Executive Management

Ajay Kochhar is the President and CEO, co-founder of Li-Cycle.

Responsible for strategic oversight of Li-Cycle’s various functional business units, which includesCommercial, Technical (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality/HSEQ, Operations, Commercialization, Research and Development) and Shared Services. Additionally, Ajay supports the development ofinternational growth initiatives for the company in collaboration with Li-Cycle’s Corporate Development team.

Before founding Li-Cycle, Ajay gained extensive technology and project development experiencethrough progressive roles with Hatch’s industrial cleantech and advisory practices. While working in thatspace, he garnered in-depth engineering and project management experience through clean technology development in the lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and rare earth metals industries. His technical expertise spans the entire project lifecycle, from conceptual and pre-feasibility studies to construction and commissioning.

Born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, Ajay comes from entrepreneurial roots, having gained experience from a young age via a family business. An ardent music enthusiast, he is a classical guitarist who maintains the hobby even now for enjoyment.

Ajay is a graduate of the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Chemical Engineering.

Tim Johnston joined Li-Cycle in 2016 as the company’s Executive Chairman and co-founder.

With more than 15 years of experience, Tim has overseen the development and operation of batteries, metals, industrial minerals, and large infrastructure assets. Prior to Li-Cycle, Tim worked as a Senior Consultant for Hatch, specializing in project management and transactional analysis for their global lithium business. While there, Tim managed the development of projects across the lithium-ion battery value chain for companies such as SQM, Rockwood Lithium (Albemarle), Bacanora Minerals, AMG-NV, Rio Tinto, Galaxy Resources, and other key developers.

As the Co-Founder and Chairman of Li-Metal and the Director of Lacero Solutions, Tim brings a wealth of knowledge to his current position with Li-Cycle, where his portfolio consists of overseeing research and development, as well as leading capital projects and operations.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Tim currently calls Toronto, Canada home. An avid surfer and skateboarding enthusiast, he spends much of his free time at the gym or travelling.

A graduate of the University of Queensland’s Mechanical Engineering Program, Tim is a chartered professional engineer and CFA charter holder.

Bruce MacInnis, Li-Cycle’s Chief Financial Officer, joined the company in 2018. He brings with him 40 years of financial experience that includes raising capital for emerging technology companies - both publicly traded and privately held - as well as robust experience as the Chief Financial Officer for multiple technology companies.

Over the past four decades, Bruce has participated in successfully ensuring numerous companies are listed on the TSX and Nasdaq, while also completing several cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions. In previous roles with public companies such as Redline Communications, Inc., Bioscrypt Inc., and Certicom Corp., he has overseen the management of numerous functional business areas that have included intellectual property law, compliance, and manufacturing and operations.

With comprehensive expertise in establishing financial reporting and disclosure infrastructures that are often required of public companies, Bruce has aptly led the implementation of sound internal controls and corporate governance procedures throughout his career. At Li-Cycle, his current portfolio consists of the leadership and management of multiple departments, including Finance, Human Resources, IT and Legal.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Bruce has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and holds both the Chartered Accountant (CA) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designations.

Chris Biederman is a Professional Engineer with 15 years of process engineering experience. He joined Li-Cycle in 2020 as the company’s Chief Process Engineer and was quickly promoted to Chief Technical Officer.

Chris brings extensive expertise to his current role, having acted as Lead Process Engineer for numerous large and small EPCM projects in the mining industry. He has experience working on greenfield and brownfield projects and overseeing bench-scale and pilot-scale testing. Chris is also a skilledproject manager with a robust history leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and delivering successful projects. Previous to his role with Li-Cycle, he spent time at Hatch as a Senior Engineer and Technology Commercialization Portfolio Manager; he is also the Founder and Managing Director of Biederman Engineering.

At Li-Cycle, Chris’ portfolio includes the management of the company’s intellectual property portfolio, the commercialization of intellectual property, and oversight of capital projects. He also provides technical leadership for the organization.

A native of Hamilton, Canada, Chris is a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Chemical Engineering program and is a registered engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Li-Cycle’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Kunal Phalpher, has been with the company since 2017. He initially joined the team as an advisor, was nominated as a member of the board, and then moved into the role of Chief Commercial Officer in 2018, a position he held until taking on his new title and revised responsibilities in November 2021.

As CSO, Kunal leads the strategic planning and corporate development for the company, including potential mergers and international business acquisitions. From an operational standpoint, he ensures that Li-Cycle’s global expansion plans are optimized to support the company’s overall strategy and drive global business development opportunities with key customers.

With nearly 15 years of experience, Kunal brings extensive international expertise in the lithium-ion battery and renewable energy sectors to his role. His wealth of knowledge has been a significant asset to both Li-Cycle’s business development and corporate strategies.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Kunal worked for a residential solar company as the Director of Product Development and was the Director of Business Development for a lithium-ion battery manufacturer, both in Toronto, Canada. He brings broad, comprehensive international experience to his position, having spent several years working in Germany in cleantech.

Born and raised in Toronto, Kunal is passionate about travel and outdoor activities. A University of Toronto graduate, he holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering and has a Master of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management.

Lauren Choate is an accomplished global people operations leader with over 25 years’ experience across a variety of industries.

As Chief People Officer at Li-Cycle, Lauren oversees talent management and acquisition to continue to attract top industry talent to the company in support of its growth trajectory.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Lauren led the human resources function for Kärcher North America, a $2.8 billion global cleaning technology solutions company, where she orchestrated major transformation of its people operations and oversaw a 15% increase in employee engagement amid significant business changes.

Prior to Kärcher North America she served as the Senior Director, Learning & Organizational Development at IHS transforming the learning team from purely a training delivery role to consultants driving a $2 billion rapidly growing, global services enterprise.

Lauren is passionate about giving back and has, for the past 17 years, volunteered as President of Rocky Mountain Human Resources Planning & Strategy, an HR association in Denver, where she lives.

Lauren is a gardening, cooking, and pickleball enthusiast and holds an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University, as well as a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Carl DeLuca is Li-Cycle’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

With nearly 25 years of legal and public company experience, Carl leads Li-Cycle’s legal and regulatory functions in support of the company’s global expansion plans. He also manages the organization’s corporate governance processes through the Board and its committees.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Carl served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for gold producer Detour Gold Corporation, where he facilitated the company’s stabilization, resulting in a 95% stock price increase.

Carl also held various roles at Vale Canada Limited, including Head of Legal for North American Operations and M&A/Strategic Projects while there, he played a key role in the company’s gold streaming transactions on Vale’s copper mine in Brazil, delivering $1.7 billion in aggregate proceeds.

Carl, a barrister and solicitor, was born and raised in Ontario, and currently calls Toronto home. He holds his LL.B. from the University of Windsor, where he received the R.L. Deshield Award for having achieved the second highest standing in his graduating class, and holds an H.B.A and a B.A. in History and French from The University of Western Ontario.