Mr. Fuld has joined the company’s Advisory Board as its Senior Advisor. Mr. Fuld is Founder and CEO of Matrix Investment Holdings, a private merchant banking and strategic advisory firm.

Mr. Fuld is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Lehman Brothers. He previously served as a member of the Business Council, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange, the Board of Directors of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of New York Presbyterian Hospital.

“ESG is tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time: replacing fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy, removing waste and carbon from the environment, and growing organic produce to help feed our planet,” said Mr. Fuld. “ESG is working in conjunction with SUNY Cobleskill, a premier college of agriculture and technology, furthering higher education and opening pathways to cutting-edge careers. The farm-to-table piece of their strategy is compelling as it is addressing food scarcity and security, but when combined with changing weather patterns and global energy concerns, I think ESG has an intelligent strategy to make this a very successful enterprise. I am proud to be a part of this solution.”

“Dick’s commitment to creating a cleaner, more secure future is outstanding,” said Louis Ferro, president of ESG. “We are honored that he has joined our team as we build a network of carbon negative vertical farms that will increase food security and combat climate change.”

The Governor joined the law firm of Chadbourne and Parke, LLP, in 2007 as Counsel, focusing on their energy, environmental and infrastructure practice areas. He also served as United States Delegate to the 62nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In addition, he co-chaired the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Climate Change.

Prior to starting the Pataki-Cahill Group, he served three terms as the 53rd governor of New York State, from 1995 through 2006. At the end of his twelve years as Governor, New York State had its lowest rate of welfare dependency in over 40 years, its lowest rate of violent crime in over 40 years, had cut state taxes by over $140 billion, had almost 700,000 more private sector jobs, its highest credit rating in over 40 years, and billions of dollars in surplus. Governor Pataki also led New York State through the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

Widely known for his protection of over one million acres of open space, the most in New York State’s history, Governor Pataki balanced his pro-business philosophy with award-winning, cutting-edge policies in the renewable energy and environmental fields. The Governor implemented the first integrated strategy for creating clean, renewable transportation networks utilizing alternative fuels, including tax and other incentives for both consumers and manufacturers, grants for alternative retail fuel distribution systems and the exemption of renewable fuels from all State and local taxes. Governor Pataki also established New York’s leading brownfield program spurring development in cities across the state by creating a $200 million fund to support the redevelopment of contaminated sites and instituting a $135 million tax credit program to encourage public private investment in brownfields. He instituted the nation’s green buildings tax credit incentive program which led to the first building of the first high-rise green office building in the world, the first high-rise green residential building in the United States and a host of other green projects currently under development. Most notably, through his determined leadership Governor Pataki ensured that the redeveloped World Trade Center site will be a global example of green building design.

In addition, Governor Pataki worked to create public private partnerships for clean energy generation in New York State resulting in one of the largest industrial solar power arrays in the U.S. and one of the largest wind-power arrays in the Eastern United States. He introduced net metering to encourage alternative energy production in homes and established the nation’s first business park devoted to the development of clean energy technologies. Governor Pataki also established the Albany Nanotech Center for Excellence and the nation’s most innovative renewable portfolio standard to ensure that New York rate payers were supplied with the most cost-effective renewable energy.

Among numerous other awards, BusinessWeek named Governor Pataki one of the top 20 “individuals who stand out for their efforts to cut gases that cause global warming” in the world. Also, in 2006, Vanity Fair called him a governor who “gets it” in its inaugural “Green Issue” for his efforts concerning the environment. Governor Pataki serves on the Advisory Council of global investment bank Greentech Capital Advisors. He serves on numerous boards, including: Ecological, a sustainable real estate development firm; Cosan, one of Brazil’s largest private companies with a focus on ethanol and sugar production, and Clearlake Capital and MidOcean Partners, both private equity firms.

Governor Pataki was a partner in the New York law firm Plunkett & Jaffe until 1987. He was elected mayor of Peekskill, New York in 1981, and served in the New York State Legislature as an assemblyman and then as state senator from 1985 to 1994, before becoming governor.

Michael Niederbacher, founder and CEO of TerraX, which develops new technologies in the field of anaerobic digestion and gasification to produce hydrogen, is an internationally recognized expert in the field.

“Michael Niederbacher’s expertise, vast experience, and leadership in new technologies is an enormous asset to ESG and our breakthrough system of waste-to-energy, carbon negative vertical agriculture,” said Louis Ferro, president of ESG. “We share our commitment to feeding a hungry planet and combating climate change through positive action, in agriculture and beyond.”

