Boardroom Media (COO News)
At COO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top California based COO’ operating in the Manufacturing space. If you think a COO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Kelly Huang
Chief Operating Officer of Cardea Bio
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About Cardea Bio: Cardea is developing a new generation of (bio)technology infrastructure based on proprietary biology-gated transistors.
Ratson Morad
COO of DigiLens
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About DigiLens: DigiLens is an innovator in holographic waveguide display technology for extended reality (XR).
Tom Muniz
COO of Archer Aviation
Tom Muniz is the Chief Operating Officer at Archer Aviation.
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About Archer Aviation: Archer Aviation aims to accelerate the benefits of sustainable air mobility.
Ben Conway
COO/Co-Founder of VNTANA
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About VNTANA: Democratizing 3D for the world through the only automated 3D Collaboration Platform.
Suhas Ahuja
Co-Founder, COO of SIERA.AI
Suhas is an experienced entrepreneur with multiple successful exits in the high-tech sector. Suhas leads all of Stocked Robotics’ sales and business development operations globally.
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About SIERA.AI: SIERA.AI is a mobility tech company that helps warehouses and factories increase safety and efficiency of their industrial vehicle fleets.
Kevin Bushby
Chief Operating Officer of Enecsys
Kevin has over 30 years of experience working at both publicly and privately held companies, managing and growing worldwide Field Sales Operations. Kevin and Mike met at Cadence Design Systems (1995-2008) where Kevin spent over 13 years, most recently serving as an Executive Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations with responsibility for over 1,900 people and driving more than US$1.7 billion in bookings. Most recently, he worked at Nangate Inc. as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations which is a privately-held company focussed on providing solutions encompassing IC and products in semiconductor design optimisation. Prior to Nangate, Kevin worked at FastScale Technology as Chief Operating Officer, driving all aspects of Sales, Marketing and Professional Services, and helped to engineer a successful trade sale exit to VMware/EMC. He has worked in many aspects of the computer industry at companies including Convergent Technologies and Hewlett Packard, both in the United States and Europe. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electronics from University of Manchester (UMIST) in the United Kingdom.
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About Enecsys: Enecsys manufactures grid-connected solar micro inverters and monitoring systems that offer a value proposition for solar PV systems.
Kunal Sharma
Chief Operating Officer of NEO Tech
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About NEO Tech: Electronic Manufacturing Services offers contract manufacturing, medical electronic manufacturing, PCB assembly, OEM and manufacturing
Gilbert Passin
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Executive Officer of Wrightspeed
Gilbert Passin is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Wrightspeed.
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About Wrightspeed: Wrightspeed provides electric drivetrains as retrofit kits to the heavy-duty truck market.
Jeffrey Nardoci
Chief Operating Officer of HydraFacial
Jeffrey Nardoci joined HydraFacial as the chief operating officer in April 2017. Prior to joining HydraFacial, Jeff served as Chief Commercial Officer for Syneron-Candela. Jeff brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles in healthcare, medical device and FMG with multinational corporations and industry leaders including Banner Health, Solta Medical, Bausch & Lomb, and Nabisco Brands.
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About HydraFacial, INBRACE: HydraFacial is an FDA registered manufacturer of advanced aesthetic technologies and products.
Mary Z. Luo
COO, Chief Scientist of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals
Mary Z. Luo, Ph.D. has served as Chief Operating Officer for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception in 1996. She has also served as a Chief Scientist since 2005 and Corporate Secretary from 1996 through April 2004. As co-founder of both Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and APCL, Dr. Luo has over 30 years of academic and practical experience in the field of chemistry. She provides scientific leadership through her research and activities in technology transfer, regulatory submission, intellectual property, clinical research, recruitment, and training. Dr. Luo is a professor emeritus of chemistry at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and is named as the inventor on several U.S. and foreign patents. She received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University and was a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the California Institute of Technology.
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About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals specialty pharmaceutical company that is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic.
Andy Atherton
COO of Regher Solar
Andy is currently COO of Regher Solar. Previously Andy held SVP and GM roles at Healthline Media and AppNexus A well-known and respected executive in digital advertising, Andy previously spent four years as COO and Co-Founder of Brand.net, a pioneer in programmatic reserve technology and a leading digital media buying solution for top brands. Prior to Brand.net, he was Vice President of Pricing & Yield Management for Yahoo!, responsible for maximizing monetization of a global portfolio of display inventory worth $2B annually. Before Yahoo!, Andy was President and Co-Founder of Optivo, a venture-backed startup that developed price optimization software for e-commerce retailers. Andy received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from M.I.T.
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About Regher Solar: Regher Solar is developing cutting edge silicon solar panels to power the future space economy.
Bob Trogele
Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President of AMVAC Chemical Corp.
Ulrich (Bob) Trogele joined AMVAC in January 2015 to focus on growing the business across multiple product lines and geographies, achieving greater profitability, and establishing a pipeline of future opportunities through innovation and strategic relationships. As COO, he will oversee sales, marketing, and business development on a global basis. Over the past 28 years, Bob has worked in positions of increasing responsibility within the agribusiness sectors of agrichemicals, biotechnology and plant nutrition, culminating with 10 years at FMC Corporation, where he served most recently as President – Asia Pacific across 20+ countries and, for several years prior, as North American Area Director of its agricultural solutions business. Prior to his business career, Bob was a four-year starter and captain on the Wichita State basketball team, professional basketball player, representing the German national team as a two-time Olympian – in the course of which he attained both an MBA and PhD from the University of Goettingen. He is fluent in both German and French and since 1997 has served as a professor of international business at the Berlin University, Germany, School of Economics and Law, where he teaches Global Business & Management to international MBA students.
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About AMVAC Chemical Corp., Clean Seed Capital: AMVAC Chemical Corp. is a chemical manufacturing company.
Mike Pilkington
COO of Robo 3D
Mike graduated from San Diego State University majoring in public administration amidst his training to become a firefighter. He has a highly-detailed mind and a knack for seamless organization and leadership. In addition to running all operations tasks for ROBO 3D, Mike is first-class outdoorsman, firefighter, and power tool pro. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty while always looking for the next clear path to innovate and improve the world around him.
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About Robo 3D: Robo 3D manufactures and markets 3D printers for retail.
Dawn Willoughby
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of The Clorox Company
Dawn Willoughby was named executive vice president and chief operating officer – Cleaning and International, effective September 2014. In November 2014, Willoughby also assumed responsibility for the company’s Professional Products Division. Before assuming her current position, Willoughby held numerous senior management roles with the company. She was senior vice president – general manager, Cleaning Division, with responsibility for the Laundry and Home Care business operating units; vice president – general manager, Home Care, with responsibility for eight core brands, including Clorox® disinfecting wipes, Pine-Sol® cleaners, Formula 409® and Tilex® cleaners and other home care products; and vice president – general manager, Glad Products. In that role, she helped lead the business unit’s focus on sustainable waste management, including breakthrough innovation around stronger trash bags that use significantly less plastic. She also served as vice president – Sales Planning with responsibility for the company’s Litter, Food, Charcoal, Auto and Brita® businesses. She joined Clorox in 2001 as a planning manager on a cross-functional team that drove process improvement across the company. Prior to joining Clorox, Willoughby spent nine years with Procter & Gamble, where she held several positions in sales management in the Minneapolis, Denver and Los Angeles markets. In her last assignment with P&G, she worked on the Global Business Unit for the Food & Beverage business. In May 2013, Willoughby was named one of the most influential women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. Willoughby is on the board of directors of the American Cleaning Institute and the Alameda County Community Food Bank. She served on the board of directors for the East Bay SPCA for six years, with two years as the chair of the board. A native of Michigan, Willoughby holds a bachelor’s degree in sports management from University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in business administration from University of California – Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.
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About The Clorox Company: The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) is a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products.
James S. Marcelli
President & COO & Director of Lightwave Logic
Mr. Marcelli has served as President, CEO and director of Lightwave Logic since August 2008. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and its progress toward a fully functioning commercial enterprise. Over the last twenty years, Mr. Marcelli has served as the president and chief executive officer of multiple start-up and growth companies in high tech manufacturing and business services, including two companies that were founded by him. In addition, he has held senior management positions with several companies including Teradyne Corporation and Sanmina Corporation. Throughout his career, he has held positions in Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Operations and Finance. Mr. Marcelli has served on the boards of several non-profit corporations and also served on the Advisory Board of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Engineering School.
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About Lightwave Logic: Lightwave Logic is a research and development company focused on developing application-specific electro-optic polymers.
Theodore Goldin
COO of Hint
San Francisco-based Hint produces all natural essence waters, with no sweeteners and nothing artificial. As COO, Theo Goldin brings operational and legal expertise to the day-to-day business management of Hint, which he runs with his wife, Kara Goldin, founder and CEO. Theo Goldin started his career in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a technical consultant. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Goldin has worked with both startups and established technology leaders as a business and technology attorney. He eventually redirected his energies to entrepreneurial opportunities, consulting for a number of privately-owned businesses.
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About Hint: Hint is a beverage startup that produces natural flavored unsweetened essence water.
Giordano Sordoni
COO and Co-Founder of Xos Trucks
Giordano Sordoni is a co-founder and COO at Xos Trucks.
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About Xos Trucks: Xos Trucks specializes in the field of manufacturing fully electric commercial vehicles.
Garrett Beck
Co-Founder & COO of Asseta
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About Asseta: Asseta is an online marketplace for used capital equipment and parts.
