Nevin Smalls
Chief Strategy Officer
Nevin Smalls is currently Chief Strategy Officer of Southern Energy Renewables. He was a principal investigator at Paragon Space Development Corporation where he led ECLSS teams in life support systems for NASA’s lunar space station and also aided in advancing low TRL technologies for the DOD and other organizations. Nevin served as a subject at Axiom Space to investigate new technologies and catalyst materials. Then after he held positions as a contractor at Jacob’s Engineering for NASA, CTO for Carbek a biochar producing company, and a business development specialist at Frontline Bioenergy for advanced gasification technology.
Alexandre Javidi
Chief Technology Officer
Alexandre Javidi is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Southern Energy Renewables, where he leads the company’s innovation and strategic development in renewable energy. He directs research, development, and deployment of advanced bioenergy and sustainable fuel solutions site implementation, driving initiatives that support the transition to a low-carbon energy future.
With over 20 years of experience in refining, petrochemical, and biofuel industries, Alexandre combines deep technical knowledge with strong business leadership. He shapes the technology roadmap, fosters collaborations with research institutions, industry partners, and technical government agencies, and accelerates the commercialization of breakthrough renewable energy technologies.
Prior to Southern Energy Renewables, Alexandre held senior roles at Axens. He led large-scale projects, developed innovative catalytic processes, and managed global business development efforts in sustainable aviation fuels and biofuels.
Alexandre’s expertise also includes extensive operational experience in unit operations, process, engineering, and plant commissioning. As CTO, he is responsible for overseeing the implementation of new technologies on site production, ensuring seamless integration between innovation and operational execution to maximize efficiency and sustainability.
Tom Becker
Technical Advisor
Tom Becker is currently a co-founder and executive director of Serpentine Energy (Pty) Ltd., a company pursuing subsurface stimulated geologic hydrogen in South Africa since 2024. From 2021-2024, he was a co-founder and executive director of Astris Advisors, which served as the executive team that led a VC-backed purchase of Rhino Resources Ltd. and a technical advisor for the Exploration, Research, and Production companies at ExxonMobil from 2005-2021. He has broad technical expertise in several subsurface technologies, including CCUS, carbon mineralization, non-hydrocarbon gas exploration, conventional petroleum exploration and production, basin modeling, and seismic interpretation. He holds a B.S. in Geological Sciences from Case Western Reserve University, an M.S. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Lehigh University, a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Kentucky, along with graduate certificates from University of North Carolina, University of Texas, MIT, Stanford University, and Harvard University