OUR TEAM
GET TO KNOW US
At Sovereign Materials, we build adaptable teams of teams through shared consciousness, trust, and empowered execution to thrive in complexity, while embracing mutual benefit, principled entrepreneurship, and bottom-up innovation for lasting value and human progress.
Our company embodies the Judeo-Christian values that are the bedrock of the United States: integrity, liberty, stewardship, truth, and service to our Creator and our fellow man.
-
Judson Kauffman: Founder, CEO
Serial entrepreneur: co-founder of Exbellum Consulting, Desert Door Distillery, and Terradepth, Inc. Combat-decorated Navy SEAL with an MBA from the University of Texas.
-
Jian “James” Zou: Chief Scientist
Veteran chemical engineer with a 30-year career spanning from Momentive to Baker Hughes to his own company, Zenith Purification. PhD in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State.
-
Jonathan Ben-Zvi: Engineering Operations
R&D chemist and entrepreneur; founder of Verstill Distillery and Shiloh Scientific Consulting. Master’s in Chemistry from Weizmann Institute of Science
-
Greeshma Gadikota: Scientific Advisor
Lenfest Earth Institute Chair and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. PhD in Chemical Engineering and MS degree in Chemical Engineering and Operations Research from Columbia University.
-
Andy Smith: Business Advisor
Engineer and serial entrepreneur. Co-founder at Blacksmith Ventures and Abutec. Operating partner at Interplay. Master’s in Engineering from the University of Florida.
-
Andy Smith: Business Advisor
Partner at Interplay. Formerly the Cofounder of Lensabl and Chirpads. Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
