MAGNA-POWER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- CEO of Magna - Power
- Magna - Power Electronics As Director of Business Development
Adam Pitel joined Magna-Power Electronics as Director of Business Development in 2008, where he developed the Magna-Power brand through strategic marketing and by establishing a network of over 40 North American representatives, distribution channels in over 50 countries, and Magna-Power sales offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, and China. In the role of Vice President of Operations, Adam established new manufacturing methods to dramatically improve product lead times and scale up operations with the company's growth and new product introductions.
Today, Adam serves as CEO of Magna-Power, driving the company's mission of quality, innovation, and continuous improvement through his oversight across the company's diverse operations.
Adam received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University and the M.Eng degree from Princeton University. He served on the planning committee for the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) for over 10 years, founded the power electronics digital publication EE Power, and in 2021 was named New Jersey 40 Under Forty by NJBIZ.
Job Titles:
- Production Manager: Final Assembly & Testing
Berjot graduated from Sainte Trinité Electrical School of Port au Prince, Haiti in 1987. From 1988 to 2004 he worked as the Vice Principal of Jean Narcisse College in Port au Prince, Haiti. In addition, he developed and supervised the installation of several off-grid power systems for residential homes in Haiti. He moved to the United States in June 2004 and joined Magna-Power Electronics in 2005. Starting as an electromechanical assembler at Magna-Power, he became an expert in Magna-Power's manufacturing processes, critical to the on-going quality improvement. Berjot serves as Production Manager for Final Assembly & Testing, ensuring products are built in accordance with Magna-Power's strict manufacturing quality standards and work instructions and that final validation meet the company's published specifications.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Magna - Power As Director of Engineering
Grant Pitel received the B.S. degree from Cornell University at Ithaca, NY, in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he concentrated on digital signal processing. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a research focus on digital control in power electronics and life-cycle behavior of lithium ion batteries. Before joining Magna-Power Electronics, Grant was a Senior Engineer at PC Krause and Associates and attended a three month internship at Google's Platforms Division in Mountain View, CA.
He was a finalist in the 2002 Cornell Big Red Venture Business Idea Competition, received the IEEE IAS Myron Zucker Student design award in 2003, was a 2004 Energy Star Efficiency Challenge winner, and received the 2005 Grainger Outstanding Power Engineer award. He has written 5 first author publications and actively volunteers for the Industrial Applications Society (IAS) and Power Electronics Society (PELs). He serves on multiple committees and is the past Chairman for the Industrial Power Converter Committee (IPCC).
Grant joined Magna-Power as Director of Engineering and later as Vice President of Engineering where he was instrumental in creating the MagnaLOAD DC electronic load product load line, bringing digital control to Magna-Power, and developing an engineering workflow and review system to scale up the company's engineering team.
Now in the role of CTO, Grant oversees all engineering and software activities at Magna-Power, including new product development and internal company technologies.
Ira J. Pitel received the B.S. degree from Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, the M.S. degree from Bucknell University, and the Ph.D. Degree from Carnegie-Mellon University. From 1973 to 1976, he worked for GTE Sylvania researching high-frequency ballasting techniques for gaseous discharge lighting. He joined Bell Laboratories in 1978 and Exxon Enterprises in 1979. At Exxon, he was involved in high-power converter structures for ac motor drives and controlled lighting. In 1981, he founded Magna-Power Electronics.
Ira holds 28 patents in the field of power electronics and is co-recipient of the 1995 Society Prize Paper Award of the Industry Applications Society. He was honored as the Rutgers Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 2000. He received the 2008 Gerald Kliman Innovator Award. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and has served in many IEEE capacities including Society President of the Industry Applications Society. He is a member of the Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.
, started the company to better leverage his education and skills from prior work. He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers New Brunswick campus in 1972. Afterwards, he worked one year for Lutron Electronics in Coopersburg, PA. At this time, the SCR was well established [1] and companies were actively integrating these devices into appliances such as lighting and ovens. The experience exposed Ira to power electronics and the new world of semiconductor controlled lighting. He continued his work on lighting at his next job, GTE Sylvania in Williamsport, PA. There, he completed his masters degree at Bucknell University in 1975, and met Elva Joy Pitel, who also worked for the company. His next career move was going back to school to improve his professional credentials. Upon acceptance into Carnegie Mellon's Ph.D. program, he hastily got married, packed his bags, and moved to Pittsburg, PA in 1976. Under the guidance of his advisor Sarosh Talukdar and mentor Peter Wood, he graduated in 1978. Shortly after, he landed his dream job at Bell Laboratories in Whippany, NJ, as technical member of staff, and moved back to his home state.
Ira quickly became frustrated with company bureaucracy and explored other opportunities through engineering consulting on the side. Eventually, he left Bell Laboratories to work for Exxon Enterprises in 1979, a division of Exxon Corporation. In parallel with his jobs for large corporations, his private consulting business and reputation were growing. The business was located in the basement of his home at 2 Lohman Road, Morristown NJ, where he exercised the 1,100 ft2 space and a 240 V, 50 A electrical feed to its full capacity. He had started taking on work for custom power supplies for lighting controls, lasers, and designing custom magnetic components. The space was eventually used for low-volume production runs of magnetic components. The family oven was used for baking transformers. Neighborhood tranquility was disrupted by tractor trailers making steel deliveries. For Ira to grow the business and get larger prospective clients to take him seriously, he needed dedicated space. A grant from the recently established Department of Energy (DOE) gave him the impetus to purchase an office building in Whippany.
Job Titles:
- Planning & Materials Manager
Jignesh Patel joined Magna-Power in 2011, initially in production. With strong attention to detail, Jignesh transitioned into inventory management and eventually as production planner, planning both made to order and made to stock assemblies. Now in the role of Planning & Materials Manager, Jignesh oversees made-to-stock and made-to-order work order planning, inventory and logistics.
Prior to Magna-Power, Jignesh worked at 3M and Johnson & Johnson, where he developed expertise in supply chain management in a manufacturing setting.
Larry joined Magna-Power in 2014. Larry oversees Magna-Power's Sheet Metal department, which includes punching, bending, sanding, powder coating, PEM® insertion and robotic heat sink fabrication.
Lori started her career with Magna-Power Electronics in December 2015 as a Purchasing & Planning Coordinator bringing considerable purchasing expertise to Magna-Power. As Purchasing Manager, Lori oversees all purchasing functions to drive quality, value, authenticity and supply continuity with Magna-Power vendors.
Michelle Frost has over 30 years experience at various internal positions in the electronics manufacturing industry. Michelle joined Magna-Power Electronics in 1996; her strong attention to detail has facilitated company growth.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
- Member of the Society for Human Resources Management
Ryan attended Drexel University where he received a B.S. Degree in Human Resources Management and a minor in Psychology. He started his career in a family-owned business where he learned from the "ground up" and successfully became the General Manager, along with obtaining his CDL Class B license.
Over his career, Ryan has held Manager and Director level positions at various high-tech and manufacturing organizations.
At Magna-Power, Ryan is responsible for helping develop the company's talented team, including: employee recruitment, benefits development and administration, employee relations, labor law compliance, and safety along with training and compensation analysis.
Ryan has been a member of the Society for Human Resources Management since 1995.
Shane Yates joined Magna-Power in 2018 as a seasoned CNC Machinist. With his 14 years of experience in manufacturing and a strong background in CNC machining, programming, fixturing and tooling, Shane quickly made an impact within the department. His overall knowledge in machining and metal fabrication has allowed Magna-Power to increase efficiency and quality production of our machined parts, as well as our welding process. He is also well versed in MIG, TIG and Stick welding.
Today, Shane oversees Machining and Magnetics departments, which includes various CNC and EDM equipment, welding, specialty packaging fabrication, winding, brazing, and core fabrication.
Job Titles:
- Facilities Manager & Engineering Support
Stephen joined Magna-Power in 2010. Since starting at Magna-Power, Stephen has held a variety of roles in magnetics, up to Production Manager, and most recently as Facilities Manager & Engineering Support. Steve oversees all aspects of Magna-Power's cutting-edge manufacturing facility in New Jersey, from new equipment selection and integration, to safety, and outside vendor management. In addition, Steve supports the engineering team in a variety of tasks to ensure successful rollout of new products and designs.
Xiaoke Li - Managing Director
Xiaoke Li has over 20 years of experience in the test and measurement industry with industry leaders. He has successfully developed a high performance channel selling system, providing strong organic growth within China. He has strong technical knowledge on DC programmable power supplies, AC sources and electronic loads, with application knowledge within: aerospace, semiconductor, automotive and renewable energy. Xiaoke joined Magna-Power Electronics Co. Ltd in Beijing, China as Managing Director in 2018, to facilitate continued growth for Magna-Power in China.