RESOURCES

Management Team

Joerg Ferchau
CEO

Joerg has over 28 years of successful business and technology leadership experience in Silicon Valley startups and Fortune 100’s, including GE, Tandem, Compaq, and SanDisk, where he held director-to-CEO-level roles encompassing strategy, operations, sales & marketing, and product and business development.  Joerg has led several “world’s first” product innovations and “build from scratch” business ventures in military, computer/IT, consumer, and automotive applications.  He has received numerous international product design awards, has 17 patents, and developed EDI’s business concept and operational plans.

Professor Andy Frank
CTO and Co-Founder

Andy is a significant industry dignitary credited as being the “Inventor” of the modern day Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Andy has spent over 30 years in breakthrough vehicle development, during which he received two world records for vehicle fuel economy, designed of nine generations of PHEVs, and was a four-time winner of USDOE Advanced Vehicle Design competitions. He holds over 30 patents, has published over 100 papers, and is an internationally recognized subject matter expert. Andy is a professor of aeronautical and mechanical engineering at the University of California, Davis, where he established the Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), and is director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Center of Hybrid Excellence at UC Davis. He was formerly with the University of Wisconsin and Rockwell International, and holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Southern California, and both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Stuart Kaler
General Counsel and Co-Founder
VP Patents and IP Protection

Stuart has over 15 years experience in complex, Silicon Valley high-tech intellectual property rights management and licensing, technology application, and commercial negotiations for large multinational concerns and venture-backed start-ups. He has held senior in-house IP counsel positions at Siemens and Xerox PARC, and with law firms Morrison Foerster, and Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Albritton Herbert. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics, a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Jim Winkelman
VP, Engineering

Jim has over 25 years of automotive experience, managing complex vehicle power train and control systems development at GE, Ford, and Visteon. Jim led Visteon's Advanced Energy Management Systems for advanced system products including hybrid vehicle power trains, and advanced IC engine technologies. He was manager, Electronics, Ford Formula 1 Racing, developing electronic vehicle controls for turbo-charged engine management, active suspension, and four-wheel steering systems. Jim was most recently director of Honda Programs at Plug Power, a fuel cell systems provider. He holds 12 patents and has published 70 papers. Jim received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Laurie A. Miller
Corporate Counsel / HR

Laurie has over 20 years experience of broad legal counsel and board member experience for emerging technology ventures in Silicon Valley, including financing, acquisition, licensing, securities, HR, and taxation. Laurie offers corporate counsel to high-tech pre-IPO corporations, for all aspects of corporate law, including VC financing, technology licensing, mergers & acquisitions, trademarks, and stock option plans.



Ben Ovshinsky
Business Development

As a Detroiter, Ben’s background is strongly automotive. Ben was the European and West Coast representative for ECD-Ovonics, promoting thin-film photovoltaics, hydrogen energy systems, NiMH batteries, and amorphous semiconductor applications. As a management consultant, he was course leader for Ford of Europe’s International Management Development Program; a consultant to NUMMI, Rolls-Royce Aero Engines, and J.C. Bamford, among others. Ben is a nationally networked PHEV advocate; has served on the Board of Advisors, UC Davis School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, and is a university instructor in management; he teaches the UC Berkeley Extension Course in Quality Management. Ben received his master’s degree in economics and geography from Wayne State University; and his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Antioch University.

Jeanne Cox
Corporate Communications

Jeanne has over 20 years of corporate and agency experience helping some of the world's largest brands (Visa, 3Com, The Olympic Games, The Smithsonian Institution, Delta, the I Love New York campaign) communicate nationally and internationally through strategic corporate and marketing communications programs, brand management, PR, IR, and industry analysts campaigns. She is experienced in navigating communications within fast-paced growth situations, mergers and acquisitions, and crisis situations, taking products and companies into new and expanding global markets. Jeanne has also lived and worked abroad in Tokyo and Singapore.

Gary Bolen
Marketing

From start-ups to Fortune 500s, Gary has over 40 years of corporate and advertising agency experience. Prior to joining Efficient Drivetrains, his Silicon Valley based marketing firm, Rutherford Bolen Group, assisted many companies in developing global brand awareness and worldwide product launch programs. These include HP, Tandem, Cisco, VeriFone, Symantec and Veritas. Prior to forming RBG he was worldwide corporate creative director at Tandem Computers in Cupertino, California.

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