Ryan J. Kerrigan
CEO, Alta Environmental
Founder, Kerrigan Industries
As CEO, Ryan is focused on the long-term development and growth of Alta Environmental.
Prior to Alta, Ryan was Managing Director at Serent Capital, a $250mm private equity fund focused exclusively on growing service sector companies, specializing in management transitions and preparing middle-market companies for aggressive revenue growth. From 2002 to 2007, he served as President of TL Fabrications, a steel fabrication company purchased and operated by Kerrigan Industries.
Leading up to Kerrigan Industries, Ryan spent four years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised Fortune 500 companies on growth strategies, organizational issues, pricing and business valuation. His clients included leading companies in the insurance, financial services, chemicals and telecommunications industries.
Ryan has an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and an MSFS degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BBA in Finance.
Matt Winefield, PE
President & Founder
Before founding and growing Alta Environmental into a premiere environmental consulting firm in Southern California, Matt spent several years in the petroleum industry and developed an expertise in the environmental and safety aspects of refineries, pipelines, terminals, production facilities, and service stations. His mastery also extends to aerospace and battery manufacturing, resin production, electrical component production, steel founding, and cogeneration facilities.
Matt holds a BS in Civil engineering from the University of Illinois, an MS in Environmental engineering from Cal State Long Beach, and an MBA from UCLA.
Pen Herring
Chief Operating Officer
As COO, Pen is responsible for running Alta’s daily business operations.
Prior to joining Alta Environmental, Pen was the COO of Bowers & Merena, an internationally recognized subsidiary of a Fortune 500 auction house and finance company. Before that, he was the President & COO of H2O Technologies, a VC-owned technology development company focusing on water purification.
In the early 1990s, Pen was a founding member of Regenesis, the industry leader for advanced products for soil and groundwater remediation. As Vice President, he was responsible for the company’s operations, engineering, manufacturing and international business development. Pen is one of only a few industry veterans that is both skilled in growing and running a successful environmental business as well as staying at the leading edge of technological developments.
Pen possesses a BS in Mechanical engineering from Santa Clara University.
Jake Bergman
Vice President, Sales & Business Development
Prior to joining Alta Environmental, Jake served as the Director of Publishing and Sales for MySeniorCare, a web-based company that provided outsourced marketing services for senior care facilities throughout the United States. Preceding this position, he ran the Brinderson family office and was also responsible for sourcing and evaluating strategic add-on opportunities for Brinderson Engineering, a full-service engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround company serving the western United States. Before joining Brinderson, Jake worked as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley in the financial sponsors and corporate finance group, where he advised on M&A and leveraged buyout transactions in the consumer product, industrial, and consulting industries.
Jake served as a captain in the United States Army and was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom I. He is an alum of the United States Military Academy at West Point, ranking as a member of the Dean’s and Commandant’s list, and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated in the upper quartile.