Team

Woody Gibson

Managing Partner

Woody is a visionary who specializes in pulling together great ideas, technologies, teams and strategic partnerships, Woody has been instrumental in co-founding over 14 technology startups in the energy and environmental sectors. Most recently, Woody founded Stalwart Power, Inc. and currently oversees its operations.  He was also co-founder and founding CEO of Smart Wires Inc. and Zenergy Power plc. Previously, Woody was a founder and SVP of Business Development of Thorne Environmental, a US remediation firm where he was responsible for identifying and incorporating new technologies.  Woody also served as General Manager/Special Projects Planner for International Technologies Corporation (ITX:NYSE) and played a major role in helping grow revenues from $2 million to $1 billion in 5 years through the acquisitions of new companies. Earlier in his career he was a consultant for Lloyd’s of London, managing marine salvage projects on behalf of Lloyd’s around the world. Woody started his career as a US Navy diver, and has a degree in marine engineering and an executive M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

Email: gibson@janecapital.com
Tel: (415) 740-1957

Jane Lindner

Jane is Vice President of HM Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on major breakthroughs in the healthcare value chain. Previously Jane served as VP Strategy and Business Development at Senseer Health, a developer of smart medical device therapies for chronic conditions.  Jane joined Senseer from UrLoop, a software engagement platform for senior living where she served as CEO and orchestrated its sale to Senseer in 2020.  Jane was the original Managing Partner of Jane Capital Partners since co-founding it in 2001. An operating executive who has launched a number of start ups, including Smart Wires Inc., Zenergy Power plc, Carbonflow, Inc., Trinitech Pty, she is particularly passionate about impact investing. Under her leadership, Jane Capital won mandates to advise the technology and/or renewable arms of Macquarie Bank, ConocoPhillips, Shell and New Zealand’s state-owned power generator, Meridian energy Ltd. Formerly, she was a Director and Chief Operating Officer for Globalgate, an e-commerce holding company that was the parent of Yellowpages.com. She also served as Executive Director of WI Harper Group, a technology venture fund – one of the first to focus on bridging the gap between China and Silicon Valley.  Earlier in her career, Jane owned and operated Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics in Australasia, a successful educational service company. Jane holds a B.S. from Syracuse, an M.A. from the University of Connecticut and was a Ph.D. candidate at UC-Berkeley before joining Evelyn Wood. She has held directorships at a number of technology companies.

Email:  lindner@janecapital.com  or jlindner@hmventurepartners.com

E. Tod Lindner

Managing Director

Tod is a Managing Director at Jane Capital Partners. A financing specialist, Tod was formerly Managing Director of Pentech Capital Markets Group where he headed up the investment banking division and focused on subordinated debt and preferred stock transactions. He was Founder and President of Northwest Capital Corporation where he originated nearly $150 million in mid-market corporate financings. Tod also served as Director and CFO of Wien Air Alaska, Inc., a Northwest Capital Corp. subsidiary. Before Northwest, he was the West Coast Manager of Chemical Bank’s asset based lending business – Chemical Business Credit Corporation – generating a $400 million loan portfolio. He began his banking career at The Bank of California N.A, where he rose to Vice President of the Corporate Banking Division. Tod holds a B.S. degree from the University of Oregon.

Email: tlindner@janecapital.com
Tel: (415) 235-7872

Albert “Bert” Nelson

Managing Director

Bert has worked in the energy and new technology sectors in senior positions spanning product development and testing, product management, project financing, marketing and business development and general management for more than two decades. An entrepreneur and financier, he helped start multiple energy technology companies including Stalwart Power, Applied Superconductor, Inc. and its predecessor companies Zenergy Power and SC Power Systems; Direct Drive Systems and Cheng Power Systems. In these companies he has filled numerous roles including CEO of Applied Superconductor, Inc. and member of the Executive Management Board of Applied Superconductor Limited in the UK. Additionally, Bert was an early-stage investor or director for several businesses including Sargent Electric, Holocom Networks, Sequentric Energy Systems, AIRSIS, Histogen and Smart Wire Grid. From 2006 to 2011, he served on the advisory board of the Wolfson Magnetics Centre at Cardiff University, and he has served on the advisory board of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineer at Iowa State University since 2010. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Pacific Skyline Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Bert graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Naval Architecture, completed the submarine and naval nuclear power curriculums, qualified as Chief Engineer on the S6G submarine nuclear reactor plant, and graduated with distinction from the Naval War College. He has also completed graduate coursework in business and engineering at the University of Maryland and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He retired from the U.S. Navy submarine force as a Commander in July 2009.

Email: BNelson@janecapital.com
Tel: (415) 740-1957

David Niebauer

Legal Counsel

David Niebauer is an attorney with over 25 years of domestic and international corporate finance experience, with a particular focus on technology companies (especially cleantech) and intellectual property. He works with companies at all stages from start-up through seed and VC funding, IPO, mergers and acquisitions. David often works with innovative companies as contract General Counsel, and has done so for companies including Jane Capital Partners, LLC, Smart Wires Inc. (www.smartwires.com), Brillouin Energy Corp. (www.brillouinenergy.com), TerraPass, Inc., Carbonflow Corp., Zenergy Power, Inc. and LumiGrow, Inc. (www.lumigrow.com). Prior to forming his private practice, David was a Partner with Graham and James LLP (now Squire Patton Boggs) where he specialized in securities law, venture capital financing and mergers and acquisitions. David received his B.A. from the State University of New York, magna cum laude, his Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the Brooklyn Law School, where he was Articles Editor of the Journal of International Law. He serves on the Board of Directors of Quantum Heat, Inc. (www.quantumheat.org), as well as the New Energy Movement (www.newenergymovement.org).

Email: david@davidniebauer.com

Frank Hiroshi Ling, Ph.D.

Associate Director

Frank Hiroshi Ling is a climate policy researcher based in Japan where he has served as post-doctoral fellow at IGES and ICAS. He manages Cleantech.Org, a web portal for catalyzing investments in new technologies that promote environmental sustainability. Dr. Ling received his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Frank received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Caltech and his MS degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has received numerous awards for his research and contributions to science education. In 2006, he received the Mass Media Fellowship Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is co-producer of the syndicated Science Groks radio program. He has also been a Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

Email: ling@janecapital.com

William Salathiel, Ph.D.

Associate Director

Bill, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a technical and financial expert in the energy & power sectors, with extensive experience in oil & gas, power generation, and environmental remediation, as well as alternative energy technology. Previously Bill served as a Research Associate with Exxon Production Research, and prior to that, as Senior Research Scientist at Exxon Chemical Company. He holds 12 US patents and has numerous publications and foreign patents. Bill holds an M.B.A. from University of Houston and a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from Rice University.

Email: salathiel@janecapital.com