Geoff Samuels
Founder, CEO & COO of Maxim Athletic
Mr. Samuels is the founder, CEO and CFO of Maxim Athletic and its subsidiaries. Mr. Samuels has 20 years experience in the sporting goods industry. An ex-collegiate and Minor League player, Mr. Samuels became an envoy coach for Major League Baseball and spent 8 years in Brno, Czech Republic as a player manager. In 1994 he founded World Sports International, a catalog company selling baseball and softball products to teams in Europe. Mr. Samuels founded Uniforms Express in 1996 and began manufacturing uniforms in the Czech Republic. In 2001 he built www.uesports.com and achieved a #1 ranking on Google. He moved the business to the U.S. in 2003 and moved manufacturing to Mexico In 2005. Mr. Samuels formed GOT Manufacturing in 2011, a licensee of Reebok. In 2013, he ended the Rebok relationship to form Maxim Athletic. From his apartment in the Czech Republic, Mr. Samuels used a couple credit cards to grow an organization from zero to $10,000,000.
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About Maxim Athletic: Maxim Athletic, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets and sells athletic uniforms and apparel.
Amit Nagra
COO of Rockley Photonics
Amit Nagra is the chief operating officer for Rockley Photonics. He is responsible for leading core IP, device and chip design, and process development in the areas of silicon photonics and analog and mixed-signal electronics. He is responsible for establishing and managing the internal operations, as well as the external value chain, to bring leading-edge solutions to market. Amit also leads the human resources, facilities and administration teams.
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About Rockley Photonics: Rockley Photonics manufactures photonics chips and custom integrated packaged products.
Thomas Kramer
Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder of Cruzar Medsystems
Thomas Kramer has over 25 years of experience in medical device development. He owns and operates a medical device manufacturing center that specializes in new design and development. He has over 20 issued patents in medical devices encompassing multiple disease states. As Founder of Sirius Engineering LLC, Tom has lead multiple teams from concept to commercialization. Some of these successes include: Cruzar’s Houdini Catheter System, Vortex Medical’s AngioVac (acquired by Angio Dynamics), and Kaleidoscope Medical’s IVC filter/delivery system. Tom is a Co-founder of Cruzar MedSystems and InnoVein, Inc. serving as its Chief Operations Officer. Prior to his dedicated role in building medical device companies, Tom served as the VP of Clinical Affairs for Hansen Medical, Director of R&D and Clinical for Broncus Technologies, and Director of R&D and QA for Guidant Corporation. He holds a BSME from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a MSME from San Diego State University.
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About Cruzar Medsystems, Sirius Engineering, TAS Medical: Cruzar Medsystems operates in the healthcare industry manufacturing medical device designed to access peripheral vasculature.
Jeff Stump
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Trend Technologies
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About Trend Technologies: Trend Technologies is an engineering company that offers metal stamping, metal fabrication, and injection molding.
Kellan O’Connor
Co-founder, COO of Duro
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About Duro: Duro provides cloud-based SaaS software to help hardware companies manage the design and manufacturing of their custom hardware products.
Aldo Pichelli
Chief Operating Officer of Teledyne Technologies
Al Pichelli was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated. Previously, he led the $1.7B Instrumentation and Aerospace and Defense Electronics Segments, a role he maintained under various titles since 2003. Those Segments consisted of monitoring and control instruments as well as test and measurement equipment for marine, environmental, oil and gas, industrial and other applications. Also included are sophisticated electronic components, subsystems and instruments for defense, satellite, aviation and communications markets. In his previous role, Pichelli was Vice President and General Manager of Teledyne Instruments (2001 to 2003). During this period Teledyne Technologies initiated a strategy to enhance organic growth with complementary acquisitions and this small group of businesses became the origins of the Instrumentation Segment which now represents nearly half of Teledyne Technologies’ revenues. Since joining Teledyne in 1980, Pichelli held General Management positions at Teledyne Analytical Instruments (1999 to 2001) and Teledyne Hastings Instruments (1996 to 1999). Previously at Teledyne Laars, he was Senior Vice President (1991 to 1996), Vice President of Manufacturing (1989 to 1991) and Vice President of Finance and Controller (1980 to 1989). Prior to joining Teledyne, he worked in business investigations, insolvency practice, auditing and accounting at Coopers and Lybrand. Pichelli holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University in Canada and has participated in Executive Programs at Stanford University and the University of Virginia.
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About Teledyne Technologies: Teledyne Technologies provides electronic components, instruments, and communications products in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada.
Joshua Hitt
COO and Co-Founder of UCAP Power
Joshua Hitt currently works as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at UCAP Power.
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About UCAP Power: UCAP Power develops ultracapacitor technology and adaptable products for a range of power storage solutions.
Berkeley Johnson
COO/CFO of Invenios
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About Invenios: Invenios designs, develops, and manufactures microfluidics, MEMS, and 3D microstructures.
Ingrid Leon
Chief Operating Officer of BatchMaster India
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About BatchMaster India: BatchMaster Software is one of the market leaders in offering enterprise software solutions for the process manufacturing industries.
