Executive Officers

Nadeem Nisar, 48
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Nisar has been serving as a Managing Director of Fortistar since July 2008, where he serves as Co-Head of Fortistar’s Investment Team. Mr. Nisar is a member of Fortistar’s management and investment committees which oversees the operations of Fortistar’s portfolio companies. He also serves on the board of directors of several of Fortistar’s portfolio companies, including Fortistar Methane 3 Holdings LLC, TruStar Energy, Primary Energy, Carbonfree Chemicals LLC and Braven Environmental. Since joining Fortistar in July 2008, Mr. Nisar has been executing Fortistar’s successful long-term strategy of sponsoring control investments in large scale power generation and energy infrastructure companies as well as leading Fortistar’s growth equity investments in biofuels, carbon capture and circular economy sectors. Prior to Fortistar, Mr. Nisar was a member of Deutsche Bank AG’s Power & Utilities group and Credit Suisse’s M&A and Global Energy teams where he advised on $30 billion in M&A and $20 billion in financing transactions. Mr. Nisar has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Washington University and a BA in Physics and Economics from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Charles D. Bryceland, 51
President

Mr. Bryceland has been serving as a Managing Director at Fortistar since March 2020 and is a member of Fortistar’s management and investment committees. Mr. Bryceland is actively involved in the firm’s growth strategy and is responsible for originating and stewarding investments across Fortistar’s areas of focus. Mr. Bryceland has almost thirty years of financial services experience and has held several senior leadership roles in both large and small investment firms. He started his career as a McKinsey & Company, Inc. trained internal consultant at J.P. Morgan, Inc. and has acted as a banker, broker, investor and asset manager over his career. Most recently, Mr. Bryceland was a Managing Director at Bessemer Trust from January 2014 until March 2020, serving as the head of Alternative Investments. In this role, he was responsible for leading the firm’s $8 billion Private Equity, Real Asset, and Hedge Fund investment activities. Prior to joining Bessemer, Mr. Bryceland held several roles in financial services firms, including his own firm, The Bryceland Group, which provided outsourced CIO and investment banking services. Before that, he was a Managing Director for Bank of America Securities by way of the acquisition of Montgomery Securities LLC. He began his career at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, legacy J.P. Morgan, Inc. Mr. Bryceland has a BA from Hamilton College.

Jonathan Maurer, 61
Managing Director

Mr. Maurer served as a Managing Director of Fortistar since October 1989, where he is Co-Head of Fortistar’s Investment Team. Mr. Maurer is a member of Fortistar’s management and investment committees and manages Fortistar’s renewable natural gas, landfill gas to power, and biomass energy companies. Mr. Maurer has been with Fortistar for over 30 years and previously was a commercial banker with JP Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Maurer has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from St. Lawrence University.

Scott Contino, 53
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Contino serves as Chief Financial Officer of Fortistar where he is principally responsible for company-wide accounting, tax, and treasury matters. Mr. Contino manages Fortistar’s internal accounting group and insurance programs. Mr. Contino has been with Fortistar for over 20 years and has an MBA from INSEAD and a BS from Georgetown University.

Thomas J. Kelly, 60
Secretary

Mr. Kelly has served as General Counsel of Fortistar since September 2013. Prior to Fortistar, Mr. Kelly served as executive vice president, general counsel, and chief of staff to the New York Power Authority, the country’s largest public power organization. Mr. Kelly was also president of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and consulted for the United States Agency for International Development. Mr. Kelly has been a practicing attorney for 30 years and has served on the boards of several private, municipal and not for profit organizations.

Board of Directors

Mark S. Comora, 79
Chairman of Board of Directors

Mr. Comora is the Founder and President of Fortistar. Since taking Fortistar private in 1993, Mr. Comora has led Fortistar’s growth in the decarbonization of power generation, transportation fuels and industrial processes. Mr. Comora is the chairman of Fortistar’s management and investment committees and serves on the board of directors of several of Fortistar’s portfolio companies, including TruStar Energy, Primary Energy, Braven Environmental and Fortistar Methane Holdings. Mr. Comora is an officer and member of the board of directors of the American Museum of Fly Fishing and a past member of the board of directors of the Independent Power Producers of New York and of the Equipment Leasing Association and Leasing Foundation. Mr. Comora is a CPA and has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from the University of Michigan.

George Coyle, 58
Director 

Mr. Coyle is a co-Founder and has served as Managing Partner of Energy Innovation Capital (“EIC”) since February 2016, and he leads EIC’s Houston office. Prior to EIC, Mr. Coyle served as a Manager of ConocoPhillips Technology Ventures Investments (“ConocoPhilips”) from February 2011 until February 2016. Mr. Coyle currently serves as a Director of multiple venture capital-backed companies, including Streamline Innovations, Inc., RedEye Apps and Mission Secure, Inc. He is one of the longest-tenured venture capital investors in the energy technology industry, having previously co-founded and led three corporate venture capital groups: ConocoPhillips, Energy Technology Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures. Mr. Coyle also served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of DeepFlex, Inc., a venture capital-backed energy technology company. He previously worked in Exploration & Production leadership roles at Chevron Corporation. Mr. Coyle holds an MBA from Tulane University, a MS in Geology (Geophysics Option) from the University of Kansas and a BS in Earth Sciences from the University of New Orleans.

William D. Lese, 62
Director 

Mr. Lese co-founded Braemar Energy Ventures (“Braemar”) in 2003 and currently leads the firm’s activities in the power, resources and infra-tech segments. Prior to starting Braemar, Mr. Lese was a Partner at Mantis Holdings LTD, a venture firm focused on environmental and energy efficiency businesses. Mr. Lese was also one of the original team members at Sithe Energies, Inc., a global leader in independent power development and Director of Corporate Development for NPS Industries, Inc. Mr. Lese currently serves on the board of directors of Carbonfree Chemicals Holdings LLC, Voxel8 Inc., Fulham Co., Inc., Utility Associates, Inc., LusBio Inc and BrightVolt Inc. Mr. Lese serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, on the Steering Committee of the Northeast Clean Energy Council, as well as the advisory committees of the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy and Chain Reaction Innovations of the Argonne National Laboratory. Mr. Lese has an MS in Applied Energy Science and a BA in Physics from New York University.

Mark M. Little, 67
Director 

Dr. Little served as Senior Vice President, GE Global Research and Chief Technology Officer of General Electric Company (“GE”), a global digital industrial company, from 2005 until December 2015. Dr. Little joined GE in 1978 and held management positions in engineering and business during his 37-year tenure. In addition to his technology leadership, Dr. Little led several multi-billion dollar business units at GE, including GE Energy’s power-generation segment. Since October 2016, he has served as an Advisor to Energy Impact Partners, a strategic energy investment firm. Dr. Little also serves as a Director of Analog Devices, Inc., a position he has held since March 2017.