People
People
LEADERSHIP
Paul E. Mann
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
Paul Mann co-founded ASP Isotopes in September 2021 and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Paul has more than 20 years of experience on Wall Street investing in healthcare and chemicals companies.
He’s worked at Soros Fund Management, Highbridge Capital Management and Morgan Stanley. Paul started his career as a research scientist at Procter and Gamble, and he is named as the inventor of numerous skin creams in the Oil of Olay range of cosmetics. Paul has an MA (Cantab) and a Master of Engineering from Cambridge University, UK where he studied Natural Sciences and Chemical Engineering, and he is a CFA Charterholder.
Robert Ainscow
Chief Operating Officer
Robert Ainscow co-founded ASP Isotopes in September 2021 and serves as the Chief Operating Officer. He has more than 20 years experience in finance, having worked at Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and Investec Bank.
He started his career in the legal and regulatory department with responsibility for M&A and capital markets oversight. He later transitioned into the capital markets business units and became a Senior Transactor, structuring a broad range of bespoke transactions and funding programs for balance sheet assets and on behalf of clients, more latterly for smaller, early-stage companies in niche markets as an advisor, director, or founder. Robert holds a BA (Law & Modern Languages) from Bristol UWE in the UK.
Heather Kiessling
Chief Financial Officer
Heather Kiessling serves as the Chief Financial Officer. Heather has more than 30 years of experience with life science and high-tech companies.
Prior to joining ASP Isotopes, Heather served as Managing Director at Danforth Advisors LLC, a life science consulting firm. Prior to joining Danforth Advisors, Heather held finance leadership roles at Cytonome/ST, LLC and AutoImmune Inc. and started her career as an auditor at Price Waterhouse. Heather is a CPA and holds a BA from University of California, San Diego, and an MBA from University of Michigan Graduate School of Business.
Gerdus Kemp, MD, PhD
Medical Director, CEO of PET Labs
Dr. Gerdus Kemp founded PET Labs Pharmaceuticals in South Africa and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. He has over thirty years of experience in nuclear medicine and radiopharmaceutical production.
Dr Kemp served as Medical Director at Klydon and Molybdos. He holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Johannesburg and is currently a lecturer in Radiography at the University of Pretoria.
Hendrik Strydom, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Strydom has over thirty years of experience in isotope enrichment. He co-developed the isotope separation technology, known as “Aerodynamic Separation Process” (ASP), which is the technology backbone of ASP Isotopes.
Hendrik’s work on the separation of isotopes started when he was employed as a scientist at the South African Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC), where he specialized in the laser separation of heavy isotopes. Hendrik left AEC in 1993 to co-found Klydon, an isotope enrichment company based in South Africa. Dr. Strydom holds a BSc(Ed) (Physics & Maths) (1981), followed by the Hons course at the University of Pretoria (1983). Dr Strydom also holds an MSc (Physics) from the University of Port Elizabeth (1990) and a PhD (Physics) (2000) from the University of Natal (Durban).
Hendrik T. van Wyk
Head of Engineering
Hendrik T. van Wyk is the Head of Engineering at ASP Isotopes. Hendrik has extensive experience in the EPCM sector, beginning his career in the petrochemical, chemical, and water industries.
He later transitioned to the renewable energy sector, where he played a key role in business development and energy storage systems. Since joining the isotope industry in 2016, Hendrik has successfully designed, procured, constructed, commissioned, and operated several plants. He holds a BEng in Chemical Engineering (Cum Laude) from the University of Pretoria (2012), a PGDip in Nuclear Science and Technology with a focus on Nuclear Technology Management from North-West University (2023), and has completed a course in Technology Management at the University of Pretoria (2022).
Xandra van Heerden, PhD
Head of Research and Development
Xandra van Heerden, PhD, is an experienced Chemical Engineer with 8 years in the biomedical engineering and chemical separation technology industries. She earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria, where she was a senior lecturer specializing in chemical mass transfer processes and separation technologies.
Dr van Heerden transitioned to industry as part of the R&D department at a major bio-engineering firm, leading a team in developing wound care devices and skin substitutes. She later became General Manager of a sister company, overseeing multiple bio-medical projects in product research, design, and training. Her extensive experience includes project management, engineering management, and commercialization of R&D processes.
Senior Management
Viktor Petkov
Vice President of Business Development
Viktor Petkov leads Business Development with a focus on Europe and North America. With over 15 years of experience, Viktor has a diverse background in investment banking, business development, and funding for early-stage companies.
He has played a key role in originating, structuring, and executing capital markets transactions at HSBC Bank in London. At Bloomberg LLP, he managed the expansion of several financial products. Viktor also headed the Capital Markets function for the UK's first online mortgage lender and most recently served as Head of Funding for a prominent UK-based financial technology company. He holds an MSc in Finance and Investment from Queen Mary, University of London and a BSC in Economics from the University of Magdeburg, Germany.
