I. Drayton Pruitt (Gulf Coast Chairmen of the Board) received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Alabama in 1959, a Juris Doctor from the University Of Alabama School Of Law in January of l96l, and a Doctor of Laws Degree from Livingston University in l990. He is a practicing lawyer from Livingston, Sumter County, Alabama since 1961 and is licensed to practice law in the States of Alabama and Tennessee. Mr. Pruitt serves on the Board of Directors of Cyber Operations, Morgan Creek Energy Corp., The Governor “Sonny” Montgomery Institute, BioBait, Inc., The Alabama Law School Foundation, and the University of Alabama President’s Council. He also serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of Regions Bank in Sumter, Alabama. In addition to the law, Mr. Pruitt served as one of a three member Board of Directors of Governor George C. Wallace's Campaign for President of the United States in the 1972 and 1976 campaigns. He was elected to the City Council of Livingston, Alabama in 1964 and served until 1968, when he was elected as Mayor and then served as Vice Chairman of the Utilities Board of the City of Livingston from 1968 - 1980. During his term as City Council member and Mayor, Livingston formed an Industrial Development Board, which developed three Industrial Parks. Notably, he was featured in the lead article of Venture Magazine for the innovative use of Industrial Revenue Bonds as venture capital, which assisted in locating many industries to the area. During the time that he was Mayor, the City of Livingston received more money per capita from the Federal Government than any other city in Alabama. A study done by the economic development subcommittee of Congress concluded that Livingston had the most success and best used the monies it received from the federal grant and loan programs of any city in the Nation. He testified twice before the US Congressional Subcommittee concerning the planning and organization needed to accomplish such a successful use of capital. Lastly, Mr. Pruitt also has a distinguished military service record. He served in the US Army Infantry beginning in 1957 and served in National Guard or Reserve Units until 1968. He served as a Military Police Officer at Fort Gordon Georgia during the Berlin crisis.

Stanley R. Pearson is a chemical engineer, inventor, and patent holder and is the inventor and developer of the biomass gasification technology utilized by Gulf Coast Energy.  He is the founder and driving force behind his company Pearson BioEnergy/Pearson Technology and has assembled a world class staff to promote his world class technology that is capable of solving our nation’s energy problems.  Mr. Pearson worked for over 30 years for Dow Chemical Company where he quickly rose up the ranks in manufacturing and R&D.  His responsibilities at Dow gradually moved in the direction of power generation and energy and culminated in being assigned responsibility to build a coal gasification plant in Louisiana – a seven year project.  Subsequently, Mr. Pearson took early retirement, formed Pearson BioEnergy/Pearson Technology, and since 1990 has focused all of his energy and efforts into the development and patenting of the world’s most efficient biomass (and other material including coal and MSW) gasification process into liquid fuels including ethanol but more significantly synthetic gasoline and synthetic diesel as well where he has focused his most recent attention, among others.  Mr. Pearson’s technology is the most advanced, most efficient, and most robust available in the alternative fuels market place.  He has trialed dozens of feedstocks and has advanced energy and heat efficiency more than any other technology available.  He has obtained more than ten patents and has several more pending, during the course of development.  He has been recognized by several government and academic organizations as having developed the best process in alternative fuels and representing a substantial piece of the collective energy solution.  Mr. Pearson graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Chemical Engineering and was a member of the Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity.

James L. Cummins, a certified fisheries and wildlife biologist by training, is Executive Vice-president of The Carbon Fund.  His professional interests include developing and maintaining private, voluntary, incentive, tax, and market‑based solutions to environmental problems.  He conceptualized and authored legislation for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which was recently funded at $700 million, and the 2‑million acre Healthy Forests Reserve Program.  He helped develop the Southern strategy for the Healthy Forests Initiative.  He is a partial author of legislation authorizing and funding the Wetland and Grassland reserve programs.  He works extensively in the area of carbon sequestration utilizing native prairies and forests in Alaska, the Lower Mississippi River Valley and the Gulf Coastal Plain.  He worked with Congress to authorize and fund the Northern Bobwhite Quail Initiative, the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge and the Holt Collier National Refuge, the first refuge in the Nation named for an African‑American.  He is Chairman of the Board for the Mississippi Institute For Forest Inventory.  He is a Commissioner for the Mississippi Forestry Commission and a Board Member of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council and the Center For Conservation Incentives.  He is a former Legislative assistant for Senator Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and was considered for Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.  Mr. Cummins has over 90 papers published in magazines, newspapers and trade publications. He has testified before the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and The White House on numerous forest and natural resource issues.  He enjoys fly fishing, hunting, wildlife photography, horses and working on his family's farm. 

Mark L. Warner, REM (Gulf Coast Energy President & CEO)  graduated from the Catholic University of America (Washington, DC) in May of 1988 where he studied Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering. Mr. Warner is a Registered Environmental Manager with 21 years of management experience in environmental and facilities engineering, and quality management systems, specifically in manufacturing applications. Aside from the chemistry and engineering background, Mr. Warner also has extensive personnel and budget management experience as well as cumulative environmental management experience at over 34 manufacturing facilities, including several chemical plants. Mr. Warner has held various management positions at the Chemical Manufacturers Association in Washington, DC, American Standard in Piscataway, NJ and New York City, NY (Manhattan), Vulcan Chemicals in Birmingham, AL and most recently at the 4 million square foot Mercedes-Benz manufacturing complex, in Tuscaloosa, AL. Currently, Mr. Warner also serves on the Board of Directors for the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and for Gulf Coast Energy Distribution. Mr. Warner has been the recipient of numerous professional awards, including most recently the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award for 2004 and 2005 and culminating in the Chamber’s highest honor, The Charles H. Land Member of the Year Award for 2006. Lastly, in giving back to the community, Mr. Warner was instrumental in launching the EMAP Program with the University of Alabama, which provides incoming engineering students the opportunity to participate in engineering projects with volunteer professionals prior to their first semester to get a head start.

James A. Massey founded and is chairman of the board of Cyber Operations, LLC.  Mr. Massey was instrumental in the development of the first set of federal statues and regulations establishing standards for the collection and disposal of industrial hazardous waste when he formed the waste management company, Resource Industries of Tennessee and Alabama in 1971.  From 1980 through 1984, Mr. Massey served as Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate, John Wilder of Tennessee.  In 1985, Mr. Massey returned to the private sector and began a medical waste management company, Health Management, Inc. Health Management conceived and distributed the “red box on the wall,â€� which safely holds medical waste in offices of doctors everywhere.  Mr. Massey returned to public service again in 1995 as Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate in 1996, retiring in 1997.  Mr. Massey has served or currently serves in management and on boards in industries including wound care, airport management, computer technology, anti-piracy, aircraft sales, hazardous, infectious and low-level nuclear waste, cable, phone, entertainment, real estate, agriculture, and mortgage banking.