Leadership Team
Rivertop Renewables was founded by a distinguished chemist and a tight-knit team of collaborators who share a vision of Progressive Chemistry.
James R. Stoppert
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
As CEO for Rivertop , Jim’s primary role is to build the company into a world-class organization while rapidly commercializing the company’s proprietary renewable chemical technology. Jim has more than 35 years of business experience in the chemicals industry.
For the past 12 years he has been one of the industry leaders in building bio-based businesses. Three of his businesses have won the coveted Presidential Green Chemistry Award. Prior to Rivertop Jim was CEO of Segetis, another innovative renewable chemical company. Jim also led the Industrial BioProducts Business Unit at Cargill that focused on renewable routes to chemicals and plastics. Two of the opportunities developed, Elevance and BiOH, are now standalone businesses.
In 1997, Jim became cofounder and CEO of Cargill Dow LLC, now known as NatureWorks. While there he led the commercialization of the world’s first performance plastic made entirely from annually renewable raw materials.
Jim spent much of his career at Dow Chemical where he managed several major Dow Plastics businesses. He also directed the evaluation and development of new business opportunities and managed major environmental issues for Dow’s Global Plastics business.
Donald E. Kiely, PhD
Founder and Chairman
Dr. Don Kiely is the principal founder of Rivertop Renewables. With a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Connecticut, Kiely’s leadership in the field of carbohydrate chemistry has resulted in eleven U.S. patents. Kiely collaborates closely with Company chemists and management to set strategic direction and develop products and production capacities.
Kiely was Chemistry faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1968-97. He recently retired from the University of Montana, where Kiely served as Professor and Director of the Shafizadeh Center for Wood and Carbohydrate Chemistry from 1997 through 2008. He is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry, an international chemistry journal.
Jere Kolstad
chief financial officer
Kolstad’s background includes over 15 years in senior executive positions in early-stage companies. Kolstad leads Rivertop’s equity and debt fundraising and development of strategic business partnerships.
Kolstad previously worked in the Seattle offices of Deloitte & Touche, serving as Audit Manager for Microsoft and SAFECO. Kolstad has served as CEO to two early-stage high tech companies, Stryder and ISA. In addition, he was the VP of Sales and Business Development for Loudeye, Lariat Software, and Cantrio Technologies.
Kolstad has assisted several companies in taking technology to Asia and raising venture capital for early-stage companies.
Mike Kadas
Chief Operating Officer
Kadas brings considerable experience with management and governmental relations, having served as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1983 to 1996 and as mayor of the city of Missoula from 1996 to 2006. As mayor, Kadas oversaw a growing Rocky Mountain city, annual budgets of over $100 million and 500 service-focused employees.
Kadas leads Rivertop's facility expansion as the Company plans development of a pilot production plant.
Kadas has served on numerous boards for civic organizations and currently serves on the Boards of the Montana Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Sussex School. Kadas hold a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy and a M.A. in Economics from the University of Montana.
Tyler N. Smith, PhD
Director of Research & Development
Dr. Smith worked at the University of Montana’s Shafizadeh Center where he earned a PhD in chemistry, specializing in the development of synthetic polymers derived from renewable resources.
In close partnership with Dr. Kiely, Smith works with engineers and production partners to establish the pilot and industrial plants. Smith leads the development of renewable polymers with sophisticated end uses, and manages Rivertop’s strategic research collaborations.
Jason Kiely
VICE PRESIDENT of Marketing
Kiely joined Rivertop after a career in community and environmental organizing in which he led national coalitions to address predatory lending and watershed protection.
In addition to leading Rivertop's brand development and communications initiatives, Kiely spearheads investor relations and leads the product development team for one targeted vertical market, water treatment.
Kiely brings the best practices of cause-related marketing to industry, building coalitions to drive legislative action and business reform. He is a graduate of DePauw University.
Kirk Hash
Production Manager
Hash oversees Rivertop’s manufacturing process, working with industrial partners to produce renewable chemicals at a commercial scale.
Hash has extensive experience with chemical process and product development, serving as Quality Assurance Director for Nurture, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in grain chemistry. Previously employed by the Shafizadeh Center, Hash holds a Masters in Chemistry from the University of Montana.
Kylie Presta
Research Chemist and Lab Manager
Presta transitioned from the University of Montana’s Shafizadeh Center to a comparable role at the Company in August, 2008. Her research focus is on biodegradable polyamides derived from glucose and development of value-added products. Kylie leads product development and testing for the Company’s concrete admixtures and corrosion inhibitors.
Presta holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puget Sound and has 15 years experience in environmental care. Previously, she worked as a firefighter and chemist for the US Forest Service, conducting canopy fuel studies, fire chemistry, and smoke analysis. A conservationist, Presta is a volunteer with a local land trust and a local watershed group.
Dan Shirley
RESEARCH CHEMIST
Shirley is developing the first in a series of high-performance applications to be built using Rivertop's polymer platform. His grant-supported research is currently dedicated to the development of biodegradable controlled release fertilizer systems that will improve nutrient delivery and protect water and soil. Shirley received his BS in Chemistry with honors from the University of Montana.
Sally Johnson
Legal Counsel
Johnson serves as Rivertop Renewables’ in-house counsel. Graduating at the top of her class, she practiced law in Missoula for 15 years, including her role as Senior Counsel for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation where she was awarded the Chairman’s Special Recognition Award.
As an audiologist turned attorney, Johnson is comfortable in a research setting. A co-author in collaborative research, she was a visiting scholar while employed by Stanford University Medical Center. The National Institutes of Health has featured her work in its annual report to the United States Congress. Johnson served on the faculty at the University of Montana from 1985-90, and has served on the Montana Governor’s Upper Clark Fork Basin Restoration Advisory Council for the past 10 years. She holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Montana and an M.A. from Northwestern University.
Katrina Delridge
Business Manager
Delridge graduated from Regis University with degrees in Business and Sociology. As an owner of Eastgate Drug, she served as a pharmaceutical business manager for the past 12 years. She has served as consultant to several other businesses, and manages a portfolio of properties in the Missoula area.