Arnold is Chief Financial Officer for Tropos. He brings more than 45 years of experience in energy, finance, investment banking, and corporate leadership. He is based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Paal is Founder/CEO of Tropos Technologies LLC. Tropos was created to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of greenhouse production company Wheatfield Gardens, where he also serves as president. Wheatfield Gardens is comprised of a fully operational 12.5 acre hybrid greenhouse/indoor farm near Buffalo, NY.

The two companies’ common parent, Power Greenhouse Integration LLC, acquired and reconstructed the greenhouse to serve as a pilot demonstration site for the patented controlled environment agriculture system. At the same time, the facility serves as an active commercial enterprise, growing leafy greens and herbs for local retailers, schools and restaurants. Significant Wheatfield Gardens buyers have included Tops Markets, Eden Valley Gardens, Edible Gardens and Desiderio Foods.

In December of 2017 Paal guided a successful application process that led to Wheatfield Gardens becoming a research partner with the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to help develop industrial hemp as a viable specialty crop for greenhouse growers in the state. Today, Wheatfield Gardens is the state’s largest indoor grower of hemp for CBD.

Paal is an Advisory Board member for controlled environment agriculture at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and is a USDA Advisory Board member for CEA workforce development. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Maryland.

Currently Doug is the president and owner of Combustion Services, Inc., in York, Pennsylvania, specializing in the design of heat recovery systems for industrial processes. From 1979 to 1989, worked as an engineer with York Division of Borg Warner (now Johnson Controls) in its Industrial Refrigeration Department as an applications engineer, product manager for Energy Systems, and manager of the Project Management Department. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University majoring in mechanical engineering. He is a Professional Engineer (PE) and member of the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Association of Engineers, Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association, the National Society of Professional Engineers and Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers.

As principal of Carson Engineering, Bill has managed the completion of over 180 projects with a combined installed cost of more than $80 million. For 45 years Bill has worked on industrial systems primarily within chemical process and pulp and paper industries. As a process and design mechanical engineer, he has developed investment grade energy audits, designed flue gas heat recovery and combined power and heat systems. Most recently, with Tropos Technologies, Bill has a patent pending for an Environmental Control System for Plant Growth Management (USSN: 16/184,435 Pending).

Poojit is an industrial engineer with four years’ experience in design-to-execution projects for diverse processing plants. Such work included developing sustainable technologies and implementing continuous improvement projects in the manufacturing and processing industry. Poojit has a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University at Buffalo and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology, India. Projects on which he has worked include a $34 million design to develop automated milk processing plants within a specified time, budget and scope. He was involved with project technical supervision, cost estimation, materials selection, estimation of bill of materials, quality assurance, transition planning, approval procurement, and execution of project closure documentation. In related projects, he led cross-functional teams involving automation, electrical, mechanical and marketing departments, and established standard operating procedures for newly executed plants after commissioning.

Steve has over 30 years of experience in a variety of industries – but especially food of all kinds – and functional expertise in strategic marketing, finance, and corporate development. Currently a senior manager with both Wheatfield Farms and Tropos Technologies, where he oversees sales and retail/institutional business development, he previously worked at e-commerce pioneer VerticalNet, the world’s largest operator of online industry marketplaces.

Prior to that, Steve was a senior marketing manager with Rich Products, one of the largest private companies in the U.S. and a $4 billion frozen food manufacturer, where he ran a $150 million product group, the firm’s largest. He also has extensive experience in new product, market, concept, franchise and business development work as well as extensive knowledge of both the retail and foodservice channels. In his early years, he worked in large-scale real estate lending and asset management. Steve has a BA from Williams College and an MBA in marketing, finance and economic development from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg School of Management.