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FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020JUDGES: CAROL BATTERSHELL, ENERGY CONSULTANT; LORD JOHN BROWNE, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, L1 ENERGY;
TIM LATIMER, COFOUNDER, FERVO ENERGY (UNDER 30 CLASS OF 2019); EMILY REICHERT, CEO, GREENTOWN LABS.
ASHLEY ZUMWALT-FORBES WEARS A CHRISTIAN SIRIANO BURNOUT DRESS, A SOCIALITE ARMY FAUX FUR COAT AND GABRIEL & CO. GOLD-AND-DIAMOND EAR CLIMBERS.ENERGY
ASHLEY ZUMWALT-FORBES, 29
PRESIDENT, BLACK MOUNTAIN METALSAshley Zumwalt-Forbes is big on batteries.
The president of Black Mountain Metals—a di-
vision of Fort Worth, Texas-based energy pro-
ducer Black Mountain—is on the hunt for ore
like nickel, a key ingredient of the lithium-ion
batteries that power electric cars like Teslas.
In 2018 her unit plowed $75 million into min-
ing operations in Western Australia. That same
year, the Harvard M.B.A. ran a hostile takeover
bid for Australian miner Poseidon Nickel, ac-
quiring a 20% stake. Zumwalt-Forbes grew up
near the oilfields of Choctaw, Oklahoma, ma-
jored in petroleum engineering at the Univer-
sity of Oklahoma and worked as a drilling en-
gineer at ExxonMobil. As head of business
development for Black Mountain, her analy-
sis of the evolving battery landscape inspired
the company’s jump into mining. “My num-
ber one hurdle was overcoming impostor
syndrome,” says Zumwalt-Forbes (no re-
lation to the magazine’s founding fam-
ily). “I rarely see another woman in
meetings, let alone one without a
formal mining background, but I
know I’ve earned my seat at the
table.” —Jeremy Bogaisky,
Elisabeth Brier, Chris HelmanMATTHEW AGUAYO, 29;
AASHAY ARORA, 28
Cofounders, EnKoat
SANDEEP AHUJA, 28
Cofounder, cove.tool
BENJAMIN BACKER, 22;
DANIELLE BUTCHER, 23
Cofounders, American
Conservation Coalition
MARIA BUITRON, 29
Investor, PIVA
KEVIN BUSH, 27
Cofounder, Swift Solar
CHARLES-HENRI CLERGET, 27;
LOUIS CRETEUR, 29;
ERIC ZHANG, 29
Cofounders, Acoustic Wells
VAITEA COWAN, 26;
JAN-JUSTUS SCHMIDT, 28
Cofounders, Enapter
DANE DEQUILETTES, 29;
ANURAG PANDA, 29
Team leads, GridEdge Solar
DON DEROSA, 29
Cofounder, Eonix
UGWEM ENEYO, 29;
COLE STITES-CLAYTON, 28
Cofounders, SHYFT Power Solutions
ALEXANDRA HARBOUR, 25
Investor, Powerhouse Ventures
ROHIT KALYANPUR, 22
Founder, Optivolt Labs
KENTARO KAWAMORI, 28
Partner, Rice Investment Group
JORDAN KEARNS, 27
Founder, Medley Thermal
ANA SOPHIA MIFSUD, 25
Senior associate,
Rocky Mountain Institute
ISABEL MOGSTAD, 29
Senior manager,
Environmental Defense Fund
GRACE PAULSEN, 29
Energy investments, Arena Investors
RYAN PEARSON, 27;
MATTHEW RYAN, 27
Cofounders, Cypris Materials
ALEXANDRA RASCH, 29
Founder, Caban Systems
TIM SHERSTYUK, 26
Cofounder, GBatteries
APOORV SINHA, 29
Founder, Carbon Upcycling Technologies
ZACHARY SMITH, 29
Founder, Zauben
ABRAHAM STANWAY, 29
Cofounder, Amperon
ELISE STROBACH, 28;
KYLE WILKE, 29
Cofounders, AeroShield
NAMAN TRIVEDI, 25
Cofounder, WattBuy
ERICA TSYPIN, 28
Cofounder, Steer
WHITNEY WICKES, 29
Cofounder, Rocking WW Minerals
TYLER WITTMAN, 27
Founder, Precision NDT
JONATHAN YAN, 29
Investor, Sparx
ASHLEY ZUMWALT-FORBES, 29
Cofounder, Black Mountain Metals68
FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020