Mr. Niederbacher has specialized in biogas technology for over twenty years. Prior to founding TerraX, he was CEO of BTS Biogas, a leading international company in biogas plant engineering and construction. Mr. Niederbacher is a co-founder of the first Klimaenergy trade fair in Bolzano, Italy, and the Consorzio Italiano Biogas. He also co-founded the European Biogas Association, which is dedicated to helping Europe reach climate neutrality by 2050, where he serves as Vice President.

Mr. Niederbacher holds an agriculturalist degree from the University of Natural Resources and Life Science in Vienna, Austria.

Mr. Cahill is a co-Founder and CEO of the Pataki-Cahill Group and serves as Counsel to Chadbourne & Parke, LLP. From 2002 through 2006, Mr. Cahill served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of New York State, serving as the highest-ranking appointed official in New York State Government and also given the primary responsibility for the coordination of the rebuilding efforts in lower Manhattan after 9/11.

From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Cahill served as the Commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation where he led the State agency with 3,000 employees and a $500 million annual budget. His responsibilities included enhancing and protecting the State’s vast natural resources and the successful implementation of the 1996 $1.75 billion Clean Water Air Bond Act. Mr. Cahill also led the State’s efforts to preserve over one million acres of open space. Prior to this, Mr. Cahill was the General Counsel to the Department of Environmental Conservation and previously was a partner at the law firm of Plunkett & Jaffe, P.C., a firm focused on environmental and government law.

Mr. Cahill completed his undergraduate degree at Fordham University, and attended Pace University School of Law where he received both a J.D. and Master’s degree in Environmental Law. Mr. Cahill formerly served as Chairman of the Environmental Facilities Corporation and Vice-Chairman of the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), as well as serving on the Olympic Regional Development Authority, Great Lakes Commission and the Adirondacks Park Agency.

Peter R. Smith serves as a Managing Director at the Pataki-Cahill Group. Mr. Smith joined Pataki-Cahill after serving for nearly four years as the President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). While leading NYSERDA, he oversaw a $400 million dollar budget dedicated to research, economic development and deployment of progressive energy programs and technologies throughout the state of New York. Mr. Smith established almost 3,000 energy efficiency, conservation, renewable resource, economic development, and research projects throughout New York. Among his many accomplishments, h led the effort to establish the nation’s first clean energy technology park. Mr. Smith also represented New York State’s energy policy interests as part of Governor Pataki’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) leadership team.

Mr. Smith spearheaded NYSERDA’s implementation of the nation’s first state-administered Renewable Portfolio Standard, requiring 25% of New York’s electricity to come from renewable resources by 2013. Mr. Smith oversaw the first two rounds of implementation of the program, including the construction of the largest wind farm array east of the Mississippi and an additional 21 projects totaling more than $295 million in investment from NYSERDA. The 21 projects represent 880 megawatts of renewable resource capacity and created private sector investment of over $2 billion in New York.

Prior to serving as President and CEO of NYSERDA, Mr. Smith served as the Vice President of NYSERDA and was Director of NYSERDA’s Energy Analysis Program. Prior he was the Director of Planning for the New York State Energy Office. Currently he is the President of the Board of Directors of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and a member of the board for the Alliance to Save Energy. He is the former chairman of the National Association of State Energy Officials and the former chairman of the Gas Technology Institute Public Interest Advisory Committee.

Mr. Smith holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Nelson A. Rockefeller School of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany and completed his undergraduate degree at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York.

“I support the Empire State Greenhouse project for many reasons – but especially because it is a project fully consistent with the adopted Schoharie County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan. It promotes diversification of agriculture in the County, expansion of new agricultural technologies, enhancement of the local, regional, and state-wide food system, and will promote a vital, renewable rural economy. It is also an innovative project that shows how agriculture can be vital while reducing demand on fossil fuel and addressing important global and environmental needs.”

Nan Stolzenburg’s 25-year career as a planning consultant, built upon 10 years of prior work in the wildlife/natural resources field, has significantly contributed to rural community and environmental planning throughout the Hudson Valley and upstate regions of New York State. She concentrates on the unique community and environmental planning needs of small and rural communities by providing comprehensive land use, and environmental planning services. Her unique background, including an MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MRP in Regional Planning from the University at Albany, integrates environmental conservation with land use planning. Nan works to build consensus, help communities to maintain their rural character, improve quality of life, and protect the environment.

