Ascent Hydrogen Fund brings together senior executives from some of the world’s largest energy and investment companies
Our Team
Leadership
Mark Gordon is a co-founder and CEO/CIO of Ascent Funds and runs the Hydrogen Fund and the Ascent Oil Fund. Prior to this, Mark was a senior portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, where he managed the Alphagen Energy Funds. Before that, Mark was a Senior Analyst at Paulson & Co responsible for the energy sector. Prior to Paulson, Mark was a Portfolio Manager at Soros Fund Management where he ran an energy and natural resources fund for three years. Mark spent eight years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management ending as a Portfolio Manager and a Managing Director.
Mark has an MBA (honors) from the University of Chicago with concentrations in Analytic Finance and Economics. Mark has an MA from Stanford University and a BA from Brown University (honors). Mark is a CFA charter holder.
Mark was awarded a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and he completed the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
David Wu is President and co-founder of Ascent Hydrogen Fund. An experienced capital markets executive, David has brought over 10 companies to IPO across global markets. David is the former Group Deputy CFO and Chairman of Capital Markets for Fosun International, China’s largest investment conglomerate managing over US$100 billion in global assets. At Fosun, David led four global IPOs with a combined transactional value of over US$10bn, ran strategic financing activities for Fosun’s private equity & venture capital and co-chaired Fosun’s ESG committee. He pioneered the Group’s investor strategy which received the "Best IR" award from The Asset in both 2017 and 2018.
Between 2010 and 2017, David led the sale of two energy companies as Head of Capital Markets; Hong Kong listed Greenheart Group (acquired by New World Group in 2014) and NYSE listed InterOil Corp (acquired by ExxonMobil for c.US$3bn) in 2017.David started his career with Rothschilds in the IPO/ECM team in London, Moscow and Singapore and held senior positions with Brunswick Group in Beijing and Edelman in Hong Kong advising some of Asia’s largest listed companies, including Sinopec, Baidu, Trina Solar and Yingli Solar.
Born in China, David grew up in London and studied Economics and Management at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge University. He was also a Du Cane piano scholar at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
John Vogelstein is a Partner and Lead Advisor at Ascent Hydrogen Fund.
Mr. Vogelstein is also the Chairman of New Providence Asset Management, LLC and Senior Advisor to Warburg Pincus, LLC. Born in 1934, he attended The Taft School and Harvard College. Mr. Vogelstein began his career at Lazard Freres & Co., where he became a partner in 1964. He joined E. M. Warburg & Co., Inc. (later Warburg Pincus, LLC) in 1967. Over the course of the next forty years, he and Lionel Pincus built the firm to be one of the largest and most successful full line private equity firms in the world.
Currently, Mr. Vogelstein is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prep for Prep; Vice Chairman of the Board of Overseers of The Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University; Trustee of New York University; Chairman of Third Way; Chairman of Christie’s Advisory Board; Trustee of Temple Emanu-El; Trustee of The Jewish Museum, and Director of Flamel Technologies.
Dr Michael Hession is the former Chief Executive Officer of NYSE listed InterOil Corporation before it was successfully acquired by ExxonMobil for US$3bn in 2017.
Dr. Hession began his career with BP specializing in managing major development projects. From 1998 to 2013 he worked with Woodside Energy managing major LNG projects and developing new businesses. Dr. Hession was educated in the United Kingdom, France and the United States and has a doctorate in climate science from the University College Wales. He also has a MBA from the London School of Economics, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris, and New York University in the US.
George Gu is Chairman and co-founder of Hyzon Motors and Horizon Fuel Cells, one of the world’s leading fuel cell manufacturers founded in 2003.
Prior to founding Horizon, George Gu was leading Eastman Chemical Company’s venture capital activity in mainland China. He participated in over 20 venture investments made by Eastman Ventures, with a focus on Asia-Pacific. His roles included VP Business Development for Asia Biznet, and interim CEO for Jinqiao eCommerce. George also led Eastman’s Asian Business Development team in developing advanced material opportunities, with a specific focus on clean energy. George also has experience in marketing, channel development and business planning with Canon Inc and Eastman Kodak. George holds an MBA from University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and a B.S. in Finance from Fudan University.
Chris Atkinson is an active investor and energy entrepreneur who started his career at Shell but spent most of his formative years at Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in the USA, Southeast Asia and Europe.
