STWA Appoints New CFO Gregg Bigger as Company Enters Commercialization Phase

Download PDF

SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwire -02/09/12)- STWA, Inc. (OTC.BB: ZERO.OB - News) ("STWA" or the "Company"), a developer of energy efficiency technologies in the multi-billion dollar oil pipeline and diesel engine markets, today announced the appointment of Mr. Gregg Bigger as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Bigger is a seasoned finance executive with extensive experience in the banking sector as well as strategic consulting for operating technology companies.

"We've asked Gregg to join us at a pivotal time. While we pursue ongoing product enhancement, development and testing for our AOT™ oil pipeline technology, we have reached another milestone as evidenced by the Letter of Intent we've signed in China and the growing interest AOT™ is receiving from around the world," stated STWA Chairman and CEO Mr. Cecil Bond Kyte. "As commercialization revenues become more identifiable, our strategic financing, budgeting, accounting, and reporting needs have changed. Gregg brings to STWA the kind of expertise we want and value. We welcome him to the team."

Gregg Bigger was most recently Founding Partner of Rocfin Advisors, a Strategic Management Consulting Company providing advice and direction to a variety of clients including companies in the energy, clean tech, and emerging technology markets in critical areas such as business and strategic plan development, operational efficiency design and management support, financial modeling and analysis. Prior, Mr. Bigger was Founder and Board Member of The Bank of Santa Barbara, where he orchestrated the launch of the bank, raised the necessary capital, recruited and organized the Board of Directors, executive team and staff, assisted in developing the bank's credit policies, and was responsible for execution of the bank's business strategy, growth and success in the region. The bank was sold to a private investment group in 2009.

Earlier in his career Mr. Bigger held a variety of key management and leadership positions including U.S. Trust as a Vice-President in the Private Client Group, and First Republic Bank as a Vice President and Manager in the Private Banking Group. He was instrumental in the bank's successful launch to commercial operations and its overall success in Santa Barbara. Mr. Bigger also served in the United States Marine Corps' Special Operations in Amphibious Warfare and Cliff Assault.

Gregg Bigger, STWA's CFO, commented, "STWA has current commercialization opportunities with AOT™, as well as mid-term potential for multiple revenue streams through ELEKTRA™. This is a compelling opportunity for me to help shape the monetization and pricing model for AOT™ which has enormous impacts in the multi-billion dollar global oil pipeline market. Moreover, the implementation of AOT™ benefits and aligns with America's national security policies. I'm pleased to play a part in making it available in the United States and approved countries abroad."

Mr. Bigger replaces Gene Eichler, who has served as Interim CFO of STWA.

About AOT™
STWA's Applied Oil Technology™ (AOT™) allows pipeline operators to temporarily reduce the viscosity of the crude oil within their pipeline(s) to reduce the fluid-drag (also known as friction-loss) between the fluid and the pipeline. By reducing the friction loss, pipeline operators' pump systems require less energy to maintain a constant flow rate, thereby directly reducing daily operation costs.

About ELEKTRA™
ELEKTRA™ improves diesel engine efficiencies, and is designed for application in major industrial and manufacturing settings such as diesel-powered electricity generation and marine cargo transport.

About STWA, Inc.
STWA, Inc. (OTC.BB: ZERO.OB - News) develops and commercializes energy efficiency technologies that assist in meeting increasing global energy demands, improving the economics of oil extraction and transport, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Company's intellectual property portfolio includes 24 domestic and international patents and patents pending, which have been developed in conjunction with and exclusively licensed from Temple University. STWA's technologies include Applied Oil Technology (AOT™) which improves oil flow through pipelines. AOT™ has been proven in U.S. Department of Energy tests to increase the energy efficiency of oil pipeline pump stations by over 13%. ELEKTRA™ improves diesel engine efficiency for industrial diesel engines, as well as diesel-powered trucks, trains, marine vessels, military fleets and jet turbines. More information including a company Fact Sheet, logos and media articles are available at: http://www.stwa.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results described within the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could contribute to such differences include those matters more fully disclosed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking information provided herein represents the Company's estimates as of the date of the press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's estimates to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking information in the future. Therefore, this forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates of its future financial performance as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.