NorthStar Global

NORTHSTAR / OUR TEAM

The people behind
the connections.

Energy experience. Operational leadership. Technical depth.

Amanda Martinez

01 / ClimateChain · Founder & CEO

Amanda Martinez

Amanda has 17 years of experience structuring complex transactions in the energy space. Her initial self-directed foray into space was BME, the first woman-owned renewable energy power plant business in the United States & first woman owned business to be funded by Morgan Stanley.

Since that time Amanda has expanded her businesses to include a variety of energy activities, including transmission and distribution. BME and related entities have raised and been involved in $4.2 billion in development activities and over $2.4 billion in transmission and distribution projects including the reconstruction of the grid in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Amanda is an alumni of Pepperdine & the Said School of Business at Oxford University.

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John Keh

02 / NorthStar · Chief Operating Officer

John Keh

John Keh specializes in Web3 and AI, with a focus on operations including go-to-market strategy, growth, and marketing for decentralized technologies, including real-world asset (RWA) platforms and tokenization.

Over the past decade, he has advised hundreds of early-stage founders across the Web3 and AI sectors and has been active in the blockchain industry since its formative stages. Mr. Keh serves as an advisor to leading expert networks including GLG, Guidepoint, and AlphaSights. His executive background includes serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Genesis Block and GBV, along with ongoing advisory roles spanning Web3, DePIN, AI, and RWA projects.

He is committed to the development of decentralized ecosystems and views education as a core driver of awareness, understanding, and the institutional adoption of blockchain, AI, and real-world asset technologies.

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David Barnhill

03 / ClimateChain · Chief Technology Officer

David Barnhill

David has a doctorate in experimental astro-particle physics from the University of California, Los Angeles where he also developed imaging systems for biophysics applications. He has worked as a software engineer in developing infrared imaging technologies and satellite testing systems and uses this technical background and experience in patent matters related to software, computer science, optics, imaging technologies, signal processing, electrical engineering, medical physics, virtual and augmented reality, and control systems.

As a partner at the IP firm Chang & Hale, David focused on managing and developing patent assets in a wide range of technologies.

He has the superpower of being able to quickly grasp complex technologies, understand nuances in innovation, and develop efficient strategies for protecting valuable intellectual properties.

He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked on the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

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Dennis McLaughlin

04 / NorthStar · Business Development

Dennis McLaughlin

Dennis G. McLaughlin III is an energy executive and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in natural gas, oil and gas production, LNG, renewable fuels, infrastructure and corporate restructuring. His leadership roles include senior responsibilities in Ravenwood’s energy businesses, chief executive officer of Resurgent Energy Holdings and Earth Biofuels, and founder and chief executive officer of Aurora Natural Gas.

His work spans asset acquisition and consolidation, capital formation, operating turnarounds, technology development and integrated gas-to-power opportunities. Through Aurora Natural Gas and Aurion Technologies, he pioneered early oilfield automation, including the first system to use the Internet to report oilfield data remotely. His later career has included LNG restructuring and the reactivation and repositioning of energy assets.

A University of Oklahoma alumnus, McLaughlin established the McLaughlin Awards and Ann Balch Awards in University College in honor of his grandmother. He received the OU Regents’ Outstanding Alumni Award in 1999.

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Mark Vlasic

05 / Advisor

Mark Vlasic

Mark is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, a Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Institute for Law, Science & Global Security, and its Institute of International Economic Law, and leads the international practice at Madison Law & Strategy Group. His clients include The Clooney Foundation for Justice and various governmental bodies.

A former outside advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO, his work inspired the character “Danny” for the television series BLOOD & TREASURE. He is an executive producer for the CBS Television Studios and Amazon Prime and also serves as an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

As public sector specialist at the World Bank Group, Mark served as the first head of operations of the StAR Secretariat, a joint United Nations-World Bank presidential initiative to help developing countries recover stolen assets from past dictators. Before joining the Bank, he served as a White House Fellow/special assistant to the Secretary of Defense and advisor to the President’s Special Envoy to Sudan and was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service by Secretary Robert Gates. As a U.S. Army officer, he has been attached to Capitol Hill and the Defense Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

Knighted by the Vatican and commissioned a Kentucky Colonel (the highest honor bestowed by its governor), Mark is a Fellow with the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, a member of the Bars of California, the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States, and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Ralph Mucerino

06 / Advisor

Ralph Mucerino

During a distinguished 41 year career with American International Group (AIG), Ralph has been a builder of businesses & has run important major businesses and divisions within AIG. He has held the positions of Chief Operating Officer: American International Underwriters, President: American International Underwriters Far East, President: American International Underwriters Middle East and Africa, President: AIG Global Marine & Energy, Senior Vice President: AIG General Insurance-Global Distribution, President: AIG Consumer Insurance-Americas and Chairman: AIG Israel.

As CEO of the Far East, a $3.5b business, based in Tokyo, he led the roll-out of one of the first direct auto businesses in Japan. Ralph was responsible for opening AIG’s office in Israel and retained the role of Chairman of AIG Israel until his retirement in October 2020.

Ralph also established the foundation for AIG’s expansion into Egypt via acquisition where he demonstrated his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in the pursuit of new markets and businesses. As President of Global Distribution and Client Management, Ralph left an indelible mark on AIG’s approach to broker and client management for the $35B business.

As Chief Operating Officer of AIU, which generated $14B in premium in 2008, he played an important role in leading the overseas businesses through the pressure of the financial crisis. He was extraordinarily visible as part of the leadership team responsible for maintaining AIG’s leadership in the global commercial insurance arena. Prior to the financial crisis, as CEO of Global Marine and Energy, Ralph led a $5B business that was under constant attack due to a separation of a key business unit from AIG, here again resulting in retention of staff and clients. Ralph also served on the Board of Directors of Blue Marble, a parametric focused micro-insurance joint venture among AIG and six other companies.

He is a graduate of St. John’s University in New York with a B.S. in Business Administration, former Trustee of Fairleigh Dickinson University, and current member of the Advisory Panel of the International Insurance Society.

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