Joe Finegold
COO & VP Manufacturing of Seek Thermal
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About Seek Thermal: Seek Thermal engineers, designs, manufactures, and markets thermal imaging products and sensors.
Annie Rogaski
Chief Operating Officer of Avegant
Building on a 20 year litigation and intellectual property practice, Annie joined the Avegant team as its General Counsel and first lawyer to support the growth of the Avegant Video Headset. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara and McGeorge School of Law, Annie has co-founded a non-profit organization and a law firm. She was also awarded Top 50 Women Leaders in Technology Law and 2015 Woman of Influence by San Jose Business Journal. Passionate about litigation and IP, Annie runs a podcast focused on law, life and women outside of the office.
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About Avegant: Avegant specialize in developing display technology to enable previously impossible augmented reality experiences.
Dylan Kelly
Chief Operating Officer of pSemi
Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Wireless Solutions Business Unit at Peregrine Semiconductor.
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About pSemi: A Murata company driving semiconductor integration
Dylan Kelly
Chief Operating Officer of pSemi
Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Wireless Solutions Business Unit at Peregrine Semiconductor.
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About pSemi: A Murata company driving semiconductor integration
Albert Golukhov
COO/Founder of Happy Retailer
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About Happy Retailer: Happy Retail, an Ultimate Selling Machine which helps manufacturers and distributors worldwide sell on US and Canada market
Sam Maheshwari
CFO and COO of Veeco Instruments
Shubham “Sam” Maheshwari has extensive experience in financial management, and has a proven track record of building high performance teams and achieving financial results. Prior to SiFive, Sam held senior-level finance positions at Veeco, OnCore Manufacturing Services, Spansion/Cypress Semiconductor, KLA-Tencor and American Airlines. Sam earned an MBA at The Wharton School, and received a B.Tech. degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
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About SiFive, Varex Imaging, Veeco Instruments: Veeco provides process equipment solutions that enable the manufacture of LEDs, power electronics, hard drives, MEMS and wireless chips.
Sam Bergh
COO of Halio
Dr. Sam Bergh is also a co-founder and has over 12 years of experience in process development and systems design. Dr. Bergh was formerly VP of Engineering at Symyx and received his PhD from University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of over 25 issued patents.
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About Halio: Halio is developing adaptive, dynamic glass for the commercial, residential, and automotive markets.
John Mahlmeister
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Easy Ice
John Mahlmeister is currently Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Easy Ice.
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About Easy Ice: Easy Ice is the smartest way to get a commercial ice machine. We are the only national company that 100% guarantees you will never run out
Gregory Ayres
Chief Operating Officer of Aurora Solar Technologies
Greg Ayres is Aurora’s Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Aurora, Mr. Ayres held leadership positions at a number of high-technology organizations in industrial automation, cloud services and SaaS. In addition, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors for Pavilion Technologies Inc., a real time performance management, advanced process control and environmental compliance software solutions provider for process manufacturers (Austin, TX) and for YesVideo Inc., a cloud-based digital imaging company that provides systems, software, and online tools to index, organize, archive and share media content in real time (Santa Clara, CA). Greg served 4 years as an executive at Honeywell Industrial Automation (NYSE: HON), serving as VP and GM of the Honeywell Industrial Pulp and Paper Automation Group and VP and GM of the Honeywell Industrial Metals Industry Group. He also served 12 years as an executive of Measurex Systems Inc., a company providing industrial measurement, automation, and information management systems to process industries, where he was responsible for the sales, software integration, and services associated with process control and information systems. Following Honeywell, Greg was instrumental in the creation of YesVideo, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and built world-class, highly automated production and cloud hosting systems in the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Australia, and India. At YesVideo, he developed efficient channels to consumers through partnerships with Costco, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Sony, JVC, Kodak, and FujiFilm. Prior to YesVideo,In his early career, Greg served as an engineer at Procter and Gamble (NYSE: PG) where he implemented capital improvement projects in P&G manufacturing plants. Greg holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and successfully completed the Program for Management Development (PMD) at Harvard Business School.
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About Aurora Solar Technologies: Aurora Solar Technologies develops and markets Production Measurement and Control systems.
Dan Kinzer
Co-Founder, COO, CTO & Director of Navitas Semiconductor
For 25 years Dan has led R&D at semiconductor and power electronics companies at the VP level or higher. His experience includes developing advanced power device and IC platforms, wide bandgap GaN and SiC device design, IC and power device fabrication processes, advanced IC design, semiconductor package development and assembly processes, and design of electronic systems. Before Co-founding Navitas, Dan served as VP R&D, VP Advanced Product Development, and Chief Technologist at International Rectifier, and SVP Product & Technology Development & CTO at Fairchild Semiconductor. Dan holds about 100 US patents, and a BSE degree in Engineering Physics from Princeton University.
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About Navitas Semiconductor: Navitas Semiconductor develops a range of GaN power ICs for the power supply markets.
