Chris Tindal founded NGen Energy Sdn Bhd, with his fellow Pentagon Associate – LT Leong. NGen Energy works with companies that are in the process of expanding into new markets or are increasing their market share. NGen Energy operates as a strategic advisor and facilitator as these entities are developing and growing their footprint.

Chris is also currently serving as an independent consultant for the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry where he facilitates SAF development to benefit the aviation enterprise and the world. Chris utilizes his extensive network to help build regional supply chains throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a self-appointed SAF Ambassador, Chris is very passionate about assisting bourgeoning entities as they need help with feedstocks, technology providers, and end users, as well as addressing policy issues.

More recently, Chris was the Assistant Director for the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) for six years from 2018-2024. CAAFI’s goal is to promote the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation fuel options that offer equivalent levels of safety and compare favorably on cost with petroleum-based jet fuel, while also offering environmental improvement and security of energy supply for aviation. He helped to manage the coalition of CAAFI stakeholders and provide leadership and strategic guidance to CAAFI’s State and Regional programs, Federal government interagency initiatives, airport authorities, and international initiatives consistent with CAAFI priorities.

Chris received an appointment as the Biofutures Strategic Advisor to the State of Queensland in 2017. He provides a direct in-market connection between the Queensland Government and key industry stakeholders, both globally and domestically, but particularly within North America with a view to helping cement business relationships and projects for Queensland. The role was created to help identify and target strategic opportunities for North American-based biofutures organizations to establish operations in Queensland.

Additionally, Chris has been an Adjunct Professor on the faculty of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Queensland since 2017. In that role, Professor Tindal assists in exploring research and development opportunities for QUT, as well as investigating potential opportunities to establish commercial scale biorefineries in the State of Queensland.

Chris is also a member of the Board of Directors for Advanced Biofuels USA, a nonprofit educational organization that advocates for the adoption of advanced biofuels as an energy security, military flexibility, economic development, and climate change mitigation/pollution control solution. Advanced Biofuels USA encourages public understanding, acceptance, and use of advanced biofuels by promoting research, development, and improvement of advanced biofuels technologies.

Prior to his role with CAAFI, Chris was the Director for Operational Energy working for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy from 2008-2017. In this position, Chris oversaw the setting of energy policy and direction for the Department of the Navy and promoting adoption of alternative fuels and renewable energy resources. Additionally, he developed intergovernmental, international, and industry relationships throughout the energy field.

Chris was the Navy leader of the pioneering U.S. Department of Agriculture / U.S. Department of Energy / U.S. Navy Alternative Fuels Initiative which developed programs to launch the advanced biofuels industry.

In his role, Chris was the project lead for the Great Green Fleet effort, overseeing the planning, logistics, and implementation of energy conservation measures and the adoption of renewable fuels. Through his strong coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency-Energy, the U.S. Navy acquired and used 77 million gallons of F-76 renewable diesel for their ships in the Great Green Fleet deployment in 2016.

Chris has deep-seated international connections and has engaged with numerous foreign navies to discuss interoperability concerns with alternative fuel use by the U.S. Navy in the future. These engagements included the Royal Australian Navy, the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, and the Navies of Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, Israel, Spain, Chile, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, Mexico, Columbia, Turkey, Denmark, Argentina, Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Brunei.

Chris started his Navy federal civil service career in 1988 at Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Charleston, South Carolina working in Facilities Management, Operations, and Energy Management where he was tasked with implementing facilities energy strategies on Navy and Marine Corps bases in the Southeast U.S. He then became the Energy Operations Director at NAVFAC HQ in 2006 which involved setting and implementing energy policy for all Navy and Marine Corps bases worldwide.

Chris Tindal was a U.S. Navy man for over 40 years. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1980 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and served on Active Duty as a U.S. Navy Officer on two ships in Charleston, South Carolina. He retired as a U.S. Navy Captain in the Navy Reserves in 2010.

He has had the honor to be named in the peer-selected competitions for the “Top 100 People in the Advanced Bioeconomy” Awards from 2013-2017, and the “Top 500 People in the Bioeconomy” Award in 2023 and 2024 by the Biofuels Digest.