
The Team
Engineering-Forward. Customer-Driven.
Our meticulously crafted team is reverse-engineered to ensure that all mission critical skillsets are available in-house, with best-in-class professionals from the oil & gas, power, legal, technology, and financial worlds.

Alexandra Goldstein
Co-Founder, CEO,
Board Member
New York, NY
Alexandra Goldstein serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Bison Fuels and has dedicated herself to the clean hydrogen opportunity for the past 5 years. She previously co-founded Ambient Fuels, a Generate Capital-backed clean hydrogen developer, leading that company through a successful fundraise and scale-up. Prior to her time in the energy transition, Alex spent ten years in investing. She began her career as part of the founding team of Manor Road Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund, working as a research and investment professional until 2019. Alex then joined the corporate strategy and M&A team of Buck Global, an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company, which was successfully sold to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.   Alex received her A.B. from Princeton in History in 2011. She wrote her undergraduate senior thesis on the development of U.S.-Saudi relations during World War II, with a particular focus on energy security.  Alex is an avid classical violinist and member of the New Conductor’s Orchestra. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Josh Sutton
Co-Founder, Chief Commercial Officer
Houston, TX
Josh Sutton is a Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Bison Fuels. Josh is an Assistant General Counsel at Western LNG. He previously practiced in the project development space, with a focus in both traditional energy projects and energy transition projects, at Sidley Austin, to which he had returned in 2021 after 7 years living in Saudi Arabia and working for Saudi Aramco as Senior Counsel. There he was involved in the negotiations of the joint venture arrangements, construction contracts, financing and offtake agreements for cogeneration power plants, petrochemical facilities, maritime shipyards, and equipment manufacturing facilities. Before moving to Saudi Arabia, Josh was an associate at Sidley Austin, and before that at McDermott, Will & Emery, in each case focusing on the development, purchase and sale of power facilities domestically and globally. Josh earned his BA in History from Rice University, and his JD, cum laude, from the University of Texas School of Law. In between those periods of study, Josh was a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps, teaching Environmental Education in Tobati, Paraguay. When not at work, or supporting his three teenagers in their extracurricular activities, Josh enjoys long motorcycle trips, having ridden the ring road of Iceland, the Highlands of Scotland, the Pyrenees and the Italian/Swiss Alps.

Kate Benner
Strategic Advisor
Washington, D.C.
Kate supports Bison’s business development strategy, market analysis, and project management work. Kate is an attorney and advisor with a decade of experience in government and private practice. She co-led a legal team supporting over $6 billion in federal funding for energy and infrastructure projects at the U.S. Department of Energy and has experience negotiating agreements for innovative complex clean energy projects. Previously, Kate advised and represented clients facing complex environmental enforcement, litigation, and regulatory issues at King & Spalding. In 2020, Kate was selected by the Environmental Law Institute as an Emerging Leader. Kate received her B.A. from Princeton University in Public and International Affairs and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar. In her spare time, Kate’s an excellent baker and beginning gardener.

Eric Entz
Strategic Advisor, Canada
Calgary, AB
Eric is a strategy and sustainability professional with over a decade of experience in impact reduction planning. Since 2020, he has specialized in decarbonization, transportation, and circular economy initiatives. He currently works with both government agencies and private companies on emission management and clean fuel initiatives. He’s recently advised the Alberta Motor Transport Association, MLT Aikins, and Old’s College of Agriculture & Technology on sustainability initiatives. Throughout his career, Eric has contributed to a diverse range of projects across industries. Eric helped develop carbon credit projects and has been an advisor for environmental commodity portfolios valued over $100M. He’s built waste-to-fuel infrastructure strategies in collaboration with international logistics companies, worked with energy and mining sustainability initiatives, and is currently conducting a technoeconomic analysis for decarbonization and fuel efficiency plans in the medium and heavy-haul road transport industry in Alberta. Eric holds an honors degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University, where his thesis focused on de-risking foreign aid into developing economies through strategic investments. In his spare time, Eric enjoys mountain biking, surfing and experimental cooking (sometimes to the dismay of his friends). If it is outdoors, he will never say no to a new adventure.

Joey Hirschman
Strategy & Ops Associate
Los Angeles, CA
Joey drives market research, assists with Bison’s business development strategy, and provides operational support for team leadership. Before joining Bison, Joey was a consultant in PwC’s M&A Advisory group where he supported transactions of all types in the tech, professional services, and utility-scale power industries. From developing client outreach strategies to implementing change management programs, Joey’s breadth of experience allows him to support Bison in a variety of functions. Joey received his B.S. from Northwestern University in Learning & Organizational Change, and lives in Los Angeles. Joey loves the outdoors, is an avid snowboarder, and a struggling surfer.

Don Cuffel
VP, Engineering
San Francisco, CA
Don earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College (Easton, PA) and immediately went overseas with Exxon to work at the Lago Oil & Transport Company refinery on the island of Aruba. Returning to the States, he transferred to the Benicia, CA refinery and earned his MBA from St. Mary’s College (Moraga, CA) while working full-time. Early engineering assignments included Process Support, Capital Project and Maintenance roles. Soon Don was the Maintenance Manager responsible for routine and turnaround maintenance for one-half of the high-complexity refinery. Valero Energy purchased the refinery from Exxon in 2000 and Don transferred to the Environmental department where he was responsible for Title V compliance with all applicable air regulations and NPDES wastewater compliance. As a principal engineer, he led the environmental permitting process for a $1B flue gas scrubber project that reduced criteria pollutant emissions by thousands of tons per year. Later Don enjoyed roles as Environmental Engineering Manager and finally Director of Health, Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Affairs where he and his team were responsible for Occupational and Process Safety, environmental compliance for all media, regulatory advocacy, industrial hygiene and emergency response. Don came out of retirement to collaborate with like-minded professionals who recognize that solving the carbon emissions puzzle will require creative solutions and considerable engineering talent. In this role Don will coordinate the technical workflow between EPCs, OEMs and the project Owner to ensure on-time, on-budget project execution followed by a safe and reliable startup.

Shawn Kestler
VP, Power Structuring
Chicago, IL
Kestler is the Founder and President of Kestler Energy Consulting, LLC, which provides energy consulting services to generation and load clients, in both the wholesale and retail markets. Kestler has more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry, and is an innovative and collaborative energy professional with a proven record of success. He is skilled in pursuing and negotiating term power purchase and/or alternative hedge agreements, and helping clients procure their energy economically and within defined risk tolerances. Prior to founding KEC, Kestler was Vice President of Power Marketing at Acciona Energy NA, where he managed all power marketing activities in the U.S. and Canada. He negotiated and executed long-term power purchase and alternative structure hedge agreements and actively managed the renewable attributes portfolio. Previously, Kestler held marketing director positions at DTE Energy Trading, Williams Power, Reliant Energy, and Commonwealth Edison, leading those organization’s power marketing activities in the MISO, PJM, and SPP markets. Kestler earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, and a Master’s of Management degree from Northwestern University’s, Kellogg School of Management. He has served on the Illinois Chamber of Commerce board of directors, as well as Chairman of the Illinois Energy Council, and has been an active member of Wind on the Wires.

Abhishek Ramanan
Commercial & Technical Advisor
Washington, D.C.
Abhishek supports Bison's technology, project development, and commercial development strategy. He is an accomplished engineer-turned venture investor with deep expertise at the intersection of energy, climate tech, and finance. With more than a decade of experience across VC, energy transition corporate/business development, process engineering and R&D, he brings a unique blend of technical depth and strategic insight to founders and early-stage developers. Abhishek currently serves as Partner for Delek (NYSE: DK) Innovation, overseeing the company's ~$70M Corporate VC portfolio. He has led numerous investments across climate tech, industrial decarbonization, and AI/Industry 4.0. He serves as a board-level contributor (Observer) and advisor to numerous climate tech startups in the CCUS, H2 and greater energy transition space. In a parallel role, Abhishek also supports business development, financing and strategy for Delek's Low Carbon Solutions business unit. Previously, Abhishek held engineering & research roles at ExxonMobil and Valero, where he drove technology commercialization, refinery optimization, and multi-million-dollar asset improvements. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

