Chris Haase

About Chris Haase

Distinguished international executive, inventor, and entrepreneur with 25+ year track record in venture capital, critical materials commercialization, defense technology transition, and deep-tech startup leadership across cleantech, sustainability, oil and gas, digital, critical materials production and processing, and defense sectors.Currently Founder and CEO of Gadolyn, Inc, commercializing DIRECT, a DARPA-sponsored solid-state rare earth alloy production platform and 2025 Global R&D 100 Award winner, targeting U.S. Defense Industrial Base and national security supply chain priorities.Department of Defense Fellow, DOE Oppenheimer Fellow, and former Director of the U.S. Critical Materials Institute, a $250MM DOE Innovation Hub and the nation\'s flagship public-private initiative for rare earth and critical mineral supply chain resilience.Direct operational and transaction experience in five international venture and innovation vehicles, Aramco Ventures, Shell Ventures Fund 1, BTG International Inc, Shell GameChanger, and GE Ventures, with an impressive deal sheet totaling over 112 transactions involving equity, convertible debt, IP licensing, joint industry partnerships, and joint development agreements.Joint venture implementation specialist with experience leading JV scope definition, resourcing, planning, and implementing operated and non-operated joint ventures, new country entries, and venture divestments in the US, UK, South America, and Middle East, with cumulative transaction value exceeding $2B.Inventor with six patents spanning downhole communications, additive manufacturing, and advanced materials. Available for executive, advisory, board, consulting, and government roles through Gadolyn, Inc. and Wolftree Group, LLC.

Experience

1. Co-founder, President & CEO

   Gadolyn

   Apr 2025 — Present · Austin, TX, US

   Co-Founder, Seed Investor, President & CEO of Gadolyn, Inc, a company revolutionizing rare earth and strategic alloy production with DARPA-sponsored production platform, achieving 95% cost reductions, over 96% energy reduction, zero emissions, green certification and agile, multi-alloy manufacturing capability.• Targets strengthening U.S. critical material supply chain security in industrial, energy and defense sectors with versatile, modular technology enabling fast retooling for a broad range alloys like NdFeB, SmCo, Cu, Fe, and other alloys in a single step.• Recognized as a distinguished global 2025 R&D 100 Award Winner, honoring groundbreaking innovation in sustainable alloy manufacturing, with potential to reshape rare earth alloy production and enhance national industrial supply chain resilience.

Education

• University of Chicago

  Ph.D., Applied Mathematics

• The Ohio State University

  BS, Mathematics

  1986 — 1990

• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

  MBA, Finance, Strategy

• Harvard Business School

  Executive Education, Venture Capital and Private Equity

  2003 — 2003

• Stanford University

  Professional Certificate, Strategic Decision and Risk Management, Decision Analysis and Decision Quality

  2014 — 2016

• University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business

  Executive Education, Open Innovation & Corporate Entrepreneurship

  2009 — 2009

Skills

• Investments
• Corporate Development
• Research and Development (R&D)
• Open Innovation
• Patents
• IT Strategy
• Upstream
• Due Diligence
• Telecommunications
• Analysis
• Business Strategy
• Reservoir Management
• Field Development
• R&D
• Oil & Gas
• Research
• Strategy
• Business Development
• Management
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Management Consulting
• Oil/Gas
• Entrepreneurship
• Early-Stage Startups
• Numerical Analysis
• Project Planning
• New Technology Evaluation
• Energy Industry
• Energy
• Venture Capital
• Negotiation
• Technology Evangelist
• Engineering
• Networking
• Intellectual Property
• Leadership
• Petroleum