiritual Church Corporation.

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FOUNDING DIRECTORS

OOG is grateful for the service of the following founding directors.

• John Lormon, Partner, Procopio
• Mohsen Mortada, President and CEO, Cole Engineering Group
• Carl Nettleton, Founder, OpenOceans Global, 
• Steve Peace, Founder, Killer Tomatoes Entertainment, Inc.
• John Shean, retired marketing executive, Major League Baseball and National Football League teams. 
• Peter Shaw, Prncipal, Shaw Management Advisors

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