Fuel Cell and Battery Electrochemical Expert

Expertise

• Leading performance improvement in fuel cell and electrochemical devices.
• Re-engineering processes to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
• Aligning operations, systems and controls with changing global business environments.
• Ensuring product quality and continuous improvement using Six Sigma methodologies.
• Driving issues resolution, root cause analysis and Lean manufacturing practices.
• Developing cost models and targets that align with company strategic plans.
• Shepherding products conceptual design to implementation.
• Renewable energy
• Fuel cells
• Electrodes and batteries

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Vice President Operations, 2014 - 2016

• Managed global operations: Supply chain, quality, planning and logistics, facilities and value engineering departments.
• Ramped up previous year's volume five-fold and reduced costs 25% within six months while selecting and developing alternate sourcing and in-sourcing options.
• Cut production costs 65%, with new operations.
• Recruited to restart manufacturing operations.
• Took company from zero to over $100 million revenue, from 30-300 employees, and brought in and commissioned over $20 million in capital equipment within one year.
• Established Quality Department at Company, eliminating 58% of supplier issues.
• Saw opportunity to combine several external and internal quality groups into one department.
• Enabled faster response to address supplier issues, assuring more efficient root-cause and corrective action processes. Brought to ISO9001 certification.
• Delivered five-fold growth in product delivery while reducing product cost 25%.
• Transitioned from manual planning and purchasing to electronic ERP system using JDE software.
• Established and responsible for company's full MRP system to control production and aftermarket planning, purchasing of product and non-product, spares and inventory.
• Responsible for 24/7 build scheduling and materials supply.
• Implemented production teams (supply chain, quality, manufacturing, engineering, planning) with commodity-driven focus.
• Managed component and sub-assembly suppliers including electrical systems, electroplated castings and thin film coatings, and in-house sub-assembly and final assembly of fuel cell stacks and power plants.
• Responsible for full verification, validation, reliability, durability, performance and certification of all finished goods.

ClearEdge Power, (UTC Power), South Windsor, CT, 2013 - 2014

Director, Product Cost and Value Engineering - Quality

• Led cross-functional product development teams on a three-year budget management program, resulting in a 70% product cost reduction for the stationary commercial fuel cell products.
• Eliminated more than $10 million annually in overhead costs at ClearEdge Power. Fixed costs added a significant fraction to the overall costs of the final product.
• Identified cost of poor quality, unplanned root-cause analyses, unexpected field failures and extra unplanned labor to rework manufacturing issues. Tasked stakeholders to reduce lost dollars and hours. Cut primary area losses 75% within one year.

United Technologies, South Windsor, CT, 2012 - 2013

Engineering Manager and Supply Chain Commodity Manager

• Promoted to manage mechanical design, product definition and configuration management groups.
• Led teams developing lifecycle cost models, maintaining budgets, schedules and execution of projects.
• Managed supply chain and supplier relationships and negotiations for transportation programs, including bus, automotive, and submarine programs. Managed PAFC and PEM fuel cell programs.

Product Cost and Development Manager, 2010 - 2011

• Drove issues resolution, relentless root cause activities and lean manufacturing practices for robust production of fuel cell stacks.
• Drove 70% drop in product cost for UTC primary product. Collaborated with senior management, setting cost targets to align with sales expectations.
• Reduced first-year projected costs 40% plus another 30% in the following two years by new product development in the areas of electrode, cell stack, and power plant mechanical components design and performance optimization.
• Managed $10 million annual cost reduction budget, enabling global marketing of new products.

Product Development Lead, 2008 - 2010

• Improved electrode and substrate/carbon fiber manufacturing process for phosphoric acid fuel cells, reducing electrode costs 40% within one year. Completed cost reduction tasks on or ahead of schedule.
• Developed and scaled up new methods of fuel cell electrode fabrication.
• Led manufacturing and development of solid-state platinum catalyst layers, silicon carbide layers, and carbon fiber substrates, electrical and thermal conductivity and resistivity testing.

General Motors, Honeoye Falls, NY, Engineering Supervisor, Fuel Cell Activities, 1999 - 2008

• Submitted over 15 patents related to Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
• Demonstrated 2010 automotive Platinum loading targets.
• Managed internal Membrane Electrode Assembly program including process and performance optimization of catalysts, membranes, and electrodes.

Additional Experience

• Research Chemist, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI.
• Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY.
• Research Intern, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• MIT Sloan Executive Certificate - Finance for the Technical Executive
• UTC - ACE Associate Certificate (similar to Six Sigma Green Belt)
• Certified ISO Auditor
• Given equal status as Federal Employee with U.S. Navy

Languages

• Conversational Spanish
• Conversational Cantonese

Publications and Patents

• Author and Co-Author of over a dozen publications for the technical journal industry, educational seminars, conferences and energy organizations.
• Over twenty patents submitted, (over 15 patents related to fuel cells and electrochemistry)

Education

• Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry/Electrochemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• M.S. Inorganic Chemistry/Electrochemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• B.A. Chemistry, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY