About Us

Mr. William Florman is the President, Co-Founder & Senior Partner of International Industrial Partners. He is an International Business professional with over 30 years of management and ownership experience in mining, metals, technology and real estate in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

William has been an entrepreneur for most of his career. Mr. Florman has managed, owned and sold 5 large mines in the US. He founded his first business while attending college (BS Finance) as co-founder of a trading portal for non-ferrous metals that created a market to facilitate trades between producers and customers with Goldman Sachs providing financing for transactions. Mr. Florman is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Extrakt Process Solutions, Founder of RF Group Companies, Founder of Test Design Implement Solutions, a global lab provider, and Partner, Co-Founder International Industrial Partners limited in Abu Dahbi and Co-founder in NEZ Industrial Partners in KSA.

Calvin W. Schmidt is a globally recognized business leader, investor, and board director with more than 36 years of experience leading and advising multibillion-dollar enterprises across healthcare, consumer goods, energy, and advanced industrial technologies.

Mr. Schmidt’s career spans 15 years in senior leadership roles at Mars, Incorporated, followed by over two decades as a global executive at Johnson & Johnson, where he held multiple C-suite–level and enterprise leadership positions. During his tenure at J&J, he played a central role in shaping corporate strategy, guiding large-scale international operations, and directing public policy and external affairs across highly regulated markets in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Throughout his career, Mr. Schmidt has been known for operating at the intersection of strategy, governance, capital formation, and public-private engagement, with a proven ability to navigate complex regulatory environments, build durable partnerships, and scale businesses globally. He currently serves on corporate boards and advisory committees and is actively involved in developing and investing in next-generation industrial, energy, and technology platforms through International Industrial Partners.

Mr. Dennis Donald is one of the founders of Warrego Energy Limited (a formerly ASX listed E&P company) and, until its sale to Hancock Energy in 2023, its CEO. Dennis took it from a market cap on listing in 2019 of just under $50m to $440m on its sale in 2023 (for cash) to Hancock.

Dennis has a masters degree from Robert Gordon University. He spent 25 years with Shell introducing new technologies into, inter alia, the Brent Field. Thereafter, he was one of the founding partners of Leading Edge Advantage, a specialist independent drilling engineering consultancy which provided advanced drilling engineering capability to oil and gas companies.  It grew into a global brand within 10 years, operating in both hemispheres and employing up to 50 experts. LEA was sold in 2008 to allow Dennis and one of the other partners to acquire and develop the West Erregulla gas field in Western Australia through Warrego Energy Limited. This was listed through an RTO on the ASX in 2019, Dennis being appointed the CEO.

Warrego set many milestones including deepest onshore well drilled in Australia, largest percentage increase in value on takeover (takeover premium % uplift) achieved on the ASX for over 20 years, and the most convoluted takeover battle in 2023.

Dennis is a serial entrepreneur and business founder, having founded, developed and in many cases sold several energy related businesses, from E&P exploration through oil field polymer products to natural hydrogen (Earth Source Hydrogen Limited, a work in progress.)

Mr. Peter Smith is an accomplished leader in the Energy Services sector, bringing extensive global experience in various leadership roles. With a solid foundation in managing service delivery within budget constraints, Peter has a proven track record of aligning operations with client expectations and achieving optimal resource management compliant with health, safety, and quality standards.

Peter has expertly managed one of the largest Production Enhancement business segments outside the USA in North Africa, overseeing all Production Enhancement Product Service Lines and ensuring adherence to company KPIs and site targets. His expertise includes strategic oversight of operational requirements and driving profitability through effective P&L management.

Known for maintaining robust customer and client relationships, Peter excels in fostering teamwork and self-management among staff, ensuring operational excellence and compliance with safety regulations. His skills encompass business and contract management, safety and compliance oversight, technical engineering knowledge, and strong communication abilities.

A motivated and results-driven professional, Peter is dedicated to enhancing customer satisfaction and identifying growth opportunities within the energy services landscape. With extensive experience working with both national and multinational energy companies, he continues to make significant contributions to the industry.

Mr. Richard Knott is a Partner and the Chief Operating Officer of International Industrial Partners.

With a background in law, both as a partner in private practice with a leading global US law firm and in-house with a leading sovereign wealth fund with responsibility for multi-billion dollar cross-border projects and assets, Richard has two decades of legal experience spanning capital markets, governance, capital formation and transactional deployment.  

Prior to law, Richard worked as a financial analyst in the Group Treasury of Australia’s largest bank for a number of years.  He is a co-founder of Aflaj Nursery Holdings Limited and active in the angel investing community in Abu Dhabi, where he has lived for more than a decade.