Tradewater Announces New CEO - and New Ownership Structure - as it Accelerates Mission to Eliminate Super Pollutants

Incoming CEO Kirsten Dueck brings decades of experience in impact investing, social enterprise, and executive leadership; Acquisition by JF Lehman & Company will support scaled growth

CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tradewater, a global leader in permanently eliminating super pollutants, announced a CEO transition this month with cofounder and CEO Tim Brown handing over the leadership baton to Kirsten Dueck (pronounced KEHR-STEN DUE-CK) effective January 5, 2026. Brown will continue to support the Tradewater team as a strategic advisor alongside cofounder Gabe Plotkin.

With over two decades of experience across sectors, "Kirsten brings a dynamic blend of executive leadership, business acumen, climate solutions, and entrepreneurship to Tradewater," said Brown, adding that "This is an exciting time for Tradewater as we continue to grow our organization and impact as a global leader in super pollutant mitigation."

Dueck comes to Tradewater from NESsT, a global social-impact investment organization, where she served as CEO helping to guide the organization through a founder-led transition while scaling its reach globally and deepening its partnerships. Much of that work was executed in climate-threatened communities, where Dueck and her team helped enterprises connect their social and business capital to build a better future for themselves and the planet. Prior to that, Dueck spent over a decade at the PATH Foundation, where she directed major portfolios focused on systems-level social and environmental impact and spearheaded the foundation's first impact-investing program, bridging grantmaking with enterprise-level solutions, and enabling nature-based solutions to succeed at scale. During the early years of her career, Kirsten worked in the international arts and cultural sector, including a role as Vice President of Latin American Art at Sotheby's, with much of her work focused on community engagement and business development.

In conjunction with this announcement, J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), a leading alternative asset manager, announced that its investment affiliate – JFL Equity Investors VI, L.P. – has acquired majority stakes in Tradewater as well as Reclamation Technologies USA, a US-based refrigerant reclamation company. According to JFLCO, "these acquisitions represent foundational investments" for their "new growth-oriented environmental services platform addressing opportunities in the market for lifecycle management of industrial and refrigerant gases and the mitigation of uncontrolled sources of methane." Learn more about this announcement here.

Jeff Laborsky, who was named CEO of the combined platform by JFLCO, said, "We are excited to partner with our talented teams at Tradewater and RTI to build a leading, differentiated platform in this attractive and growing market. Together, we share a clear strategic vision and a strong alignment around disciplined growth, operational excellence, long-term value creation, and climate impact."

"I am deeply honored to take on this role at this pivotal point for Tradewater as well as for a rapidly changing climate. Our goal is audacious yet doable. Tradewater's solutions can help bend time in favor of slowing the pace of global warming, making this work one of the fastest and most direct routes to a better future for the planet. And now with JFLCO's expertise, resources and partnerships, we have greater scope for scale and impact," says Dueck.

Tradewater's mission is to permanently eliminate super pollutants and bend the curve on global warming as quickly as possible by collecting, controlling and permanently preventing the release of non-CO₂ super pollutants thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Our goal: to prevent over 30 million tons of CO₂e emissions by 2030.  The Tradewater approach turns overlooked emissions into immediate, scalable impact, offering a fast, results-driven path to slow global warming today while complementing long-term carbon mitigation strategies for companies – with Workday, Duke University, and Airbnb among Tradewater's growing list of cross-sector partners.

"Tim and Gabe have built an incredible culture of creativity and impact," adds Dueck. "Alongside the experience and support from JFLCO and our relationship with RTI, we are primed to expand and accelerate with three priorities: efficiency, efficacy, and scale through intentional collaborations, anchored in our mission and retaining our entrepreneurial attitude."   

About Tradewater

A certified B Corp, Tradewater directly combats climate change by identifying, collecting, and eliminating the release of non-CO₂ super pollutants—including halocarbons from old refrigerants, excess halon gasses from canisters, and methane from actively leaking oil and gas wells. These critical environmental actions generate high-quality carbon offset credits. The Tradewater team has eliminated over 10.6 million tons of CO₂ equivalent since inception and is on a path to prevent at least 30 million tons by 2030—similar to removing nearly 7 million gas-powered cars from U.S. roads. Every Tradewater credit is backed by rigorous third-party verification and issued by leading registries to ensure maximum integrity, additionality, and accuracy. Learn more at www.tradewater.co.

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SOURCE Tradewater