Willem De Goede
COO of B. Braun Medical
Willem De Goede is the Chief Operating Officer at B. Braun Medical
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About B. Braun Medical: B. Braun Medical is a medical device manufacturing company that specializes in infusion therapy and pain management.
Primit Parikh
Co-Founder, President, and COO of Transphorm
Primit co-leads overall strategy at Transphorm. He is also responsible for P&L, customer relationships and products, engineering and manufacturing. Primit has over 10 years experience in business area leadership and over 15 years in GaN / semiconductor development, technical marketing and intellectual property. Prior to Transphorm, Primit led GaN electronics at Nitres Inc. through its acquisition by Cree, where he served as head of Advanced Technology at Cree SBTC in charge of GaN development and government business. Primit received his B.Tech. in EE from IIT, Mumbai and his Ph.D. in ECE from UCSB. He has more than 30 patents awarded/pending in the area of GaN materials, devices and circuits, and has co-authored more than 70 publications and presentations.
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About Transphorm: Transphorm is a producer of gallium nitride-based solutions for high-voltage power conversion applications.
Jeanny Yao
Co-founder & COO of Novoloop
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About Novoloop: Advanced upcycling company creating quality chemicals and materials made from plastic waste
Jatan Shah
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of QSC
In May of 2010, Jatan Shah joined QSC with over a decade of experience in strategic operations, finance and strategy. Jatan has served as QSC Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer, leading the Finance, R&D, Legal, and IT departments. Prior to QSC, Jatan worked at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he was Senior Engagement Manager, and United Technologies Corporation, a provider of high-technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries. In 2011 he received the Orange County Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Award, and in 2012 was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with additional responsibilities of Manufacturing and Supply chain operations. Jatan holds multiple graduate degrees in Finance and Industrial and Operations Engineering, and a BE in Mechanical Engineering.
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About QSC: QSC Audio is a designer and manufacturer of professional audio/video system solutions.
Josh Ensign
Chief Operating Officer of Proterra
Josh Ensign serves as chief operating officer for Proterra. In his role, he leads all of Proterra’s manufacturing operations in Silicon Valley, Southern California and South Carolina, as well as the Procurement, Facilities, and IT functions. A U.S. Army veteran and former executive of Honeywell International and Tesla Motors, Ensign’s track record includes leading global operations for 42 factories in 15 countries and managing the supporting supply chains. As vice president of manufacturing at Tesla Motors, Ensign was responsible for all manufacturing activities at the Fremont, California production site. This included the installation of the current Model S high volume production line, the launch of both the dual-motor platform and the Model X, and the establishment of Tesla’s new seat manufacturing facility. Before Tesla, Ensign led global operations in Honeywell International’s automotive and aerospace businesses. Ensign has extensive functional experience in supply chain, logistics, purchasing, and manufacturing and has lived and operated abroad in Germany, Mexico, China and Switzerland. Josh has a bachelor’s in engineering from Gonzaga University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
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About Proterra: Proterra develops battery-electric buses that help eliminate fossil fuel dependency and reduce costs.
Jason Pang
COO of WHIFF Inc.
Jason Pang is the Chief Operating Officer at Occuspace.
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About Founder Institute, Occuspace, PRIMA Cinema, SparkFin, WHIFF Inc.: Modern way to discover, sell, and manufacture fragrances
Tim Lester
COO and CFO of BridgeLux
Tim Lester is the chief financial officer of [Bridgelux](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bridgelux#/entity), a developer of eco-friendly light emitting diodes that reduce energy consumption. Previously, he was the vice president for finance at [eSilicon](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/esilicon#/entity). He has also served as a controller at Lumileds Lighting. Lester holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from [Marquette University](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/marquette-university#/entity) and master’s degree in finance and strategy from [Northwestern University](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/northwestern-university#/entity). Lester lives in San Francisco, California, United States.
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About BridgeLux: Bridgelux develops eco-friendly light emitting diodes that reduce energy consumption.
Mark Holmes
COO of Cozzia USA
Mark Holmes has been serving as COO at Cozzia USA since 2008.
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About Cozzia USA: Cozzia USA designs and manufactures massage chairs, lift chairs, zero gravity chairs, and foot and calf massagers.
Richard Walkup
President and COO of Piranha
Richard Walkup founded Piranha in January of 2013 and has held central roles in shaping the company. As President and COO at Piranha, Richard is responsible for the company’s business operations, which include manufacturing operations, quality, customer and partner excellence, and business transformation functions. Mr. Walkup embarked on his career with ATI followed by SMTC, ISIS and Pemstar (now Benchmark) serving a variety of roles including executive management, operations and business development capacities and being instrumental in launching communications, medical and defense projects in multiple manufacturing regions around the world. He has progressed through both private and public company settings and has a developed a rich track record in performance turn-arounds and growth strategies. Mr. Walkup serves on Piranhas Board of Directors, holds a BS in Business Administration at Cal Poly and earned certifications in AQS 6S BB, JSTD, IPC, AIS, Space Flight and CMMI L4. Richard is also a Board member at O&W and a member of the Silicon Valley Manufactures Round Table.
