About Us

Cocona, Inc. is a privately held Colorado company focused on developing innovative technologies from natural sources. Cocona® is the consumer brand name chosen for apparel applications of this natural, quick dry, odor and UV managing fabric technology.

We created the Cocona® name to emphasize that the activated carbon in our fabrics is made from recycled coconut shells - a natural and renewable resource. By combining multiple features and benefits into one environmentally friendly technology, Cocona® fabrics provide both comfort and protection in a wide variety of products. Our innovation makes fabrics perform distinctively and demonstrably better for a myriad of end uses. Cocona® fabrics may be engineered to provide protection from UV light, and odors while still providing accelerated moisture management and specifically faster dry times.

To learn more about Cocona® natural technology™, go to the Technology section to see the animation about how Cocona technology works.

Richard Cardin

Executive Managing Member, Cocona, Inc.
Mr. Cardin has over 40 years of diverse business experience and accomplishments in organizational development, change management and organizational behavior.

Mr. Cardin had thirty-two years of service with United Parcel Service (UPS) prior to retiring. During this time, he worked both domestically and internationally. In the UPS corporate office, he held several senior positions and contributed to numerous operational initiatives, including re-engineering the human resources function. He was involved with the international expansion of services in the Americas and Asia Pacific, living in Hong Kong and Singapore for 5 years.

Subsequent to UPS, Mr. Cardin was a management consultant and worked for Greenwich Air Services as Senior Vice President for planning and development. Until the company was purchased by General Electric Engine Services, he was responsible for human resources, security, environment, real estate and maintenance.

Mr. Cardin is currently a member of the Board of Regents of University of Hartford of which he is an alumnus. Mr. Cardin is also a member of the Board of Managers of Cocona, Inc.

Christopher Fountas

General Partner, MVP
Mr. Fountas has co-founded several successful start-up companies and continues to serve as a board member and advisor to many of these companies.

Mr. Fountas was previously a Partner with Baker & Hostetler, where he managed a broad international corporate securities and Mergers and Acquisition practice.

Mr. Fountas graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. degree in Finance and earned a JD (cum laude) from the University of Miami. He resides in Orlando.

Peter Gilson

Advisory Board and Governing Board, Cocona, Inc.
Mr. Gilson has had a career of leading prominent outdoor industry brands, fabric technologies, and start-up companies to success.

Most recently, Mr. Gilson was the chief executive of Swiss Army Brands, served as the Chairman of the Board of Outlast Technologies until 2005, and is a director for Glenayre Corporation. Gilson formerly was President and CEO of Physician Support Systems, Inc. (PSS). Under Gilson’s leadership, PSS grew from approximately $6 million in revenues in 1991 to over $100 million during 1996. The company was taken public through a very successful IPO in 1997 and was bought by National Data Corporation for $176 million.

Previously, Gilson served as President of the Gore-Tex Fabric Division of W.L. Gore & Associates for 10 years, COO of Timberland Company and as an executive at the DuPont Company.

Jim Goldinger

Founder, Fairhaven Capital
Jim co-founded TD Capital Ventures in 2001 and Fairhaven Capital Partners in 2007.

He has invested and served on the boards of companies including: Cocona, Contour Semiconductor, HelloSoft, innoPad, Lilliputian Systems and SiRiFIC Wireless.

Jim was the Chief Technical Architect for the Content bridge division of Adero, Inc, performed strategy consulting at Bain and has held several senior technical roles at Motorola, Inc.

Jim earned a BS and MS in electrical engineering from MIT and an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Michael C. Margolis

VP, Sales & Marketing, Crocs, Inc.
Michael C. Margolis has been the Vice President--Sales & Marketing of Crocs, Inc. since January 2005. Mr. Margolis had led Crocs, Inc.'s sales group as an independent consultant from October 2003 to December 2004.

From May 1995 to December 2004, Mr. Margolis was a founder and served as Vice President of Source Solutions, Inc., an apparel and merchandising company.

He also successfully founded and ran a number of sporting goods and apparel companies prior to Source solutions, and has extensive experience establishing and maintaining sales relationships with large retail chains.

Brad Poorman

President, Cocona, Inc.

Mr. Poorman has 22 years of technical textile marketing, sales and product development experience. His career has provided value-added clothing technologies that have comfort and protective benefits to consumer, industrial, home and military markets.

Previous to Cocona®, Mr. Poorman was the Managing Director of Outlast Technologies, Inc., a firm focused on the licensing and marketing of microencapsulated phase change materials. In addition to responsibilities for global marketing and sales, Poorman executed a joint venture with DuPont Textiles and served on the board of Outlast Europe.

Prior to Outlast, Mr. Poorman was the Vice President of BHA Technologies, the manufacturer and marketer of Event™ fabrics, a new ePTFE, waterproof breathable membrane. He led the successful market introduction of this significant competitor to Gore-Tex™.

Mr. Poorman previously held positions of Vice President at the Warrington Group, Vice President at Physician Support Systems and product specialist/business leader at W. L. Gore and Associates.

Mr. Poorman is architecting the commercialization of Cocona’s technology into the most strategically important markets for generating sales and profit. He is also a member of the Board of Managers of Cocona, Inc.

Brad Poorman

President
Previous to Cocona®, Mr. Poorman was the Managing Director of Outlast Technologies, Inc., a firm focused on the licensing and marketing of microencapsulated phase change materials. In addition to responsibilities for global marketing and sales, Poorman executed a joint venture with DuPont Textiles and served on the board of Outlast Europe.

