In a recent announcement, Avina Clean Hydrogen, a leading company in the green hydrogen and green fuels sector, revealed that it has added three prominent figures to its advisory board.
Tom Linebarger, former CEO of Cummins, Susan Dio, former President & Chairman of BP America, and Warren East, former CEO of Rolls-Royce, will join the Avina Advisory Board (AAB) to help shape and guide the company’s strategic initiatives.
They will also offer valuable advice on how to leverage hydrogen to address decarbonization challenges in hard-to-abate sectors.
Founder and CEO of Avina Clean Hydrogen, Vishal Shah, expressed his gratitude and excitement for having such esteemed leaders as the inaugural members of the advisory board.
He stated that green hydrogen has a crucial role to play in multiple industries, and the unique expertise and perspective each of these leaders brings from their respective backgrounds will be invaluable in addressing the needs of a diverse portfolio of industries and end customers.
Tom Linebarger: A Global Technology Leader and Advocate of Net Zero Emissions
Tom Linebarger is the Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Cummins, a global technology leader in engines, filtration, and power generation products. He served as the CEO for more than ten years until he stepped down in August 2022.
During his tenure as CEO, Tom refocused the company, positioning it to be a leader in zero and low-carbon solutions. Under his leadership, Cummins developed Destination Zero, the company’s strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
To achieve this goal, Cummins is offering customers a range of solutions required for the energy transition, including advanced diesel, natural gas, and fuel-agnostic engine platforms. The company recently announced a hydrogen internal combustion technology that includes a 15L hydrogen engine, which will go into full production in 2027.
Cummins has also announced several fuel cell partnerships with Daimler Truck North America, Komatsu, and Scania, as well as converting Air Products’ 2,000-truck delivery fleet to fuel cell electric vehicles. In addition, Cummins is manufacturing a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for use in North America and continues to build a leading presence in the electrolyzer business.
Currently, Tom is the co-chair of The Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led coalition working to accelerate the energy transition through hydrogen. The Hydrogen Council includes CEOs from over 300 companies in sectors, including automotive, gas, utility, and technology companies. Vishal Shah, CEO of Avina, expressed his appreciation for having Tom on the advisory board, stating that few executives in the world share Tom’s wealth of experience in driving legacy sectors to adopt zero and low-carbon solutions.
Susan Dio: A Proven Executive with a Wealth of Experience in International Refining and Petrochemicals
Susan Dio is a proven executive with over 25 years of experience in international refining, petrochemicals, and oil and gas. Prior to her retirement in 2020, Susan was Chairman and President of BP America, where she had responsibility for all BP businesses in the U.S.
She worked with policymakers, partnerships, and trade associations on trade and energy policy, as well as navigating the energy transition toward a low-carbon future. As Chairman of the BP America Board, she focused on setting strategic direction and oversight of material risk across the 350 US subsidiaries.
Between 2015 and 2018, Susan was CEO of BP Shipping, which managed the fleet of BP-operated and chartered vessels that moved over 200 million tons of products around the globe each year. As CEO, she reset the organization’s strategy and operations and modernized the company’s fleet, delivering 26 new highly efficient tankers.
Other roles Susan held at BP include Head of Audit for refining and marketing and Managing Director of a refinery in Australia. She holds a degree in chemical engineering.
According to Vishal Shah, Susan’s leadership and expertise, especially in the oil and gas sector, will be invaluable as the company continues its conversations with leading executives who recognize the importance of hydrogen in solving the toughest decarbonization challenges in the energy sector.
Warren East: A Trailblazing Leader in Technology and Aviation Sectors
Warren East retired as the CEO of Rolls-Royce in December 2022. He initially joined the company as a board member in 2014 after retiring as the CEO of semiconductor company ARM and later stepped into the CEO role in 2015. Rolls-Royce manufactures aircraft engines as well as engines for boats, trains, large land vehicles, and nuclear submarine reactors.
As CEO, Warren pushed to modernize the company and to embrace sustainability. He committed to becoming a net-zero carbon company by 2050, and with the future of the business in mind, invested money in R&D around new aero engine design and in nuclear power. He also established a sustainable solutions business in the Power Systems division to develop microgrid solutions, including hydrogen electrolyzers and fuel cells. The company created a new business to focus on electrical aviation and broke the world record for the fastest electric flight.
Recently, Rolls-Royce demonstrated a gas turbine aero engine running on 100% hydrogen, and in the meantime, it is also enabling all its aero engines to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company is working across the industry to establish the SAF ecosystem.
According to Steven Berkenfeld, Board Member of Avina, Warren’s extraordinary legacy of trailblazing leadership in technology and aviation sectors will be very valuable to Avina’s continued growth. He expressed excitement for Warren to share his unique perspectives with the team as the company continues to deploy green hydrogen and ammonia solutions in new sectors.
Conclusion
The appointment of Tom Linebarger, Susan Dio, and Warren East to Avina’s Advisory Board is a significant milestone for the company. It reflects the company’s commitment to accelerating the energy transition in hard-to-decarbonize sectors by bringing solutions to deploy green hydrogen at scale.
Each member of the advisory board brings unique expertise and perspectives from their respective backgrounds, which will be crucial in addressing the needs of a diverse portfolio of industries and end customers.
With this new addition to the advisory board, Avina Clean Hydrogen is well-positioned to continue to develop solutions for customers looking to use green hydrogen as an accelerator of energy transition.