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About Piranha, Piranha: Piranha develops and manufactures electronic assemblies.
Seth Page
COO | Board of Directors of ThroughPut.ai
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About ThroughPut.ai: Grow your bottom line with supply chain data orchestration
Michiel Ligthart
President & COO of Verific Design Automation
Michiel Ligthart has extensive background in engineering, product marketing, and general management. Prior to joining Verific, Ligthart was VP and GM of west-coast operations for Theseus Logic, a startup in asynchronous logic. Before that, he spent 8 years with Exemplar Logic in engineering and marketing roles. Ligthart started his career with Philips Research Labs in California, and was a visiting scholar at the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University. He has an MSEE degree from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
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About Verific Design Automation: Verific Design Automation provides (System)Verilog, VHDL, and UPF front-ends to leading EDA, FPGA, and semiconductor companies.
Michiel Ligthart
President & COO of Verific Design Automation
Michiel Ligthart has extensive background in engineering, product marketing, and general management. Prior to joining Verific, Ligthart was VP and GM of west-coast operations for Theseus Logic, a startup in asynchronous logic. Before that, he spent 8 years with Exemplar Logic in engineering and marketing roles. Ligthart started his career with Philips Research Labs in California, and was a visiting scholar at the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University. He has an MSEE degree from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
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About Verific Design Automation: Verific Design Automation provides (System)Verilog, VHDL, and UPF front-ends to leading EDA, FPGA, and semiconductor companies.
Rakesh Jain
Chief Operating Officer of polySpectra
Rakesh Jain is Chief Business Development Officer at JUST, Inc., responsible for planning and executing the company’s global strategy for technology licensing and R&D collaborations. Currently, the focus is on plant-based proteins as well as cellular agriculture for the production of Clean Meat. Before this, Rakesh was Vice President, Consumer Care at Amyris, Inc. working on the cosmetic and fragrance product partnerships, including business-to-business sales of sustainably produced ingredients. Rakesh has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA and extensive experience working in industrial research laboratories – Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY optimizing the light stability of color forming layers in photographic display materials, and then Symyx Technologies, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA developing high throughput research methodology for material science. Rakesh has built and managed large partnerships focusing on research collaboration, intellectual property licensing, product and equipment sales, and software licensing. Rakesh also co-founded Freeslate, Inc. a leading provider of high throughput research tools to the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and energy industries that was sold to Unchained Labs in 2016.
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About polySpectra: PolySpectra is an advanced materials company that transforms 3D printing from a prototyping aid into a production manufacturing tool.
Sanjay Rao
Co-Founder and COO of DeepRed Technologies
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About DeepRed Technologies: DeepRed Technologies develops applications in healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.
Michele Nesbit
Co-Founder and COO of BoxPower
Michele Nesbit is a co-founder and VP of engineering at BoxPower, a company that designs and manufactures solar energy systems in a 20-foot shipping container.
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About BoxPower: BoxPower, designs and manufactures solar energy systems in a 20-foot shipping container.
Donna Gindy
Chief Operating Officer of REM Eyewear
Chief Operating Officer Industry experience since 1973 I have supervised and assisted with the strategic growth and development of REM over the past 30 years. I oversee the operations of REM’s customer service, shipping and receiving, inventory, accounting, and information services departments. Guiding the inventory control/management workflow, my team and I have created one of the most efficient systems in the industry, offering a daily fill rate in excess of 98%, and an enviable inventory turn rate. This high standard has allowed REM to achieve a superior level of service and reliability.
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About REM Eyewear: REM Eyewear is a manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art eyewear.
Alicia Bosch Canals
Cofounder & COO of COREx Solution
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About COREx Solution: COREx, creating valuable products from waste CO2 for farmers and chemical companies.
Jerome Paye
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Achates Power
Jerome Paye joined Achates Power in 2010. As the vice president of programs and operations, he is responsible for managing the company’s engine development programs with leading global OEMs. He also created and implemented the current product development system at Achates Power. Previously, Paye worked for Renault SAS as the pre-program engineering deputy director for electric vehicles. In this role, he led early product development and managed collaboration with Nissan and other global partners. Paye was also Renault’s vehicle engineering deputy director for mid-size current models, overseeing worldwide value engineering and product upgrades for the company’s largest and most profitable vehicle line — which was produced in seven facilities and was distributed in 140 countries. Paye’s more than 14 years of automotive industry experience also includes positions at Ford Motor Company. While there, he was program management leader for the Mustang and launch leader for the 2005 Mustang convertible. In addition, he worked as a production superintendent, plant vehicle team engineer and design and release engineer for North American Car product development. Paye received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, a Master of Science degree in solid-state physics and a doctorate in physics from the École Polytechnique in France. He also completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a joint manufacturing and business master’s degree from the University of Michigan.