Edward Hoskin
Vice President of Business Development
Edward Hoskin is a Vice President of Business Development at ASP Isotopes. With over 7 years of experience in financial services and strategic investments, Edward has specialized in private debt and venture capital markets.
He began his career at KPMG South Africa, where he earned his professional qualification in the Financial Services department. Edward then moved to AlphaStream Capital, a royalty and streaming investment firm in Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining ASP Isotopes, he worked as a Senior Associate at Jaltech Fund Management, focusing on asset-backed funding. Edward holds a BCom in Accounting and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant (SA).
Inbanathan Govender, PhD
Senior Chemical Process Engineer
Dr Inbanathan Govender leads the process engineering team on our Si-28 isotopic enrichment plant in Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, having completed his undergraduate and Masters degree at the same institution.
Inbanathan is a specialist in flurochemical and separations engineering. Prior to joining the ASPI team, he served as a Senior Process Engineer at an EPCM, having led the engineering team on fluorination and chlorination projects. Prior to that he served as a Senior Process Engineer at the South African Nuclear Corporation (NECSA).
Gerard Puts, PhD
Senior Chemical Process Engineer
Dr. Puts is a chemical process engineer with 11 years of experience in pharmaceuticals, fluorochemical plant engineering, and plasma systems.
He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering with a research focus on the design and synthesis of fluorinated polymers from the University of Pretoria. Gerard has 5+ years of experience in the management and operation of an engineering laboratory and a chemical pilot plant.
Josua Oosthuizen
Project Manager
Josua Oosthuizen has more than sixteen years of experience in managing capital projects, from project development to project execution. He worked at Metso and DRA and later co-founded a chemical engineering consulting company.
Josua is well versed in multi-disciplinary engineering design, procurement, and construction management. Josua holds an MBA from Stellenbosch University and a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial) from the University of Pretoria. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP).
Simphiwe Ndlangamandla
Scientist
Simphiwe Ndlangamandla is a scientist at ASP Isotopes. Whilst completing his doctoral studies in electrocatalysis, he also worked at a chemical engineering consulting company in 2023 as a consultant on electrochemical processes including water electrolysis and platinum group metal recovery.
He has completed a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and chemical technology at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (2016), as well as a BSc Honors (chemistry) degree (2017), and an MSc (Physical Chemistry) degree (2020) at the University of Pretoria.
Board of Directors
Duncan Moore, PhD
Non-Executive Director
Duncan Moore, Ph.D. has served on the board of directors since October 2021. Duncan has been a partner at East West Capital Partners (which has a focus on making investments in the healthcare industry in Asia) since May 2008.
From 1991 to 2008, Duncan was a top-ranked pharmaceutical analyst at Morgan Stanley, leading the firm’s global healthcare equity research team. Duncan was educated in Edinburgh and went to the University of Leeds where he studied Biochemistry and Microbiology. He has a M.Phil. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, where he was also a post-doctoral research fellow.
Todd Wider, MD
Non-Executive Director
Todd Wider, MD, has served on the board of directors since October 2021. He was the Executive Chairman and Chief Medical Officer of Emendo Biotherapeutics, a leader in next-generation gene editing. Todd has consulted for various biotechnology companies and served on numerous boards.
An honorary member of Mount Sinai Hospital's medical staff in New York, he worked there for over 20 years. He holds an MD from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and an AB from Princeton University. Todd completed his surgical residencies at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and postdoctoral fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the University of Miami. Additionally, he is a principal at Wider Film Projects, a documentary film company with Academy, Emmy, and Peabody Awards.
Prof. Mike Gorley, PhD
Non-Executive Director
Professor Gorley is Chief Technologist at the UK Atomic Energy Authority and a visiting Professor at the University of Bristol, U.K. He is a well-known expert in fusion technology and fusion materials. In 2014, Mike was awarded a Ph.D. (DPhil) in Materials Science from Oxford University, U.K., with a thesis on ODS steels (specialized alloys for high-performance applications).
Soon after joining the UK Atomic Energy Authority in 2016, Mike directed the establishment of the Materials Technology group and supporting materials testing laboratories and led the EUROfusion Engineering Data and Design Integration group. For the past three years, Mike has served as a Strategic leader and program area manager for fusion technology at the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
Rob Ryan
Non-Executive Director
Rob Ryan is a private investor with more than 30 years’ experience in investment banking, private equity and international financial law. Rob was a partner of Balbec Capital LP from January 2019 to July 2023 and a managing director from January 2013 to January 2019.
Prior to joining Balbec Capital LP, he was associated with a number of international investment banks. Rob started his career as a solicitor at a leading U.K. multinational law firm. He received a Law degree from the University of Leicester.