Craig Williamson
Chairman, Board of Directors - Founder
Craig Williamson is a major proponent of sustainable development practices and technology throughout Latin America. In providing leadership to the Costa Rica Green Building Council, he drives the proliferation of green homes and businesses through the Green Building Council chapters in several countries and seeks to open new chapters in under-serviced markets.
As front-man and President/CEO of Virtus One, Craig utilizes his decades of experience in all facets of real estate gathered in the United States and across Central America. As former President and CEO of ERA Real Estate in Latin America (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua), he built it into a brand that represents integrity, reliability, and community service. As a matter of principle, Craig believes that real estate development should add value to the surrounding community and not be purely profit-motivated.
Mr. Williamson's other experience includes an executive position in Four Season's real estate division in Peninsula Papagayo and Guanacaste. He also served as the Central American Real Estate Investment Advisor for many institutional real estate investors and hundreds of private investors in North America. He also sits on the Board of Directors of The Do It Foundation which purchases, assembles, and donates thousands of wheelchairs to children in need all across Costa Rica.
Mr. Bierman-Lytle is an architect and planner recognized internationally as a pioneer, as well as an expert in the design and construction of “sustainable” real estate projects. His emphasis is on eco-communities, mixed-use developments, destination eco-resorts, environmental office buildings and integrated infrastructure. Since graduating with his Masters degree at Yale University in 1978, Mr. Bierman-Lytle has served in the sustainable development arena in a multitude of leadership roles.
Mr. Bierman-Lytle’s international experience in the field of sustainable development has given him access to major corporations, governments, NGOs, developers and investors around the world that seek to build unique partnerships. For example, he has served as an active representative to the WBCSD (World Business Council on Sustainable Development), based in Geneva, with over 120 international corporations in developing a ‘business case’ for sustainable design and development. He has been a representative and chairman for HRH The Prince of Wales’ International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI) in London, a forum of the top 15 international hotels to develop sustainability guidelines for the travel and tourism industry. In addition, Mr. Bierman-Lytle has established key relationships within the USGBC, World Green Building Council, World Bank, United Nations, and AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States). He has strong professional associations with experts in the fields of building simulation and real estate economic analysis.
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Frank Biden
Director of International Relations - Founder
Mr.Biden worked in the Clinton Administration as a director of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, and has been involved in the election campaigns of his brother, Joe Biden and nephew, Joseph R. Biden III, as an advisor and unpaid campaign coordinator over many years.
For the past several years, Mr. Biden has worked as the director of a major philanthropy in Central America providing pediatric aids relief, building homes and providing scholarships for the poorest of the poor.
Mr. Biden's interests and involvement in the Green Movement and green building initiatives come in part through policy involvement and most recently his partnership in building the largest and first Platinum LEED certified development in Latin America. Mr. Biden attended University of Delaware, Cornell University and Pepperdine Law School.
Salo Ponchner
Founder
Salo Ponchner combines the knowledge and experience in two basic fields related to environment and sustainability. As CEO of Multifrio, Costa Rica´s leading HVAC company, he represents all the best practices and the most technologically advanced products for environment protection and preservation in the Air Conditioning/Climate Control industry. He holds also a Master of Science degree at UC Davis, with deep knowledge in the fields of plant environmental physiology, ecology, horticulture, pomology, and refrigeration for postharvest handling of products.
He has published many articles in renown research journals, has been the Head of Fruit Production Department at the Universidad de Costa Rica (1992-1995), and held prominent positions in the R&D area of Chiquita Brands International (1995-1998), successfully developing and improving sustainable field practices worldwide. Mr. Ponchner has been awarded the Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2006-2007 by the Costa Rica´s Chamber of Commerce, and was granted the World Leader Businessperson Award in 2008 by the World Confederation of Businesses, based in Texas.
His company, Multifrio, has been able to adjust quickly to world trends in technology and environmentally friendly practices, having many engineers and professionals with deep knowledge in LEED procedures and standards, and being ISO 9001-2008 certified. Also, Multifrio has been included in Lennox International Top 10 International Sales Volume for several years, ranked the #1 HVAC company in Costa Rica for 8 years in a row, and awarded with the Great Price by LG Electronics, for the execution of the best HVAC projects in Latin America.
Multifrio - Company Profile
Llamil Silman
Director of Technology
Mr. Silman utilizes his skills as an experienced manager and project coordinator to develop and implement technology solutions & strategies at Tenta Solutions. As the Managing Partner of Tenta Solutions, he pulls from his twelve years of experience in management to coordinate the efforts of the development teams and provide complete solutions to address the needs of Tenta's clients.
Through his education as an industrial engineer and professional experience as a programmer, Mr. Silman has guided Tenta Solutions to become a premier software and hardware solution company for small and medium businesses in Costa Rica. Recently he serves also as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Virtus One.