David B. Kultgen
Senior Advisor, Board Member
Austin, TX
David B. Kultgen is the former General Counsel and Board Secretary of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), and provides legal and consulting services from offices in Austin, Texas, focusing on business, commercial, and international law; legal and regulatory compliance; and dispute resolution, leveraging 43 years of experience (32 of which were spent in Saudi Arabia) with Saudi Aramco, its predecessor the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) and their affiliated companies. Kultgen was the second general counsel in Saudi Aramco’s history and only the 5th in the combined 80-year history of Aramco and Saudi Aramco. Kultgen joined the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) in 1973 and retired from Saudi Aramco, its successor on October 1, 2016. From January 1, 2010 until May 1, 2016, he served as the Company’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. From May 1, 2016 until his retirement he served as Senior Vice President, Special Assignment. While a member of the Corporate Management team (01/01/2010 – 09/30/2016), he was a member of the Company’s Strategy Council, Management Committee, IPO Steering Committee and several other corporate level bodies. Kultgen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1970, and obtained his J.D. from the School of Law of the University of Texas at Austin in 1973. He attended the Program for Senior Executives at the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1991. In 1973 Kultgen joined the Arabian American Oil Company in New York, N.Y., moving to the Company’s headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in May 1974. In 1982, he was assigned to the Law Department of Aramco’s principal U.S. based subsidiary, Aramco Services Company, where he remained until he returned to Dhahran in 1989 following his appointment by Saudi Aramco’s Board as Associate General Counsel. He was made Deputy General Counsel in 2007 and was appointed General Counsel and Board Secretary effective January 1, 2010. Kultgen supported the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (HRH, the Minister) in negotiations with the United States and the European Union on energy related issues associated with Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization. After becoming General Counsel, Kultgen managed the restructuring and expansion of the Company’s global legal organization, including the creation of a local practice unit comprised entirely of Kingdom trained Saudi lawyers to manage domestic litigation, supplementing Saudi Aramco’s staff of U.S. trained and qualified American and Saudi lawyers, overseeing the organization’s growth by more than two and a half times over five years.

Zachary N. Goldstein
Chair of Advisory Board, Carbon Markets Advisor
New York, NY
Zachary Goldstein is Vice President of Nature-Based Solutions Investments at Carbon Direct Capital, an investment fund focused on carbon management. Prior to this role, Goldstein served as Head of Investments at Aspiration Partners (now Catona Climate), focused on carbon removal investments. Previously, Goldstein worked as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs Renewable Power (now MN8 Energy) with fellow Advisor Michael Conti. Prior to Goldman, Goldstein worked at True Green Capital Management LLC, an asset manager in the distributed energy space, and as a Project Finance attorney at Latham & Watkins, Baker Botts, and Sidley Austin LLP. Zach received an A.B. summa cum laude from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, a J.D. from Columbia Law School and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School. He lives in New York City.
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John Marciano
Advisor
Washington, D.C.
John Marciano is the CEO of Eight Buffaloes LLC. Eight Buffaloes has a portfolio of over 30 investments across the energy transition ecosystem through its portfolio company, Cheltenham Capital. He also chairs the board of Goodpeak and serves on the board of Redball Power and Redball Energy. Marciano has structured, executed, and closed most of the leading-edge renewables transactions over the last 15 years, resulting in over $30 billion of new renewable energy facilities and several that exceeded over $2 billion each. A seasoned veteran in renewables financial architecture, Marciano has led two of the largest law firm teams focused on project finance. Most recently, he was co-head of Allen & Overy's 350-lawyer global energy practice. Prior to that, he led Akin's 40-lawyer US renewables practice (moving the entire team to Allen & Overy in early 2021). His legal work is complimented by his policy work in the renewables space. From 2016-2022, he served as the tax committee chairman of SEIA. Marciano is ranked Band 1 by Chambers and Partners Global for his work in renewable energy law. He holds a BA from Canisius University, JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and an LLM (tax) from Georgetown University.
