About MJV
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Vision
Utilizing a circular economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources, MegaJoule Ventures will develop and launch environmentally sustainable energy technologies and solutions by leveraging and bringing together investments, strategic property developments and partnership enterprises.
Mission
Through ownership, investment and alignment, MegaJoule Ventures will create a unique ecosystem that allows the creation, validation and rapid deployment of forward-thinking energy solutions.
With world class facilities, company owned strategic property development locations, access to industry expertise, and co-location with emerging and startup companies, MJV serves as an incubator, accelerator, and technical and innovation center in which to demonstrate, pilot and scale these innovations.
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Team
Herb Crowther
Herb leads MegaJoule Ventures as President, bringing more than 30 years of management consulting and entrepreneurial experience, including seven years at Swagelok and 20+ years in strategic cost management, analytic systems, lean manufacturing, battery technologies, energy systems and high-performance buildings. In 2019, Herb co-founded MegaJoule Ventures LLC. Herb oversees the MegaJoule team in leveraging its direct investments with equity investments in entities that provide concurrent strategic distribution channel rights and other commercialization benefits within and across the MegaJoule portfolio companies. Herb is a LEED Accredited Professional and holds an Executive MBA from CWRU Weatherhead School of Management and a BA from Denison University.
Matt Lerner
Matt became one of the founders and Chairman of MegaJoule Ventures LLC after ending his 37-year career in the flexible packaging industry, at Automated Packaging Systems, LLC (APS). Matt was a member of the founding family of APS and, most recently, held the position of Executive Vice President, as well as serving on APS’s Board of Directors. For decades, he was responsible for initiating and shaping much of APS’s product development, business acquisitions, and business strategy; including the acquisitions of Comstar, Inc. and Polyrol Inc. in the US, the start-up of a UK based joint venture called Chemicraft International, and the development and commercialization of AirPouch, APS’s protective packaging brand. Matt was also responsible for international \business expansion with joint ventures in Japan, Thailand, and India. He has an MBA and a BS in Psychology, both from the University of Wisconsin.
Michael Gurin
Michael is a 30-year veteran of technology and business development. Mr. Gurin has been instrumental in creating the vision and technology road maps for advancing coatings, energy and biofuels conversion technologies. His experience as CEO includes HygraTek, an advance materials company, based on coatings and membrane technology licensed from the University of Michigan. Mr. Gurin holds more than 80 U.S. patents and pending applications, plus additional international patent filings. Active development efforts include protein-based coatings combined with food grade antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral actives for fast acting and long-term persistent coatings and disinfectants. His inventions also include a core thermal engine technology, supercritical power generating cycles, dynamic systems controls, and technology extensions of a NASA-licensed supercritical air conditioning / refrigeration absorption system. Mr. Gurin has an MBA in Corporate Finance and Venture Capital and a BS in Aerospace Engineering with an emphasis in Gas Dynamics and Thermodynamics, Simulation and Modeling of Control Systems, both from the University of Michigan.
Rachel Kaberon
Rachel consults on special projects for MegaJoule Venture both initiating and organizing strategic initiatives or foundational operations, Rachel furthers MJV’s growth by helping standup internal businesses, securing grants, and/or evaluating investments or partnerships. A trusted startup advisor, educator and strategy research consultant Rachel’s extensive background in applied analytics and innovation in financial services managing risk, product development and process efficiency, Her research and advisory experience includes strategic philanthropy, educational technology, healthcare and now sustainable energy. Rachel holds an MA Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a BA from the University of Minnesota, and has done doctoral work in learning and teaching at National Louis University.
Ted Theofrastous
Ted serves as General Counsel to MegaJoule Ventures. Ted has extensive experience in the field of high technology commercialization and investment, both as a business architect and an attorney. Ted counsels clients in legal and business issues across a range of technologies – including healthcare, IT, communications, alternative energy and nanotechnology – routinely focusing the creation of sustainable business and transactional structures that yield long-term returns on investment. Prior to co-founding his legal practice and ThetaSquared (an affiliated technology strategy consulting firm), Ted served as managing director and fund counsel for Panzica Investments, as Chief Commercialization Counsel at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (“CCF”), and as an attorney in the Cleveland and London offices of the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. Additionally, Ted serves as a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Case at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, is a co-founding faculty member of CWRU’s FUSION program, and was involved heavily in the creation of BRITE Energy Innovators. He has authored a number of peer-reviewed articles on a range of technology and legal topics and is a frequent speaker in the field of technology commercialization, regulation and finance.
Julie Van Devender
Julie serves as MegaJoule’s Director of Real Estate and is responsible for effecting the strategic real estate plan for MegaJoule Ventures, its related entities and subsidiaries. Her responsibilities include the management of the real estate project pipeline, acquisition strategies, site selection and analysis, real estate negotiations, inter-disciplinary relations, development partnerships, oversight of project leasing and management as well as leadership of the site development process. She is an integral part of the architectural planning and design process for the projects as well as construction management, environmental evaluation, the design-build process and building operations. Julie has more than 10 years of experience in Ohio’s Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties with Edward J. Lewis, Inc. and 20 years of experience in the Washington, DC Metropolitan marketplace including her affiliation with national brokerage firms Trammell Crow Company and Transwestern. She is a 1989 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was a starting player on the University’s varsity women’s soccer team. Julie is licensed in both Virginia and Ohio.
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Advisors/Partners
- BRITE Energy Innovators – Ohio’s energy tech incubator – is dedicated to ensuring the success of startups driving innovation in energy tech.
- Infotronix specializes in utilizing existing and creating new product solutions to better help you to manage the data you need.
- Iotery lives in the cloud, managing data storage and device communication. You bring the devices and connect your cloud to manage your apps/rules.
- Panel Master is the premier manufacturer of electrical and pneumatic control panels in Northern Ohio. We specialize in providing industrial electric and pneumatic control panels to a wide range of manufacturers.
