Board of Directors

Vincent L DiVito has served as a member of our Board since May 2015.  From April 2018 to May, 2, 2018, Mr. DiVito served as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and he currently serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and Non-Executive Chair.  He had served on the board of directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Entertainment Gaming Asia Inc, a Nasdaq listed gaming company from October 2005 until its acquisition in July 2017, and also served as a member of the board of directors of Riviera Holdings Corporation, formerly an AMEX listed gaming and resort company, from July 2002 until the consummation of a change in control of the corporation in March 2011 serving as Non-Executive Chairman during the final year leading up to the change in control.  Mr. DiVito also serves on the board of directors of Variety Child Learning Center, a Not-For-Profit school for children with special needs.

Since April 2010, Mr. DiVito has served as the Managing Director of Vincent L DiVito, Inc, a financial and management consulting firm.  From January 2008 to April 2010, Mr. DiVito served as president of Lonza America, Inc, a global life sciences/chemical company headquartered in Allendale, New Jersey and also served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Lonza America, Inc from September 2000 to April 2010.  Lonza America, Inc is part of Lonza Group whose stock is traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange.  From 1990 to September 2000, Mr. DiVito was employed by Algroup Wheaton, a global pharmaceutical and cosmetics packaging company, first as its director of business development and later as its Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  Early in his career Mr. DiVito spent two years on the audit staff of Ernst & Young.  Mr. DiVito is a certified public accountant, certified management accountant and holds an MBA in Finance.  Mr. DiVito is a National Association of Corporate Director Leadership Fellow.

Why Aqua

One of the reasons I am passionate about board service is the opportunity to work alongside some really talented and passionate people who share a common mission. AquaMetals has a powerful mission that has the potential to make an enormous difference from both an environmental and sustainability perspective and from a commercial perspective. I am proud to be a part of this story and to contribute to the success of the company.

Steve Cotton has served as President of the Company since May 2, 2018 and was promoted by the Board of Directors to President and CEO joining the Board as an Executive Director in January, 2019.  Steve also served as Chief Commercial Officer of the Company from January 2015 to June, 2017.  Previously, Steve co-founded Canara, Inc. (formerly Data Power Monitoring and IntelliBatt) in December 2001 and served as its Chief Executive Officer through the sale of the company to a private equity firm in June 2012, after which he served as Founder and Executive Chairman until April 2014. Canara (now part of CPG Data Center Innovators) is a global provider of stationary battery systems with integrated monitoring systems and cloud-based monitoring services to many of the largest data center operators. Prior to Canara, Steve led a team to commercialize Sendmail (the Worlds' most commonly used Internet email open source software) from free open source to a paid for commercial offering for Internet service providers and cloud offerings requiring mass email volume management including DoubleClick's standardization (acquired by Google).  Steve's career began in the early days of voice messaging systems, including  Octel Communications (through its $1.1B exit to Lucent Technologies in 1997 and now part of Avaya).  From International Product Manager, to Product Manager for Multimedia, Steve then became the top market development person on a staff of 100+ for 2 years running while managing the AT&T Wireless account, then developing new wireless and local exchange carrier markets.  His decision to convince AT&T Wireless (and ultimately other operators which followed) to offer voice messaging for free vs. charge, resulted in multi-million dollar sales of Octel equipment to each region. From April 2014 to January 2015 and June 2017 to April 2018, Steve managed his private investments.

Why Aqua

During my time at Canara, part of my duties was to source batteries from battery  manufacturers and battery recycling partners in the U.S., China and Europe so I spent quite a bit of time in battery manufacturing and recycling facilities.  In 2014, after exiting Canara and while looking for new opportunities, I saw the original pilot electrolyzer that the founders had built making pure, spongy lead before my eyes and immediately knew that AquaRefining could transform energy storage.  Knowing that our Aqua journey could transform an industry and significantly help the planet reduce harmful emissions, in the summer of 2019, my family and I moved from our native Bay Area to Tahoe-Reno.  We wanted to be fully immersed in this exciting Company and to see through our vision of upgrading an industry and the environment with such a critical core set of technologies.

Eric Gangloff has served as a member of our Board since February 2025. Mr. Gangloff is an experienced investor and financial strategist with a background in capital markets and debt financing. Since December 2012, he has been the Founder and CEO of Summit Investment Services, LLC, where he leads private commercial lending and investment strategies for growth-stage businesses. Previously, he served as Founder and CEO of Summit Alternative Investments, LLC where he oversaw the acquisition, originations and portfolio management of over $1B of performing consumer loans from January 2007 to December 2016. In December 2013, he became CEO and Chairman of AmeriFirst Home Improvement Finance, LLC, overseeing its national third-party loan servicing and consumer loan originations expansion before its acquisition by the country’s largest privately held bank, First National Bank of Omaha, in July 2022.

Eric brings deep expertise in corporate finance and investment management and has structured and executed complex debt and equity financial transactions across multiple asset classes with counterparties such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, First National Bank of Omaha, Bayview Asset Management, Credigy, Fortress Investment Group and many others. This experience makes him a valuable addition to Aqua Metals’ Board as the company advances its clean battery recycling and critical minerals recovery strategy. He holds an MBA and a Master of Management in Manufacturing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Villanova University. He also serves as a Board Trustee for the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and as President and Chair of the Board at Sage Ridge School.

Mr. Gangloff has extensive capital markets, managerial and financial experience. As a result of these and other professional experiences, our Board has concluded that Mr. Gangloff is qualified to serve as a director.

Why Aqua

As an avid skier and outdoor enthusiast, my passion for environmental stewardship is deeply personal—it's what brought me and my companies to the Tahoe-Reno area. I firmly believe that electrification, including EVs and energy storage, is critical to a sustainable future. However, the way the industry has historically handled spent batteries—through open-loop, high-emission processes like smelting—has always been a major concern. By serving on Aqua Metals' board, I hope to help establish AquaRefining as the industry standard for clean, efficient battery recycling, ensuring that electrification truly delivers on its promise of a more sustainable planet.

Steven Henderson has served on our Board since February 2025. He has also been a member of the board of privately held L&L Products since September 2023, where he chairs the Human Capital Committee. Mr. Henderson brings over four decades of leadership experience in the automotive, specialty chemical, and general manufacturing industries. From January 2020 to April 2024, he was Executive Vice President at Leggett & Platt, overseeing businesses generating more than $2.5 billion in revenue—over half of the company’s total sales and profit. He previously served as President of Leggett & Platt’s Automotive Group from September 2017 to December 2019. Earlier, at Dow Chemical, he led the automotive business unit as President from September 2009 to September 2017, driving profitable growth through innovations in adhesives, sealants, plastics, and foams while starting a battery materials development effort in collaboration with industry leaders such as Tesla, GM, Ford, LG, and Magna.

Mr. Henderson holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University. He brings extensive experience in management, operations, finance, and new product commercialization. Based on these qualifications, the Board has found that Mr. Henderson is well-suited to serve as a director.

Why Aqua

I am fully aligned with Aqua Metals’ mission to revolutionize battery recycling with a more sustainable, domestic supply of critical materials. The industry is facing a significant gap in North American battery recycling capacity and raw material availability, making Aqua Metals’ clean and efficient process a critical solution. I look forward to working with the company’s forward-thinking and agile leadership team to scale this transformative technology and help build a resilient, low-carbon battery supply chain.