Nan was recently called upon by Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19) to testify in a hearing on Renewable Energy in Rural Communities. She has been a consistent innovator in helping over 70 small communities embrace comprehensive planning, asset-based economic development, and implementation of innovative land use tools. Recognized as an expert in rural planning, Nan has developed dozens of agricultural and farmland protection plans resulting in such accomplishments as creation of a local “Ag-navigator” to enhance agricultural economic development, implementation of transfer of development rights programs, and establishment of agricultural overlay districts.

Her work as planning board consultant in multiple communities has improved streetscapes protected stream riparian areas and contributed to the first application of conservation subdivision. Nan effectively uses GIS through buildout analysis, land prioritization techniques, viewshed analysis, and more recently, solar capacity analysis. She has had widespread positive impact on environmental protection through her authorship of the NYS SEQR Environmental Assessment Form Workbooks, used throughout the state for all required site plan, subdivision, and zoning permit processes.

Currently, she serves as an Advisory Council member for the Schoharie Economic Enterprise Corporation, as a former member of the Board of Directors for Schoharie Community Development Corporation, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, a member of the Planning Committee for the Bender Melon Farm Preserve, and as an active member the Gallupville House Association, a community group working to repurpose an historic hotel in her community. Formerly, she served as member of the Executive Board of the New York State Chapter of the Wildlife Society, and as a member of the Board of Director for The Schoharie Land Trust.

Dr. Evans is Dean of the College of Food Innovation & Technology, Johnson & Wales University. Prior he was an Associate Professor of Agricultural Business Management at SUNY Cobleskill, where he also served as the Director for the college’s Institute for Rural Vitality and is the former Chair of the Department of Agriculture and Food Management. Dr. Evans is an effective, student-centered educator with substantial personnel, project and budget management experience; an empathetic, forward-thinking leader who brings creativity and critical thinking to bear in building consensus around challenges and opportunities in higher education, community advancement and economic development; years of research, teaching and real-world experience in food systems, entrepreneurship and agri-business management.

A prodigious scholar and author, Professor Evans has authored in excess of 38 peer reviewed books, articles or presentations since 2005. As a grant writing author and co-author, Dr. Evans has helped secure total grant funding in excess of $9,612,000 between 2010 – 2020.

Manuel D. Ron, MBA JD is a shareholder of multiple companies and has a history of international investing, taking operating leadership roles and serving on boards. He has participated in many international and domestic financial and business transactions either as an entrepreneur, principal investor, advisor, or capital arranger. Mr. Ron is a founding non-operating minority shareholder of several Invescore Group companies operating in the US, UK and Saudi Arabia. The group provides family, corporate, financial and government organizations the opportunity to allocate capital into high quality specialist funds, companies, and projects.

Mr. Ron was previously a founding shareholder and CEO of Integration Capital for Financial Papers Company, a financial company licensed by the Capital Market Authority in Saudi Arabia. He lived in Riyadh for three years launching the company and was a registered investor with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. Mr. Ron orchestrated an exit with a majority interest sale to a Canadian and Pakistani investment group. He has close personal friendships as well as professional relationships with merchant families, industry professionals and officials in Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf countries.

Prior to his involvement with the Integration Capital platform of companies (US, Saudi Arabia, Oman, with affiliates in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and India) in 2007, Mr. Ron was a Managing Director of New York-based Griffin Investment Management where he served as Co-Manager of the Griffin Crossover Fund making private investments in public and private companies. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Operating Officer DC Asset Management where he helped launch the DC Opportunity Fund, a hedge fund investing in the private securities of public US companies.

Mr. Ron has also held various operating and finance positions, including finance director, then CEO of venture capital backed technology company, Actiant, where he raised its first equity and debt rounds from US and Arabian Gulf investors. He subsequently orchestrated a sale of assets to a US and Indian technology group. Mr. Ron worked as an analyst at Corporate Property Investors, an investment company spun-out of Lazard Frères and as a junior analyst in the Investment Banking division of Citigroup.

Mr. Ron has a BA in Economics from St. John’s University (New York) where he also was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He also earned a JD from the St. John’s University School of Law and an MBA in Finance from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Mr. Ron is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in the federal courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He is also admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Ron began his post-college career as an active duty US Army engineer (airborne) officer. He served in the US, Korea and Honduras as a platoon leader and company executive officer.

Mr. Ron also teaches graduate finance courses (corporate finance, securities analysis, mergers and acquisitions) and quantitative methods (statistics and probability) in the Mercy College (New York) School of Business MBA program.