Pete has over 20 years of experience as a business leader and entrepreneur with a successful track record of building industrial gas and energy companies. In 2005, Pete began his career in finance at Goldman Sachs before progressing to operating roles. In 2010 he co-founded Hawkwood Energy, an oil & gas company based in Colorado and Texas. During his 10-year tenure, Hawkwood grew from one employee to a $300 million EBITDA business. In 2021, Pete joined StratosFuel as CEO, an industrial gas startup focused on hydrogen production. Stratos successfully developed a large-scale facility in California, while securing customers that included one of the largest global industrial gas companies as well as regional packaged gas distributors. Over his career, Pete’s ventures have been backed by leading private equity funds such as Warburg Pincus, Ontario Teachers’ Pension, and Tailwind Capital. He has also completed more than 50 deals totaling over $1.5 billion, ranging from small family-owned businesses to large public transactions.

He has an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Lafayette College, where he played Division-I golf. Pete is married with two young children and enjoys spending time with his family, skiing, and he remains an avid competitive golfer.

Chris brings 40 plus years of experience in the industrial gas industry. He spent a majority of those years in commercial and leadership roles first at Union Carbide and then at Praxair/Linde (where he met Steve), which included the bulk, pipeline, onsite, and distribution businesses. After 37 years, Chris retired from Linde as a VP leading the packaged gas business in the south region. After Linde, Chris led commercial functions as CCO for BayoTech, a hydrogen growth company, where he first met Pete at Stratos and reconnected with Steve. At BayoTech, Chris was instrumental in the success of their trailer business and the company’s first commercial hydrogen plant in Missouri.

Chris has a BS from Southern Connecticut State University and MBA from Western Connecticut State University. In his free time, Chris enjoys traveling with his wife and attending baseball games around the country with his son. He is also an accomplished musician, playing bass for a Foo Fighters tribute band, and has been a certified private pilot for over 10 years.

Steve has nearly 40 years of experience in industrial gases, most of which has been focused on operations and safety. He began his career in the mid-1980’s operating one of the oldest air separation plants in the country for Union Carbide, which later became Praxair. In the ensuing decades at Praxair, Steve led numerous operations including one of the world’s largest gas production complexes in Chicago, eventually rising to Western US Region Director, and ultimately the VP of Operations for all of the United States. After retiring from Linde/Praxair after 37 years (where he worked with Chris), Steve joined Pete at Stratos as COO.

Steve has a BS from State University of New York and MBA from Olivet Nazarene University. Steve’s family has worked in the industrial gas business for over 100 years, with his grandfather originally starting in packaged gases in the 1920’s. Steve and his wife enjoy hiking and traveling, especially to spend time with their four children and four grandchildren.

Eric has nearly 15 years of experience in finance, startups, and energy. He started his career in investment banking at Credit Suisse before moving to private equity at New Mountain Capital, where his deal work included specialty distribution investments. After that, Eric joined GiveDirectly, a startup nonprofit backed by Google and other business leaders. GiveDirectly focused on cash transfers in Africa and during Eric’s tenure grew to a leading international organization with over $300 million revenue. Returning to the US, Eric then worked with several clean energy and hydrogen startups, which ultimately led him to join Pete and Steve as CFO at Stratos.

Eric has a BA from Yale University. He enjoys traveling and rock climbing, and he remains a devout Philadelphia sports fan.