September 12, 2024, Vancouver, British Columbia: Ostrom Climate Solutions Inc. (“Ostrom” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:COO)(Frankfurt:9EAA), a leading provider of carbon project development and climate solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Tejinder Virk as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Virk brings extensive leadership experience to the role, positioning Ostrom for its next phase of growth. Current CEO, Phil Cull, will transition to the role of President & Chief Operating Officer (COO), where he will lead the Company’s carbon project development efforts and oversee all technical aspects of its high-quality carbon projects.
Leadership Transition and Background
Tejinder Virk steps into the CEO role after serving as Chief Strategy Officer since earlier this year. Mr. Virk is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at NLX Capital and brings an extensive background in early-stage venture operations, company building, capital markets and investment banking, as a former Managing Director with BMO Capital Markets in London. Mr. Virk received a Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada. His appointment is a key step in Ostrom’s strategic plan to focus on carbon project development. Mr. Virk will immediately focus on driving operational profitability, and fostering deeper relationships with both investors and key stakeholders. This is to ensure that Ostrom’s strategic initiatives align with the evolving needs of the world’s largest carbon emitters seeking high-quality carbon credits.
Phil Cull, who has guided Ostrom as CEO since 2018, will now focus on his role as President & COO. In this capacity, Mr. Cull will continue to ensure that the Company’s core projects achieve the highest standards of quality and environmental impact, maintaining Ostrom’s position as a leader in carbon project development and technical expertise. Additionally, Mr. Cull will continue to represent the Company as a thought leader at key climate forums and industry conferences, reinforcing Ostrom’s influence in the global climate solutions and carbon markets.
Strategic Focus on Revenue Growth and Market Expansion
The Company hopes to achieve revenue growth through its focused approach in the carbon project sector. Recent estimates by BloombergNEF forecast that the demand for high-quality carbon offsets is expected to grow significantly, from 164 million tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) today to approximately 1.37 billion tCO2e by 2030, with a peak demand of nearly 5.9 billion tCO2e by 2050.
By leveraging its expertise in high-impact carbon projects such as forest carbon, blue carbon, and Climate-Smart Agriculture, Ostrom aims to enhance its market share and financial returns. The Company is focused on high-quality carbon project development because it believes high-quality carbon credits are demanded by the largest final carbon emitter buyers of carbon and therefore should yield strong and stable pricing. Furthermore, developing projects provides ownership of long-term, recurring carbon credit revenue.
Ostrom recently announced the launch of its flagship Upper Pampanga River Climate-Smart Agriculture Rice Project (UPRIIS). UPRIIS aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice cultivation, bolstering environmental impact, water conservation, and food security. As outlined in the Company’s corporate update on June 5, 2024, UPRIIS is a central part of Ostrom’s strategy to focus on high-quality carbon project development and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). NBS strategies utilize natural processes and ecosystems to capture and store carbon, thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting biodiversity. The announced leadership change will enable the company to focus further resources on delivering this project.
Management Commentary
“I am honored to take on the role of CEO at Ostrom Climate,” said Tejinder Virk. “Phil and the entire team have worked tirelessly to build Ostrom into a leader in carbon project development and climate solutions. I look forward to working closely with Phil in his new role, and together, we will shepherd the Company through the next phase of growth. Our aim is to create material shareholder value through originating profitable high-quality carbon projects. and expand our global impact in the fight against climate change. Additionally, we are committed to ensuring that our projects provide tangible benefits to the communities where we operate, fostering both environmental and socio-economic improvements.”
Phil Cull commented: “I am convinced the changes we are making will allow Ostrom to grow as a company. Tejinder is well suited to take the helm of Ostrom at this time in the Company’s evolution. His expertise and strategic vision will be valuable as we continue to build on our foundation of high-quality carbon projects. In my new role, I will focus on overseeing the development of carbon projects and ensuring that we uphold the highest technical standards in everything we do. I am optimistic that under Tejinder’s leadership, Ostrom will achieve even greater heights.”
Navdeep Dhaliwal, Executive Chairman of Ostrom, added: “As Ostrom evolves into a project developer with a world-class flagship project, this was a natural transition to optimize our leadership structure to establish Ostrom as a preferred development partner for final emitters and create shareholder value.”
About Ostrom Climate Solutions Inc.
Ostrom is one of North America’s leading providers of carbon project development and management services, climate solutions, and carbon credit marketing. Over the past 12 years, Ostrom has validated and verified forest carbon projects globally for voluntary and regulated markets, having developed 16 million acres of forest land for conservation and monetized over 10 million carbon credits. Based out of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, the Ostrom team has a global reach, has worked with over 200 organizations globally, including Fortune 500 companies, managed projects in partnership with indigenous stakeholders and has extensive on-ground experience in emerging markets.
Ostrom is focused on developing high-quality carbon projects that have a positive impact on the environment, local communities and biodiversity. Ostrom is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (COO) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (9EAA).
Please visit us at www.ostromclimate.com.
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For more information regarding the Company, please contact:
Tejinder Virk
Chief Executive Officer
Ostrom Climate Solutions Inc.
322 Water St #400, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B6, Canada
Email: tej.virk@ostromclimate.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