He was the founder of Serica Energy plc and has been involved with the successful start up and financing of a further six companies (Mitra Energy, Malaysia now Jadestone Energy, Canada; MPX Limited, UK now Zennor Petroleum, UK; ZinMac - now Strategic Oil and Gas, Canada; Greenfields Petroleum, USA; CaribX Limited, UK and Helium Resources Ltd, UK).
He was the founder of Serica Energy plc and has been involved with the successful start up and financing of a further six companies (Mitra Energy, Malaysia now Jadestone Energy, Canada; MPX Limited, UK now Zennor Petroleum, UK; ZinMac - now Strategic Oil and Gas, Canada; Greenfields Petroleum, USA; CaribX Limited, UK and Helium Resources Ltd, UK).
Chris brings a wealth of exploration and successful small company business experience. PhD., BSc. SID
Research
Scott comes from a corporate advisory background through his time at Makati Capital Partners in Indonesia. He has experience in M&A’s, asset development, corporate restructuring and capital market transactions with a focus towards mining, property, renewables, and oil & gas. In 2019, he established corporate advisory firm, PT. Asia Finansial Investama in Jakarta with former colleagues from Makati Capital. Scott was the lead arranger for a USD75mm oil & gas joint-venture between Sonoro Energy (SNV:TSX-V) and an Indonesian conglomerate. Scott is currently an MBA student at the University of Manchester and is also an entrepreneur having established Indonesia’s first contract distilling company. From 2013-present, he has represented the Indonesian national rugby team earning 10 caps.
Steven graduated from the University of Exeter in June 2020 with a Master’s degree in Physics achieving 1st class honours, specialising in microplastic research and environmental innovation. He also has 5+ years’ experience working in digital marketing and graphic design, developing PR strategies and producing a wide range of original media content. He has lived and travelled abroad all his life, which has developed his deep-rooted appreciation for the natural world, which is reflected in his work with Ascent Hydrogen Fund. Steven also holds triple nationality with Swiss, US and Italian citizenship, speaks English and French fluently, and loves the outdoors particularly whitewater kayaking and snowsports.
Brandon graduated from the University of Manchester in 2018 with a BSc (Hons) in Materials Science and Engineering and a MSc in Decommissioning from the University of Aberdeen in 2020. Brandon has a vast understanding of the offshore oil and gas industry as well as the energy industry as a whole. He has experience from renowned sub-sea contractor Offshore Services Indonesia. Brandon was born in the UK but spent a majority of his upbringing in Singapore and can speak Bahasa Indonesian fluently. In 2016 he represented the Indonesian rugby during the Asian 5 Nations to earn his first cap.
Samuel graduated in June 2020 from the University of Manchester with a Master’s in Chemical Engineering with Energy and Environment with a 2:1 (Honours), and has completed a dissertation titled a “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Fuel Cell HGVs Vs Diesel HGVs”. This project investigated the improvement in emissions that Hydrogen Fuel Cell HGVs can have when replacing Diesel HGVs on the roads, and gave a quantification of the improvements that can be achieved based on various factors. Samuel is strongly invested in growing hydrogen business’ to improve the hydrogen economy and reach a Net-Zero future.
Lucas works as an analyst at Ascent Hydrogen Fund as well as currently attending Columbia University in the City of New York pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Economics. Prior to Ascent, Lucas worked as a M&A summer analyst at Alpha Capital Holdings, Inc., a company that provides buy-side financial advisory for several large corporations and middle market clients. In school, Lucas actively participates in business and finance organizations and is also a student athlete
Zak is is actively pursuing his bachelors in Economics. He has developed a strong understanding for macro-economics trends and is capable of applying what he has learnt to familiar Asian markets. In addition, he has lead a professional digital marketing team for a well established fashion brand. Zak has been personally involved in charitable foundations in Indonesia such as “living and learning”, “The Jodie O'shea foundation” and the “Seri resort school foundation”. Growing up in a less economically developed country has given him an understanding of how collaborative work can help communities in need of financial support. Zak is also a semi-professional surfer and has been a strong influence within the Bali surf community. Through this, he has developed a unique appreciation for the environment and understands what it takes to better it.
We are a global team, with people based in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia
New York
Singapore
London
Miami
Los Angeles
We look for future Hydrogen Champions.
Our Projects
Get In Touch
© Ascent Hydrogen Fund
Transparency & Disclosure | Legal | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Disclaimer