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About Achates Power: Achates Power specializes in the fields of combustion engine development, clean diesel, and 2-stroke oil control management.
Chad P. Randall
COO of IPS Group, Inc.
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About IPS Group, Inc.: IPS Group globally delivers smart parking city tech within an Internet of Things framework.
Jian Wang
Founder and COO of Furcifer Inc.
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About Furcifer Inc.: Developer of next-generation electrochromic films with a broad range of applications that include architecture, automotive and display.
David Kurzman
COO of Newpath Energy Capital
David H. Kurzman is COO. Previously, David was a Portfolio Manager at the Leuthold Group focusing on the firm’s two CleanTech strategies: the Leuthold Global Clean Technology Fund and the Leuthold CleanTech Opportunity Portfolio. Prior to joining the Leuthold team, David was Managing Partner of Kurzman CleanTech Research, a private research and consulting firm, and managed a pool of private capital for high-net worth investors. David has held a number of research positions in Clean Technology areas including Senior Vice President of the Clean Technology Research Group for Panel Intelligence, LLC, and sell-side analyst for both Needham & Co. and H.C. Wainwright & Co. David was also an Analyst at Value Line Inc. and the Weitz Funds, an Omaha-based mutual fund company. David has been an invited speaker to investment audiences regarding Clean Technology topics and investment strategies, including the Silicon Valley Financial Planners Association (“FPA”), the Orlando FPA, and various university endowments. His work has been recognized by leading news channels, including CNBC, PBS’ Wall Street Week, Bloomberg News, Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s Financial Weekly, Morningstar and others. David was named “Best On The Street” by The Wall Street Journal in 2003 for the area of Electronic Components & Equipment, was rated as a Zack’s All-Star Analyst in 2001 and 2002. David has a B.A. from Grinnell College, and he completed additional classes in accounting at Drake University.
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About Newpath Energy Capital: A specialty finance company providing capital solutions to end users and manufacturers of energy related equipment.
Dana Jiron
COO/CFO & Founder of Inland Empire Components
I am a principle and the Marketing & Business Development Manager at Inland Empire Components, Inc.(IECSolutions) and Independent Marketing Partner for Today’s Growth Consultants (TGC) and Incomestore.com. IECSolutions.com. provides buyers and engineers at OEMs and Contract Manufacturers with diminishing supply support for obsolete and hard-to-find electronic components as well as purchasing support. I have worked in every department and area at IEC with my focus on Business Development at Inland Empire Components, Inc. since 1989, a company my partner and I started from scratch with our own capital. Over the last 25 years at IEC, I’ve set up systems with my partner for marketing, sales, purchasing, human resources, inventory, finance, quality and customer service.
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About Incomestore, Inland Empire Components, Today’s Growth: Founded in 1989, Inland Empire Components, Inc. has grown from a two-person operation in a small, 250-sf office.
Bruce Capagli
COO of Precision Disposable Products
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About Precision Disposable Products: PDP or Precision Disposable Products offers high quality, cost efficient, medical products.
Rob Dyer
COO of Capcom
An EXECUTIVE – LEVEL PROFESSIONAL with significant contributions to the growth of the interactive entertainment / video gaming industry, Rob Dyer successes are centered on planning / guiding businesses throughout numerous lifecycles: Venture Financing Product Development Sales / Marketing M&A Business Integration Change Management Brings Products to Market via Traditional & Online Retail Channels M&A ACTIVITY – Negotiated the sale of Crystal Dynamics to Eidos for $50M. Planned / oversaw the $100M sale / merger of Crave Entertainment by Handleman. ZYNGA – Developed a $100M business within 24 months. Introduced a new division centered on building global / domestic 3rd party relationships and struck deals with 30+ developers. SONY – Captained publisher relations / contract negotiation that proved crucial for developing next-generation products. Negotiated a $30M exclusive content distribution alliance between Playstation and EA; $10M deal with Warner Bros. (Batman); $10M with Bioshock (Take Two); $5M with Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft). EIDOS INTERACTIVE – Crafted a brand-focused and lean strategy that transformed $140M loss into $34M profit; expanded sales of Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain and Hitman. DISNEY – Negotiated multi-million dollar distribution partnerships while instituting infrastructure and budgets for new units in Asia Pacific and EMEA regions.
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About Capcom: Capcom is a Japanese manufacturer and distributor of video games and electronic game machines engaged in the digital content business.
Bork Balkan
COO of Bebaas Inc
Bork Balkan is the Chief Operating Officer at Bebaas Inc.
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About Bebaas Inc: Bebaas Inc. is a California corporation founded in June, 2004 and based in Newport Beach, California.
Lori Chen
Co-founder / COO of You3Dit Inc.
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About You3Dit Inc.: A global digital design and manufacturing platform
Bill Torres
Chief Operating Officer of Advanced BioCatalytics
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About Advanced BioCatalytics: Advanced BioCatalytics is a technology and product development that develops industrial biotechnology products.
