Azimuth Capital Management

Francesco Mele is a semiconductor technology executive serving as COO at Silicon Catalyst. His experience spans semiconductor process technology development and manufacturing, design enablement, technical program management, and customer-facing marketing and technical sales, including work within multiple-company alliances. He has led cross-functional teams across varied disciplines and nationalities.

Kathy Woody is the Chief Executive Officer of Nexaltis Minerals. Her work focuses on critical minerals strategy in association with Azimuth Capital Management, and she has experience developing and implementing strategies related to low-carbon business goals.

Ryan Patryluk is Chief Operating Officer at Steelhead LNG, where his responsibilities have included commercial structuring, international negotiations on matters such as purchase and sale agreements and financings, business operations oversight, and the development of an intellectual property strategy covering trademark and patent applications. His earlier career spans roughly 20 years in commercial and legal roles, including establishing domestic and international joint ventures, advising on corporate and commercial matters, supporting acquisitions and divestments in North America and Europe, and representing institutional and investment banks and asset managers in capital markets transactions. He holds Certificates in Corporate Governance and Global Management from INSEAD.

Melissa Zhang is a Principal at Azimuth Capital Management, where she works with limited partners in North America and internationally on thesis development, venture incubation, and portfolio strategy, drawing on over a decade of experience in fundraising and investor relations across technology companies, private equity, hedge funds, and asset management platforms. She previously co-founded a startup backed by Breakthrough Energy and Activate, commercialized AI for decarbonization at Google X, and advised more than 80 institutional clients on capital allocation, alternative investments, and risk management at BlackRock. She holds an MBA from Stanford GSB, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BS from UC Berkeley, and serves as a guest lecturer and mentor at her former institutions.

Nathalie Beken is a Principal at Azimuth Capital Management, where she focuses on energy infrastructure investing across power, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and carbon markets. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, has an engineering background, and has more than eight years of international experience. Based in Calgary, she is currently involved in developing PureVolt Energy Systems, an Azimuth development company.

Richard Rocha is the Founder and Chairman of the Board at SME Bank, a role he has held for over six years, and a Partner at Superhero Capital, where he focuses on venture capital, business strategy, and investments in early-stage startups across the Nordics and Baltics. He co-founded SME Finance and serves as a board member at Whatagraph.

Sabine Brink is a Principal at Azimuth Capital Management, where she leads commercial development for PureVolt Energy Systems, a gigawatt-scale firm clean power platform, with responsibilities spanning offtake structuring, strategic partnerships, and capital formation. Her work focuses on the intersection of energy, natural systems, and capital, including biodiversity and nature markets and the integration of natural capital into energy transition investing. Prior to Azimuth, she spent nine years at Shell Ventures working on climate, energy, and technology.

Matteo Cargnello is Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University, where his research group synthesizes and studies tailored nanocrystals and nanostructures for energy and environmental applications through catalytic processes. He also serves as Senior Scientific Advisor at Azimuth Capital Management and as Co-Founder and Board Member of Phlego Cement Inc.

Rachel Lor is Administrative Operations Manager at Azimuth Capital Management, with over 20 years of experience in the legal profession focused on managing people and projects. She has worked with internal and external stakeholders to document business requirements and recommend process and system improvements.

Wim Ravesloot is Senior Project Portfolio Director at Azimuth Capital Management. He has worked as a project executive in the global energy industry, focusing on the development, design, and construction of large-scale and complex facilities. His experience spans project economics, environmental preservation, and energy transition.