Bill is an early executive team member at Curian, a pioneer in botanical hardware and software extraction technology.  He is a futurist with an enviable track record of leadership development.  As the CTO, Dr. True spearheads a learning culture with predictable models of envisioning, designing and developing new products for a voracious industry.  He is the architect and chief developer behind the product and engineering roadmap for Curian-360, which includes hardware, software and process design.  He is responsible for the strategy and implementation of the Curian-360 IoT (Internet of Things)/AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform.  This platform will provide Curian subscribers with unprecedented data analysis, machine learning and automation possibilities—enabling Curians to maximize the overall equipment effectiveness (“OEE”) of their extraction processes.  In short, he helps customers make higher profits, safely.  In addition, Bill leads Curian’s Intellectual Property (“IP”) strategy and co-leads technology, manufacturing and supply chain partner development.  

Like other Curians, Bill is a technology trailblazer.  During his tenure as VP Science & Technology, Composites and VP/GM, Automotive Solutions at Owens Corning, he created a $200MM new product portfolio for the telecommunications and automotive industries and led a 3-way partnership to develop high-strength, ultra-low weight carbon fiber composites for specialty applications such as high-end sports cars.  In 2002, Bill became the Sr. VP of R&D for Lorillard Tobacco.  At Lorillard, he created an IP portfolio of new potentially reduced exposure cigarette products – essentially removing a large percentage of the harmful byproducts of combustion while maintaining full flavor.  He developed a regulatory strategy and prepared the initial product filings. His team successfully gained approval for the first Substantial Equivalence (SE) cigarette product in the industry.  Lorillard Tobacco acquired blu e-cigs, the industry leader, in 2012.  Bill teamed up with the founder of blu to integrate the startup and grow market share.  He quickly reformulated all of the flavors of e-liquids and tailored their IP portfolio to support the hardware and software strengths of the product.  The e-vapor industry was not yet regulated, so Bill developed the regulatory readiness strategy for blu.  As CTO of Fontem, Bill’s M&A work resulted in several acquisitions and partnerships.  One was a company that used particle flow physics in a device to adjust the particle size distribution of e-vapor aerosol (to optimize the pharmaco-kinetics of nicotine uptake to match that of a cigarette).  He also co-led the evaluation of dozens of device and e-liquid companies, including the most popular brands like Juul.  

Bill earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Vanderbilt University and has the original empathy of the bench scientist. His dissertation highlights the effects of capturing reaction intermediates on the study of organic chemistry on metal catalyst surfaces: “The Synthesis and Reactivity of Homo- and Hetero-dinuclear Transition Metal Complexes Containing Bridging Hydrocarbyl Ligands.”  He is active in the ArcView community and is an advisor to Wellness Insights Technology, Inc. (Witi), an inhalation device and AI-powered software platform.  Witi’s patent-pending dose-to-effect technology captures real-time cannabinoid and consumption data, using machine learning and citizen science to help consumers.  

Based in the Santa Rosa, CA area (“the Palo Alto of extraction tech”), he’s 57, married, and has three grown children and two step-children.  He supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and The HeartBright Foundation, which funds preventive cardiology programs in economically-disadvantaged communities.  He has a passion for Sonoma County wines and cooking.  Bill is available to speak at industry conferences and you can email details here.