Executive Team

Mahesh Konduru

Chief Executive Officer

Mahesh is a senior executive with over 23 years of experience, most recently in leading a proprietary technology company from proof-of-concept to commercialization. Under his leadership the company increased enterprise value, doubled (2x) sales in a four-year period, reached profitability, and generated two new decarbonization spinoff opportunities. He has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron.

Preston Bryant

Chief Commercial Officer & Founder

Preston holds a B.A. in Economics with a focus in energy through the SMU Cox School of Business. During college, Preston developed an oil company in honor of his late father. He then went to LPI, where he developed his knowledge of Rare Earth industry. Preston founded Momentum in 2016 and was honored to be selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy class of 2021.

Dr. Robert Miles

Chief Technology Officer & Founder

Rob attended the Naval Academy where he graduated with honors. He has a M.S. and PhD in Physics from Caltech. Rob consulted for McKinsey & Co and was previously an in-house entrepreneur for Hunt Oil and Sevin Rosen Funds.

Wes McConnaughay

Director of Laboratory, Pilot, QHSE, and IT Operations

Wes has spent over 30 years developing database driven technology solutions for companies like Westinghouse, Securitas, and Equifax. He has specialized in working for smaller startups where the ability to adapt to changing roles and responsibilities is needed. Most recently, Wes was working as a fractional CIO helping businesses to implement large company technology solutions at small size business costs.

Dr. William Grumbles

Product R&D Staff Scientist

William received his B.S in chemistry from Tarleton State University. He continued his studies at the University of North Texas where he received his PhD in chemistry. Research areas focused on theoretical inorganic chemistry, organometallics, and third-row transition metal catalysis.

Dr. Sankar Ravichandran

Senior Engineer, Process Development

Sankar received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. Before Momentum, he was a Senior Engineer for SnapDragon Chemistry. His role at Momentum draws on his expertise in crystallization and membrane processes. His experiences include working in interdisciplinary areas to develop efficient water treatment technologies and resource recovery from plastic waste.

Board of Directors

Anthony Weiss

Executive Director (USA), TechMet

Ellen Wilkirson

Principal, Freestone