Ezra Spier
COO & Co-Founder of Daughters of Rosie
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About Daughters of Rosie: Daughters of Rosie delivers diverse entry-level talent to manufacturers.
Robert Frazier
Chief Executive & Chief Operating Officer of Frazier Aviation
Robert Frazier is Board of Trustees at California Science Center.
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About Frazier Aviation: Frazier Aviation, LLC is focused on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction.
Jacqueline Johnson
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Sydnexis
Jacqueline Johnson, Ph.D. is co-founder and chief operating officer of Sydnexis. Her role includes but is not limited to the management of finance, manufacturing, preclinical toxicology studies, analytical chemistry, and quality programs for the Company. Prior to Sydnexis, Johnson was president of development and strategic consulting LLC for 10 years. This firm offered management expertise to biotechnology clients in the areas of regulatory and clinical affairs. In addition, Johnson held interim management roles in biotech start-ups as acting CEO of Trinity Pharmaceutical and acting COO of Revision Therapeutics. Johnson received both a bachelor and a master degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine (Genetics) and as a Damon Runyon Fellow did her Post-doctoral work at The Salk Institute.
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About Sydnexis: Sydnexis is engaged in the development of a proprietary treatment for pediatric progressive myopia.
Ronald L. Suiter
Chief Operating Officer of World Energy
Ron was General Manager for one of Boeing’s major airplane programs in Southern California as an engineering manager and systems designer. Earlier at Douglas Aircraft he was Director managing over 500 engineers involved in all types of airplane system design. Currently, with partner Ventana Systems, Inc., Ron is responsible for program development and project management of strategy and policy analysis projects primarily in transportation, energy, and complex system management. Ron has led the development of Ventana Public Sector projects including for the Federal Aviation Administration and multi-agency Joint Planning and Development Office, the Department of Energy and National Energy Technology Lab, and NASA Headquarters, Johnson Space Center, and Langley Research Center. He is currently assisting clients to help California develop effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions policies. – MBA, University of Southern California; B.S. Electrical Engineering, Lehigh University
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About Ventana Systems, World Energy: World Energy has completed research and pre-prototype development of two monumental achievements in science.
Paul Larson
President, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Daylight Solutions
Paul Larson is a cofounder of Daylight Solutions and serves as the company’s President and COO. He is a seasoned executive with over 25 years’ experience managing business operations and developing leading-edge technologies. Mr. Larson has held senior management positions with successful start-ups such as San Diego-based Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC), and Qualcomm Inc. As Director of ASIC Programs for Qualcomm, Mr. Larson contributed significantly to the company’s early efforts to establish a commercially viable ASIC division, generating over $600M in revenue during its third year. Mr. Larson also contributed to business operations of larger, global companies such as Ericsson, where he was Director of Business Management. Mr. Larson began his career as an Electrical Engineer with Motorola’s Integrated Circuits Research Applications Laboratory (MICARL). He holds a BSEE from the United States International University and an MBA from San Diego State University.
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About Daylight Solutions: Daylight Solutions manufactures molecular detection and imaging instruments for diagnostics, homeland security, military and more.
John Simonoff
COO & CO-Founder of EMLinQ
John joined Pres./CEO Sandro Aquilina since launching EMLinQ LLC in June 2007. John has 30 years experience in Manufacturing/Operations Management in PCBA, Semi-Conductor, Electro, Mechanical, Automotive, Aerospace, HVAC, and Medical Industries. Both domestic and abroad.
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About EMLinQ: EMLinQ LLC is a provider of advanced electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers.
Chris Hilliard
Chief Operating Officer, Winnow of Buckley
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About Buckley: Buckley is a manufactures medicines company.
Ian Lamont
COO of Pontic Technology
Ian does senior consulting projects for TLG Marketing. Ian joined his son’s at TLG in June after more than 40 years of senior executive operational leadership experience, including the last two decades as CEO of companies ranging from Fortune 500 to a start-up. Ian is a respected strategic business and market planner, who has created and launched numerous businesses and successful products in the energy, media, e-commerce and service areas. Known for his leadership and his ability to come into difficult situations with energy, passion and focus, Ian creates a productive culture for change while involving other key leaders in developing a strategic plan for a sustainable turnaround and innovative growth opportunities, whether it is people, teams or revenue. A former boss perhaps best describes Ian “You consistently amaze me, not only in the financial results you get, but especially because your people respect, admire and love you. I would just settle for respect from mine.” Despite a career that not only exceeded his goals, but his dreams, Ian is most proud of his extraordinary wife of 40 years, Oksanna, his son’s Evan and Shawn, and the men they have grown to become, and their own extraordinary wife’s Hannah, an outstanding estate and trust attorney and Lisa, a superb technologist and educator.
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About Pontic Technology: Patented thermal disinfection system technology for germ-free, clean water solutions
