Michael Canada has over 15 years of progressive leadership experience in engineering, operations, project management, and strategic planning across the automotive, aerospace, and clean energy industries.
He has held roles of increasing responsibility with multinational companies like DaimlerChrysler, Goodrich Aerospace, Harman/Becker Automotive Systems, and Praxair. An industry veteran and proven leader in international business, Michael assumed executive responsibilities at EnerDel in early 2014.
Prior to joining EnerDel, Michael was Global Vice President of Engineering and Operations and General Manager of Altairnano. He was instrumental in leading the transformation of the research and development, low volume manufacturing organization towards moderate to high volume, high-product-mix manufacturing. In 2012 he delivered multiple large-scale grids and micro-grid systems (>8MW of energy storage) to market, globally facilitating renewable integration. He successfully launched expansion initiatives in Asia establishing more than one million square feet of manufacturing space in the transportation and stationary markets.
Mr. Pikalov joined the Ener1 Group as the CFO and Procurement Director of a JV in China in 2012, then was the CFO and Group Financial Controller at EnerTech International in Korea. He was subsequently appointed to his current position of Ener1 Global CFO and Supply Chain Officer.
Prior to his involvement with Ener1, Mr. Pikalov held positions of increasing responsibility with Pokrovka Finance, a private equity fund related to a Russian Railroads Company ( > 1 million employees). He got his degree at the Moscow State University Institute of Asian and African Studies, Faculty of the Economy of China, with a major in Oriental and African Studies.
Mr. Pikalov spent more than 4 years in international audit and with the Big Four accounting firms (Ernst & Young and KPMG, particularly). He has also previously served as the Head of the Asian-Pacific Markets Division with Evraz Holding, one of the largest metallurgical producers in Russia.
Dr. Lee holds a Ph.D. in electrochemistry and has over 23 years of experience in lithium-ion batteries and has been working as the Chief Technology Officer R&D and developing lithium secondary battery for EV and ESS in Ener1 since 2010.
Dr. Lee had previously worked in Vitzrocell for 10 years and had developed a lithium primary battery of Li/SOCl2 in utility meter (AMR) solution with hybrid cells, thermal battery and supercapacitor. He also studied for his Post-doctorate degree in 2006 at Waterloo University in Canada.
Mr. Bowman has held many roles with EnerDel including Financial Analyst, Program Manager, Business Controller, Director of Production Control and Logistics, Operations Director, and currently, serves as the Vice President of Operations. Mr. Bowman brings over 20 years of Accounting/Finance experience and 15 years of manufacturing experience to his current position. Mr. Bowman previously held roles of increasing responsibility with Eli Lilly & Co, Carrier Corp, and Buzzi Unicem USA, in various categories ranging from Finance to Operations Management.
He is an extremely versatile contributor with expertise in a wide range of issues including cost accounting, lean manufacturing, production control, supplier optimization, business financing, cash flow management, general ledger and financial statement analysis, business planning, program management, and business development. Mr. Bowman has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Balog joined Ener1 in February 2016 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Before then, Mr. Balog served as our outside legal counsel since 2008 while a shareholder of Greenberg Traurig LLP, an international, full-service law firm with over 1,800 attorneys. During his 18.5 year tenure with Greenberg Traurig, Mr. Balog focused his legal practice on a broad range of corporate counseling and sophisticated transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, debt and equity financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances and restructurings.
Mr. Balog received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, where he was a member of The University of Miami Law Review, and his B.A., cum laude, from Tulane University. He is admitted to practice law in Florida and New York.
Athena Reed, Director of Quality and Customer service at EnerDel, Inc., is an accomplished business professional with over 20 years of engineering and battery industry experience. Ms. Reed began working for EnerDel in 2009 as the Program Manager for major OEM programs. She was instrumental in taking the lithium-Ion Battery Pack from concept to volume production. Returning to the company in 2014, Athena is now responsible for implementing quality control strategies, with a strong focus on ISO standardizations and developing tactics to enhance EnerDel’s customer service efforts.
Previously, Athena held roles of increasing responsibility at Delphi Automotive Systems, LHP Engineering Solutions, EnerDel and Altairnano, Inc. In these capacities, Athena was responsible for developing and maintaining attrition plans for a business unit with over 500 employees at Delphi Automotive Systems. Developing internal requirements for LHP Engineering Solutions IT infrastructure, and was responsible for the day to day leadership and management of the organization, and was globally responsible for product management as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Altairnano, inc.
Athena holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and a Masters of Business Administration from Anderson University.
Derrick Buck is the Director of Cell Manufacturing at EnerDel Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has over 25 years of engineering experience in the field of electrical automotive components, with the past 13 years focused solely on the development of lithium battery systems and manufacturing methods.
Previously, Mr. Buck served with Delphi Corporation where he was responsible for the product and process development of energy generation products, and for the integration of lean assembly cells and high volume manufacturing systems. He has also coordinated the timely installation and successful launch of numerous new product productions start-ups.
Mr. Buck has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University. He has co-authored 13 energy storage patent applications, 4 publications, and 1 energy generation patent. Mr. Buck embraces the opportunity to publically speak about advanced energy storage technologies with potential customers, investors, governing bodies, and media.
Dr. Mary L. Patterson earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Her thesis work involved electrochemical and spectroscopic studies of corrosion and corrosion inhibition. During a postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, Dr. Patterson characterized electrochemical catalysis using spectroscopy. As a researcher at AT&T/Lucent Bell Laboratories, she studied semiconductor processing as well as the materials and processes used in the manufacture of telecommunications products.
Currently, Dr. Patterson is the Director of Cell Engineering and R&D at EnerDel, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has also served as Program Manager or Principal Investigator for several Department of Energy and Department of Defense programs and has performed research in the areas of lithium-ion cell anode and cathode materials, redox shuttles, electrolytes, and cell design and manufacture. Dr. Patterson has published fifteen technical papers, has delivered many technical presentations at electrochemistry and chemistry conferences, and holds several patents
Kurt Mink is the Director of Engineering at EnerDel, Inc., and is an accomplished business professional with nearly 10 years of engineering experience in the fields of assembly and manufacturing engineering. Mr. Mink has held roles of increasing responsibility at Rolls-Royce for the past eight years and most recently was the manufacturing engineering manager for the rotatives division. In these capacities, Mr. Mink was responsible for delivering business level improvements in Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People, with a focus on procedural compliance and continuous improvement.
At EnerDel, Mr. Mink is responsible for being an innovative leader for EnerDel’s engineering team, which encompasses three product divisions: mass transportation, military and utility grid applications, and industrial applications.
Mr. Mink holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University, a Masters in Engineering Technology, also from Purdue University, and a Masters in Sustainability, Technology, and Innovation from the Dublin Institute of Technology in Dublin, Ireland.
Tiara Hicks is the Director of Human Resources at EnerDel, Inc. and is an accomplished Human Resources professional with nearly 15 years of industry experience. Before beginning at EnerDel, Ms. Hicks held roles of increasing responsibility at Trinitas Ventures, ASONS, Ultra Steak, and Aspen Dental Management. In those roles, Ms, hicks was responsible for driving organizational projects that varied from developing corporate-wide policies and procedures, implementing employee engagement and leadership development, and overseeing benefits and compensation. Ms. Hicks was able to positively influence leaders, peers, and team members to create effective change.
At EnerDel, Ms. Hicks is responsible for overseeing all Human Resource activity. Ms. Hicks will be an instrumental team member when it comes to cultural development, leadership and peer coaching, recruiting and maintaining talent, and managing and implementing policy updates, compliance, and benefit packages.
Ms. Hicks holds a Bachelors of Business Management and a Masters of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.