Gizman Abbas

Mr. Abbas has nearly 30 years of energy and investment experience. He is a Founding Principal of Direct Invest Development and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Independent System Operator as Chairman of the Commerce & Compensation Committee and a member of the Reliability & Markets Committee. Over the last 11 years, Mr. Abbas has served on the Board of Directors of Crown Electrokinetics as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and as a member of the Audit and Governance Committees, as an Audit Committee member at Aranjin Resources Ltd., Chairman of the Compensation Committee and as an Audit Committee member at KLR Energy Acquisition Corporation, and as an Audit Committee Member at Handeni Gold.

As a long-term outspoken proponent of environmental engagement, Mr. Abbas has successfully invested in green power, biofuels, and emissions credits. Before his service on public company boards, Mr. Abbas was a founding partner of the commodity investment business at Apollo Global Management, a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, an investment associate at Morgan Stanley, a Senior Project Engineer on oil and gas construction projects for Exxon Mobil Corporation, and a Co-Op Power Engineer at Southern Company as a field and plant engineer.

Mr. Abbas holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business.