Industrious Ventures has appointed Matt White, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Linde, to the board of directors of Stoke Space, where he will serve as the venture firm’s representative. White succeeds Steve Angel, chairman of Linde and a longtime advisor to Industrious Ventures, who has held the board seat since Industrious led Stoke Space’s Series B round in October 2023.
The firm said White brings more than two decades of leadership experience across global industrial and engineering companies. In his role at Linde, Industrious said he oversees global financial operations and has led large capital programs, complex supply chains, and mission-critical engineering systems, an experience the firm views as aligned with Stoke Space’s effort to achieve full and rapid reusability for orbital launch.
Industrious highlighted White’s academic and professional background, including a B.S. in industrial engineering from Penn State University and an MBA in finance from the University of Delaware. The announcement said he is also a certified public accountant and a CFA charterholder.
The release also emphasized Linde’s longstanding role in supporting the U.S. space industry, citing its history of supplying liquid oxygen for the Apollo program and continuing work with commercial launch providers. Industrious said that in 2025, Linde announced investments in Mims, Florida, and Brownsville, Texas, to expand production of liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for rocket launches and spacecraft manufacturing.
Mason Angel, founding partner at Industrious Ventures, credited Steve Angel with helping guide Stoke from early development toward orbital flight and said White’s appointment builds on that foundation by adding operating and financing experience from a Global 500 industrial company. White said Stoke’s full reusability effort represents a transformative engineering challenge and that he looks forward to supporting the company as it works to build the infrastructure and reliability required for sustained orbital access. Stoke Space co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa said the company is grateful for Steve Angel’s guidance and believes White’s perspective at the intersection of industrial operations and financial strategy will be valuable as it prepares for its first orbital launch and transitions toward operating in both development and production environments.
Industrious Ventures describes itself as an evergreen-capital deep-tech venture firm investing in sectors including aerospace, national security, energy, compute, and manufacturing, partnering with companies from early development through scale-up and production.
KEY QUOTES:
“Steve’s insight and leadership have been instrumental as Stoke progressed from early development to the threshold of orbital flight. Matt’s appointment builds on that foundation, bringing exceptional depth and knowledge from his role as CFO of a Global 500 corporation, overseeing large-scale industrial operations and project financing in support of foundational industries across the globe.”
Mason Angel, Founding Partner, Industrious Ventures
“Stoke’s pursuit of full reusability represents the kind of transformative engineering challenge that defines generational progress. As Linde continues expanding its role in supporting the U.S. space economy, I look forward to supporting Stoke as they build the infrastructure and reliability needed for sustained orbital access.”
Matt White, EVP and CFO, Linde
“We’re deeply grateful for Steve’s guidance and excited to welcome Matt to the board. His perspective at the intersection of industrial operations and financial strategy will be invaluable as we prepare for our first orbital launch and begin operating in both development and production environments.”
Andy Lapsa, Co-Founder and CEO, Stoke Space
