Meet the Team
Meet our team
Alberto Mian
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Alberto is an energy engineer and entrepreneur. He holds a PhD in Energy from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). During his PhD, he developed computational tools and optimisation frameworks to optimise the techno-economic performance of energy technologies.
Before founding ExerGo, he worked with EPFL and ABB Switzerland and co-founded TreaTech, a Swiss clean tech company developing a unique wastewater treatment process and a leading start-up in its field.
Alberto has a passion for the development, industrialisation and commercialisation of renewable and affordable thermal energy solutions, which is why he co-founded ExerGo.
In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, travelling and hiking.
Guillaume Cuvillier
Project Manager
Guillaume is an energy engineer. Holding a master's degree in Sustainable Energy Systems from Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), he has an extensive knowledge in energy systems planning and implementation. With more than 14 years of experience from working with multiple companies across Switzerland, he has managed various types of projects in heating and cooling -- from the size of buildings to neighbourhoods. Expanding on his expertise, he has also been taking part in energy research projects. After several years of working with traditional heating and cooling systems, he decided to join forces towards innovation with the ExerGo team.
When not working, Guillaume loves doing sports such as ski touring, surfing, mountain biking, climbing, or building wooden surfboards. Above all, spending time with his family and friends is part of his work-life balance.
Grégory Meertens
Project Engineer
Grégory is an engineer with a polyvalent background in managing technical projects. Since a few years, he has chosen to work directly with the customers to follow their projects and bring his expertise to the field. Passionate about outdoor sports, he spend most of his free time hiking, climbing or skiing in the beautiful Alps. He truly believes that a company like ExerGo can make a difference in the ecological future of our cities. Therefore, he is happy to give his energy for ExerGo and its customers.
Samuel Henchoz
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Samuel is a mechanical engineer. He holds a PhD in Energy from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Samuel has been working as an energy efficiency engineer at Group E Greenwatt before joining ExerGo. He has an industrial experience in energy efficiency analysis and software programming. During his PhD he extensively worked on CO2 networks, contributing to the realization of a CO2 test bench in Geneva (a collaboration involving scientific and industrial partners). This work has contributed to the foundation of ExerGo. When he is not working, Samuel enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, visiting museums or art exhibitions. He also reads a lot of essays on various subjects.
Thomas Wicht
Project Manager
Holding a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) with a strong specialization in energy and numerical simulation, Thomas has since then been working in various fields from energy storage to climatic and aerodynamic simulations of tunnels. He has acquired field experience in developing and operating district heating networks, has contributed to the realization of large-scale heat plants and led comprehensive analyses regarding long-term strategic development of district heating networks. At ExerGo, Thomas manages actual projects while participating to the system’s technical design. Outside of work, he enjoys long hikes in the wild, playing guitar and delving into various DIY projects.
Pierre-Aloïs Roux
R&D Engineer
Pierre (Pierre-Aloïs) is a mechanical engineer. Passionate about cleantech, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) with a specialization in energy and environment. Before joining as a junior engineer, he had a first-hand experience with the startup doing his thesis on ExerGo’s CO2 network. Pierre speaks French and English fluently and has a good knowledge of German too.
Outside of work, he enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities such as skiing, cycling, sailing. He’s also interested in various topics, such as aviation, space, and future technologies.
Christelle Benaglia
Chief Operating Officer
After obtaining her master’s degree in management from SKEMA Business School in Sophia Antipolis/France with a focus on human resources and finance, Christelle Benaglia worked in various economic sectors such as consulting, banking, solar industry in different countries but also with public services in Switzerland in order to act in terms of mobility and health infrastructures. Versatile in all the support functions essential to the proper functioning of a company, Christelle will bring to ExerGo the structure and solidity necessary for its success as well as the conditions essential to the development of the team. Very involved in the education of her two teenagers, she also thrives as a painter exhibiting wherever opportunities arise.
Niccolò Alario
Project Manager
Niccolò is an energy engineer who studied at the Politecnico of Milan, where he obtained his bachelor's degree, and at the TU-Berlin, where he obtained his master's degree. Before joining the ExerGo team, he worked as a project engineer and project manager on several civil and industrial thermal systems implementation projects. He has experience in the food, pharmaceutical and shipbuilding industries. In his spare time he enjoys outdoor activities, cooking with friends and his greatest hobby: music.
Clément Trussardi
Refrigeration Technician and Maintenance Expert
Clement is a refrigeration technician in the commercial refrigeration service department, specializing on plants concerning mechanical, electrical and fluidic parts using CO2 as refrigerant.
Authorized to handle refrigerants and to intervene on the piping, he has a solid experience in all technical aspects of buildings (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical, home automation command and control, hydraulics, and pneumatics).
He also brings a wide experience in facility management where he has worked at multiple levels on the field: from handling maintenance contracts and projects to managing technical staff.
When Clement is not working, you’ll find him in the nature hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and on fun outings with his family.
Philippe Von Holzen
Sales and BD Manager
Philippe is an engineer with many years of experience in sales and business development. With an MBA in Innovation Management, Philippe is highly qualified to advise our customers from both a technical and commercial perspective.
In his spare time, Philippe is a keen cook, cyclist and skier. He enjoys travelling and immersing himself in new cultures to broaden his horizons.
Raphaël Briguet
Project Engineer
Raphaël is an energy engineer holding a master's degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL, 2022). Specialized in energy systems, Raphaël discovered the CO₂ district heating and cooling network during his master thesis conducted at EPFL's laboratory. After a brief experience in the world of traditional district heating implementation, his interest for innovation and development for leading-edge sustainable technologies encouraged him to join the ExerGo team. When he is not working, Raphaël enjoys playing hockey, skiing and spending time with family and friends.
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