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OUR TEAM

The leadership team at Appalachian Salmon is composed of industry leaders from the public and private sectors. With diverse backgrounds in operations management, distribution, public policy, and aquaculture, they are passionate about identifying growth opportunities for sustainable salmon for the North American market.

Austin Caperton

Founder and CEO

Austin Caperton, Board of Directors & CEO, has extensive management experience and since founding Caperton Inc. in 1989 has provided strategic direction, acquisition, disposition, financing, workout, and project-oriented services to clients.

Combining his experience with his engineering and law degrees, he has generated and managed transactions, held several executive positions in various industries, and consulted on various management functions, including operations, sales, and finance.

In addition, he served as Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection from January of 2017 through January of 2021.

WVU College of Law J.D.
Virginia Tech, B. S. Mining Engineering

We are committed

Our board and advisors are a talented group of professionals with extensive experience in many industries, including aquaculture, whose expertise and insight are highly valued as they help guide our project to a successful future.

Board of Directors

Larry Ingalls

Former Chief Executive Officer

Northern Harvest Canada

Tom Graff

Attorney

Bowles Rice

Anne Staines

President and Chief Executive Officer

Sagent Marketing

Matt Harbaugh

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Mountain State Capital

Advisory Board

Jonathan Moir

Founder

AquaGem

John Schiering

CCO and Advisor

Appalachian Salmon

Marty Becker

Former Insurance Industry

CEO, Attorney, and CPA

Patrick C. Graney

Founder and President

PCG Inc.

Scott Sparks

President

Performance Industries Inc.

Jamie Bissot

Communications Officer

Appalachian Salmon

Larry Ingalls is an aquaculture industry veteran who holds significant experience including founding and serving as CEO of Northern Harvest Canada (later acquired by Mowi), a salmon farming operation producing 19,000 metric tons of salmon per year.

Additionally, he founded Ocean Horizons Chile, Ocean Horizons Newfoundland, and Cards Aqua Chile, and formerly served as President of Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association.

Tom Graff is an attorney in Charleston, West Virginia.

In 1965, he became the sixth lawyer in a Charleston WV law firm that became Bowles Rice. He served as the managing partner of the firm for 21 years as it expanded from 1 office and 30 attorneys to 7 offices and 120 attorneys covering a 3-state area. He has participated in the planning, conceptualization, negotiation and settlement of numerous significant commercial transactions and claims. He is also president and director of Graff-Lane Properties, LLC, a WV real estate development company.

Anne Staines founded Sagent Marketing in Sacramento, California in 2004, which focuses on creating marketing and communications campaigns with a socially beneficial impact, that encourage people to make healthier, safer, and more sustainable choices.

Sagent has received dozens of industry honors for its outstanding campaign results and numerous awards for growth and leadership. In 2022, Sagent earned its largest contract to date ($32.9 million over three years) to educate and motivate the public to reduce litter across California. Among Sagent’s subcontractors are Keep America Beautiful and Ogilvy Public Relations.

In 2019, Sagent Marketing was named a certified B Corporation by B Labs, one of fewer than 1500 companies in the U.S. and less than 4,700 in 70 countries in 150 industries around the world to earn the recognition.

Matt Harbaugh is the co-founder and managing director of Mountain State Capital, a venture capital firm. He has invested in, managed, and advised more than 100 private companies over the past 20 years. 

He previously served as the CEO of a machine learning-based software company which was acquired by Facebook. In addition, he also serves as an advisor on issues related to startups and innovation for WVU and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Jonathan Moir is an industry expert in the aquaculture sector. In 1998, he formed AquaGem, to provide consulting services to the worldwide aquaculture industry.

Additionally, he has served as a senior manager in the commercial production of salmon and other fish, with extensive experience including strategic, economic, regional, and rural development planning, as well as project management for large sustainable development projects in both cage and RAS production. This experience includes an in-depth understanding in cost modeling and financial planning for vertically integrated aquaculture projects.

John Schiering is a business professional and attorney who has spent his career in the food consumer products industry.

With extended tenures, in operations and general management, and over ten years of experience with aquaculture, he has worked for clients in the rapidly increasing salmon and other fish markets. As a US team leader for another aquaculture project, he directed the project from conception, including the feasibility study, public funding solicitation, preliminary engineering, and site selection.

Marty Becker, a native West Virginian, is an insurance executive who has led both domestic and international public and private insurance, reinsurance, and insurance brokerage companies. He presently serves on the Board of Axis Capital (NYSE – AXS) and MVB Bank (Nasdaq-MVBF) as well as Encova Insurance, Amynta Insurance, and the Mountain Companies.

Mr. Becker, an attorney, and CPA is also on the Board of Governors of West Virginia University and former Chairman of the Clay Center in Charleston, WV.

Patrick C. Graney is a private investor with a focus on private energy companies and manages several real estate and investment companies including PCG, Inc. of which he is founder and president.

As a long-standing business leader in West Virginia, he previously owned Petroleum Products, Inc, an industrial and retail fuel distributor, and One Stop Stores, a chain of convenience stores, leading the companies through a period of high growth, overseeing both acquisitions and new greenfield developments, until their recent sale. 

Mr. Graney  is a Board Member of two public companies Truist Corporation and Ramaco Resources, Inc., and also served two consecutive terms as a Class B Director representing West Virginia to the 5th District Bank of the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Virginia. He currently serves the University of Charleston (Board Chairman), WV Chamber of Commerce (Executive Committee & Past Chair), West Virginia Coal Association, and Buckskin Council of the Boy Scouts of America (past President).

Scott Sparks is the President of Performance Industries. He has an engineering degree and previously worked at the former Maple Meadow Mine, the site of our project, before migrating to the construction industry. During this time, he worked for several companies involved in the engineering, design, and construction of large industrial projects. Sparks ultimately founded his own company providing the same services.

Jamie Bissot is the Communications Officer. She is a communications professional dedicated to helping organizations identify, refine, and communicate their messaging. She has worked with print and online publications developing content, as well as with private and nonprofit organizations to coordinate internal and external communications, develop effective messaging strategies, and support overall communication and digital marketing efforts.