Prior to Outlast, Mr. Poorman was the Vice President of BHA Technologies, the manufacturer and marketer of Event™ fabrics, a new ePTFE, waterproof breathable membrane. He led the successful market introduction of this significant competitor to Gore-Tex™. Mr. Poorman previously held positions of Vice President at the Warrington Group, Vice President at Physician Support Systems and product specialist/business leader at W. L. Gore and Associates. Mr. Poorman is architecting the commercialization of Cocona®s technology into the most strategically important markets for generating sales and profit. He is also a member of the Board of Managers of Cocona, Inc.

Dave Burns

CFO
Mr. Burns has over twenty years of financial background as well as operations management, for two leading fabric technology companies.

Mr. Burns was the CFO for BHA Technologies where he was responsible for building a plant, organizing the business plan, and setting up multiple deals globally with key suppliers. He later went on to lead operations at Outlast Technologies where he reorganized processes to seamlessly provide product globally.

Dr. Gregory W. Haggquist

Founder and Director of Technology
Dr. Haggquist has over 20 years of experience in research and development. His research experience includes composite materials and the interaction of light with polymer materials.

Dr. Haggquist has been involved in the development of a wide range of products including UV absorbing car wax, UV absorbing protection for fabrics, high-energy lasers, high-energy capacitors, master batch modification, and fabric treatments.

Additionally, Dr. Haggquist has utilized molecular modeling and spectroscopic methods in the development of polymer films for use in capacitors. Most recently, at Lexmark International (the printer division of IBM), he developed photoconductor drums for laser printers.

At Cocona, Inc., Dr. Haggquist has developed two critical technologies that keep particles active throughout the manufacturing process to improve the performance of fabrics, films and yarn.

Dr. Haggquist is responsible for all research, development and product certification at Cocona, Inc. This includes constantly evolving and improving the efficacy of the Company’s technology. Dr. Haggquist is also focused on growing and managing the company’s portfolio of intellectual property. He is also a member of the Board of Managers of Cocona, Inc.

John D. Mitchell

Senior Vice President, Apparel
Mr. Mitchell has over 19 years of experience in the manufacture, quality control, and sales of technical performance fabrics. He has worked extensively with retailers, apparel manufacturers, and foreign and domestic textile mills.

Prior to joining Cocona, Inc., Mr. Mitchell was a private consultant to the apparel industry and focused on bringing new technologies to apparel manufacturers.

Previously, Mr. Mitchell was Vice President of Business Development for Outlast™ Technologies, Inc. where he developed sales in apparel and footwear applications of the Outlast™ technology. In addition to building the Outlast business with technical outdoor brands, he also developed Outlast sales with apparel manufacturers serving the mainstream department store channel.

Mr. Mitchell was Vice President of Sales for Technical Fabrics at Dyersburg Fabrics, where he established the northwest sales office and built business relationships with branded performance apparel makers such as Columbia Sportswear, Eddie Bauer, Nike, REI, The North Face, and Patagonia. After a number of years in the engineering field, Mr. Mitchell began his career in textiles with production management, quality control and sales positions at Malden Mills Industries, the makers of Polartec® Technical fabrics.

At Cocona, Inc., Mr. Mitchell is responsible for managing sales relationships pertaining to Cocona® fabrics, product development, and strategy in performance apparel and footwear.

Duncan Edwards

Legal
Following five years as an on-mountain product evaluation specialist for the ski industry at Mammoth Mountain, California, Mr. Edwards started his legal career as an Associate with the law firm of Kim, Shin & Yu in Seoul, Korea, specializing in international business transactions. From the Far East he moved to the Gore-Tex ® fabrics division of W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and instituted a worldwide trademark and manufacturing licensing and certification program and then led the Gore skiwear business. Mr. Edwards served as corporate counsel for the U.S. Ski Team in 1991 and 1992 and in 1993 he joined an international trade consultancy in Park City, UT specializing in worldwide intermodal transit.

In 2001 he joined Outlast Technologies, Inc. in Boulder, CO as corporate counsel and VP of Asia operations, where he continued his licensing and intellectual property rights practice. Mr. Edwards joined Cocona Inc. Technologies LLC in April of 2007 as corporate counsel and to lead its Asian sales and manufacturing efforts. Mr. Edwards holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of San Diego.

At Cocona Inc., Mr. Edwards is responsible for overseeing all Cocona Inc.’s legal agreements, as well as managing the Company’s business in Asian markets.

Philip Haugaard

Managing Director, Europe
From 2001 until 2006, Mr. Haugaard was employed by BHA Technologies Inc. at their subsidiary in Switzerland. There, he was responsible for developing and producing ePTFE waterproof breathable membranes for various applications for apparel and footwear laminates. He directed the establishment of several production plants in support of the BHA business. Mr. Haugaard was also responsible for the sales and marketing of the eVent™ brand throughout Europe.

Mr. Haugaard joined in November, 2006 and is responsible for developing the business in European markets. He directs several regional sales managers and speaks English, German, Danish, Swedish and Italian languages.

Christopher M. Leyes

VP of Operations
Mr. Leyes has over 8 years of accounting and finance experience and holds an MBA from Indiana University. Mr. Leyes worked as a senior accountant for the Big 4 firm KPMG where he was responsible for completion of audits of public Fortune 500 companies. He later moved on to be a senior accountant at Outlast Technologies where he learned the details of the textile technology industry

Mr. Leyes’ most recent position was as a senior accountant at the publicly traded Wild Oats Markets Inc. where he was responsible for detailed financial analysis and reporting.

At Cocona, Inc., Mr. Leyes is responsible for overseeing all Cocona Inc. finances and financial reporting, as well as managing supply chain operations.