NAVITAS SYSTEM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Cell Product Development
As Director of Cell Product Development, Chad Allison is responsible for generating and coordinating production cell design and development programs in response to government and commercial business opportunities. In addition, Chad is responsible for directing prototype and pilot scale manufacturing of the production cells within Navitas Systems and at our partner sites.
Chad brings 12 years of battery design, development and manufacturing experience to the Navitas team. Chad started out his career working at Ford Motor Company Research, developing Fuel Cell systems. In 2008 he left Ford and made the transition to Lithium Ion batteries at A123Systems. During his tenure at A123systems he worked in many areas including, module and pack design, cell and module abuse testing, cell design, cell production, and advanced manufacturing. Through all these responsibilities, Chad gained an understanding of the trade-offs between cell, module, and pack for use in the end application, which he applies to his current position in the design and testing of cells at Navitas Systems.
Chad received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
Chris Silkowski manages the Development arm of the Navitas Systems Government & Defense group, and leads conceptualization, design, analysis, development, validation testing, production and delivery of Navitas' custom lithium-ion cell products. The Development Group owns Navitas cell engineering, product development, cell assembly shop, formation, cell electrical testing, and abuse testing functions. Chris has more than 15 years' experience in the lithium-ion battery field. Prior to Navitas, he was a Scientist at T/J Technologies and Senior Development Scientist in A123 Systems' Advanced Research and Government Solutions Group (ARGS) and worked on a variety of projects ranging from commercial (Formula 1 racing ERS cell) to military applications (advanced hybrid BB2590 battery, generation 2 lithium-ion 6T vehicle starter battery). Chris holds two degrees in chemistry, a B.S. from Alma College and M.S. from Bowling Green State University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Engineering, C & I / G & D
Craig Allman leads all engineering for both the Government & Defense as well as Commercial & Industrial divisions of Navitas Systems. Craig brings over 25 years of engineering leadership experience to Navitas from his prior work at Eaton Corporation in automotive R&D, product engineering, program management, and aerospace engineering management. Prior to joining Navitas, he gained experience in the alternative energy industry by serving as program manager for a solid oxide fuel cell business within Ultra Electronics, formerly known as Adaptive Materials Incorporated, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Craig has a B.S. in Physics from Roberts Wesleyan College, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a M.S. in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan
Job Titles:
- Director for Custom Cell
- Product
As Product Line Director for Custom Cell, David Backus is responsible for product, customer support, manufacturing, and operations in the Custom Cell group. This group focuses on volume production of custom built lithium-ion cells and batteries for Government & Defense applications.
David began working at Navitas as the Program Manager for the 1st Custom Cell production launch, guiding the team and product from development through validation and pilot manufacturing. David brings 8 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, program and product management, and leadership training. David began his career at Bosch in their Junior Manager Program and spent over 2 years working a series of 4 rotations in 4 divisions, including completing a project for $1.5M in scrap reduction. He then joined the Starter Motor division driving new product technology to keep pace with battery evolutions, including launching a new $1M starter testing lab.
David has a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering as well as a B.A. in Mathematics from The Ohio State University.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- VP of Finance
Eric Phillips is responsible for overseeing the company's financial activities and executing the financial strategy. Eric brings over 20 years of financial and leadership experiences to Navitas gained through roles with PwC, The Flint Group, Eberspaecher North America, EnvisionTEC and Extang/Truck Hero.
At Extang/Truck Hero Eric was Plant Controller, responsible for understanding and reporting on the operational performance of the plant. This involved developing a keen understanding on labor, material and other key costs variances, as well as reporting and tracking key operational metrics and developing detailed budgets and forecast.
Previous to this role he spent his career developing a solid foundation of financial reporting. This involved managing the financial controls in order to prepare financial statements; maintaining key relationships with lending institutions, insurance providers, vendors, customers and key stakeholders in the business.
Eric is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- President
As President & COO at Navitas, John Sapp is responsible for overseeing Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Engineering, Marketing, Program Management and Field Service.
In this role John brings 10 years of cell-module-pack engineering / manufacturing / program / project / product management experience in lithium ion batteries as an executive at A123 Systems. During his tenure at A123, he helped developed the automotive division from a 12 person "start-up" into a global $500M operation making tens of millions of battery cells and hundreds of thousands of battery packs in facilities around the world supplying product to virtually all the major automotive OEM's. John's leadership roles include Operations, Engineering, Program Management, Supplier Quality and Business Development along with spending several years in China as the President of the China Division responsible for over 1,000 employees in 1M sq ft of facilities spread across 5 buildings in 2 different cities.
In addition to his A123 experience, John has 20 years of Tier 1 automotive new product development management experience from TRW in vehicle stability control and anti-lock brake systems. At TRW he was part of many industry firsts such as initial launch in the late 1980's of Rear Wheel Anti-Lock brakes on all pickup trucks and SUV's, the initial launch of standard 4WABS on all SUV's, vans and Class 6-7-8 trucks in the 1990's, entire brake systems integration on light duty trucks / SUV's / vans in the late 1990's and finally the introduction of Stability Control Systems on all vehicles in the 2000's.
John has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering as well as a Masters of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Systems Design / Optimization, both from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Job Titles:
- Line Director, Deka Ready Power Operations
Jonathan Weisberg leads the manufacturing and customer support functions for Deka Ready Power Operations in the Commercial and Industrial Division. The group focuses on production and customer support of energy storage systems (ESS) to support the material handling industry, as well as other potential tangential industries. Jonathan has over 30 years' experience in automotive design, manufacturing, business planning, operations, and service. He draws from his experiences at Ford, Visteon, and ESG Automotive. Johanthan has his BSEE from Kettering University and a MSE in manufacturing systems from the University of Michigan.
Kevin Wilson is the Purchasing Manager for Navitas Systems. His responsibilities include overseeing all Purchasing activities in Commercial & Industrial, Government & Defense, and Research & Development. Kevin has over 20 years' experience within different aspects of Supply Chain Management in multiple Industries. He has extensive experience and knowledge in Purchasing, Planning, Operation, Logistics, and Project Management. Kevin draws from his experiences at Boeing, Eaton Aerospace, and API Inmet. Kevin has a Supply Chain Management Degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Project Management from City University.
Job Titles:
- VP Government, Defense & R & D
Les Alexander brings operations, government contracting, and financial and marketing experience to Navitas Systems. Prior to Navitas, he was the General Manager of A123 Systems' Government Solutions Group. He has held Executive positions in Finance and Accounting, Operations and Procurement, with over twenty years of domestic and international business experience and a successful history of process development and management. Les is a retired Commander, and a U.S. Naval Logistics Officer who served in the Persian Gulf War. He has been assigned to lead large projects for multiple naval ships and bases. Les earned a B.A. in Economics (Finance / Management) and M.S. in Management (Government Contracting).
Job Titles:
- Director of Program Management Office
As Director of Program Management Office, Mike Becker is responsible for overseeing all divisional Program Managers in the areas of Commercial & Industrial, Government & Defense, and Research & Development. In addition, Mike is responsible for building tools and processes for the business to drive greater efficiency and ensure rapid scaling. Lastly, Mike is responsible for ensuring Navitas maintains government compliance for government contracts.
Mike brings 20 years of direct leadership experience across multiple industries to Navitas with a focus on Program Management. Mike's leadership journey started in the United States Marine Corps where he served as a fire team leader in a weapons platoon. Mike then moved on to be an Army Infantry Sergeant with two post 9/11 deployments. After Mike's time in service, Mike found a role with Comcast monitoring the delivery of 2.9 million commercials a day across the central division of Comcast. Mike also worked in the PMO office at Comcast, leading a number of high profile and critical projects. During Mike's time at CCI Systems, Mike brought a new vision and rebuilt the Project Management Office, developed a "deals" desk to support faster sales to operations efficiencies, reviewed more than 600 contracts a year, negotiated master service agreements with Tier 1 customers, and led a team of sales engineers to elevate customer satisfaction and reduce sales contract reviews. Mike was able to bring in and leverage new tools and processes by leveraging Google and Smartsheet's natural integration which resulted in a number of efficiencies by bringing finance, sales, operations, and engineering together in a common platform. In all, Mike was able to build four teams, manage a staff of 19, and bring up customer satisfaction from an NPS score of 3 to a consistent 9.5.
Mike received his Master's in Business from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, Ann Arbor. Mike received his undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Flint and has received further training with specialization in Organizational Transformation Change by leveraging strong leadership frameworks and innovative People Change Management systems.
Riya Golhar leads the Human Resources Department at Navitas. She oversees the entire Human Resources functions within Navitas facilities. She has experience in strategic program management, training/employee development, resource and budget forecasting, recruitment, staffing, organizational development, compensation and benefits, and employee relations.
Riya brings more than 5+ years of HR Corporate and Plant experience from the United States and overseas. Riya is currently an active member of SHRM (Society of Human Resources Management) and also a member of GAASHRM (Greater Ann Arbor Society of Human Resources). She holds a BS in Electronics and Telecommunications from an Indian University and is pursuing an MBA at the University of Michigan.