About Us

Dr. Edward O Shaffer II

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Ed Shaffer has spent the last 8 years focused on developing technology to accelerate adoption of much needed alternative energy systems. Throughout his career, he has worked across a variety of advanced materials applications including advanced BEOL dielectrics, optical materials for displays, materials for energy storage and photovoltaics. He has held a variety of roles including new business development, global R&D manager and scientist.

Jon Joslin

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Joslin has 25 years of experience in all aspects of financial management and business consulting. He has broad experience working for both an accounting firm and both small and large companies in a number of industries, from construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail.  In addition, he has started and run a number of companies.  Jon has also served in his local government as a past Mayor for the City of Mt Pleasant and a 15 year city commissioner.

Michael Everett

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Everett brings over 30 years of experience in a variety of technology-based industries, most recently the Sr. Vice President of Engineering for Trojan battery Company.   Michael’s previous positions include CTO of Maxwell Technologies and Sr. Director of Engineering and Research at 3D Systems Inc.   While working with Trojan Battery, Michael was responsible for overseeing Trojan’s product development and research activities including all technical intellectual property innovation.

David Barrie

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Barrie assists Advanced Battery Concepts with its technology licensing to global battery manufacturers in his capacity as the Principle of Barrie International LLC. He has considerable experience in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, international business and building for growth. He holds many significant positions including Chairman of the Board at MFRI Inc., Senior Executive Advisory Board member of Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company (“BGL”), Director on a private for-profit company and Director for several non-profit institutions. In addition, Mr. Barrie served as VP of Corporate Development Eaton Corp., and has presented programs on best merger and acquisition practices to corporate executives. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Benjamin Kalter

Board Member

Mr. Kalter is a Senior Associate on the Private Equity Impact Team at Nuveen having joined in 2019. He is actively involved in sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management efforts across the investment themes within Nuveen’s Impact portfolio. Prior to joining the organization, he worked in the Manager Research Group at the Bank of New York Mellon, where he focused on evaluating and investing in alternative asset managers.  He has over ten years of investment experience and is currently on the board of two companies.

Ben graduated with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Entrepreneurship from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Cornell University with a specialization in Sustainable Global Enterprise.

David Romenesko

Board Member

Mr. Romenesko is Founder and past President of Tempo Investment Advisors, established in 1986, with offices in Midland MI, and Chaska MN, a suburb of Minneapolis.  The firm provides Financial Planning and manages greater than $140 million for client families in 18 states.  He retired from the firm in August 2022 with his Son Brent as owner.  The Blue Water Angels and Tempo clients collectively invested in ABC in 2014 with Dave leading the due diligence on their behalf.  Angel Investing is similar to Dave’s previous profession of a Gallery Scientist at Dow Corning in the New Ventures business where his role was inventing materials and building new business with his team.  He has 46 unique US Patents, 34 making sales and 20 publications from his various roles.

Edward Shaffer II

Board Member

Dr. Edward Shaffer II is CEO and Founder of Advanced Battery Concepts. He has spent the past 14 years focused on developing technologies to accelerate adoption of much needed alternative energy systems. In 2009, he established ABC to commercialize ground-breaking, large-format, rechargeable battery technology termed “GreenSeal®”. Throughout his career, he has worked across a variety of advanced dielectrics for electronics, optical materials for displays, materials for energy storage and photovoltaics. He has held a variety of roles including new business development, global R&D manager, and research scientist. He received his PhD in Materials Science from MIT.

Kevin Wittrup

Board Member

During his eleven-year career at General Motors, Mr. Wittrup led vital aspects of product development and systems integration for highly engineered products, including responsibility launch of major products. Most notably, he served as VP of Vehicle Engineering & Manufacturing for a line of electric urban transport vehicles. In 2007, he shifted his focus to the early-stage entrepreneurial ecosystem as part of an upstart seed investment and management team. He has served in senior operating management capacities for a number of startups in addition to participating in the founding and funding of several. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Robert Galyen

Board Member

Mr. Galyenis an Energy Storage technology executive with experience in large corporations (ATL, CATL, Magna, Delphi, GM) and small entrepreneurial businesses (Tawas, Indy Power Systems, World Energy Labs). He recently received the prestigious China “Friendship Award”, and the title: “National Distinguished Expert” from the Peoples Republic of China. He was CTO of Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Ltd. China, the largest lithium battery producer in the world. In professional organizations, he has held the Chairmanship of SAE International Battery Standards Steering Committee and is Chairman of NAATBatt International and various advisory boards and committees around the world, focused on energy storage. Mr. Galyen holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry and has 40 years’ experience in battery technology.

Chris Steinbaugh

Board Member

Mr. Steinbaugh is a principal on the “Impact Team” at Nuveen having joined in 2019. He is responsible for originating, underwriting, and executing transactions for the team’s “Resource Efficiency Strategy”. He has been involved with Nuveen’s direct private equity investments in the agribusiness sector and with the firm’s private junior debt capital team. Prior to joining Nuveen, Mr. Steinbaugh worked for eleQtra, a London-based developer of infrastructure projects in Africa. He previously worked for Obrem Capital Management and Evercore Partners. He graduated with an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.B.A. from London Business School, and an M.Sc from the University of Oxford.

Robert Galyen

Mr. Galyenis an Energy Storage technology executive with experience in large corporations (ATL, CATL, Magna, Delphi, GM) and small entrepreneurial businesses (Tawas, Indy Power Systems, World Energy Labs). He recently received the prestigious China “Friendship Award”, and the title: “National Distinguished Expert” from the Peoples Republic of China. He was CTO of Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Ltd. China, the largest lithium battery producer in the world. In professional organizations, he has held the Chairmanship of SAE International Battery Standards Steering Committee and is Chairman of NAATBatt International and various advisory boards and committees around the world, focused on energy storage. Mr. Galyen holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry and has 40 years’ experience in battery technology.

Lori Hutton

Ms. Hutton was Plant Engineer and Product Engineer at General Motors before becoming an Advance Vehicle Engineer specializing in EV/HEV/PHEV battery systems for 20 years. She later joined Magna Steyr as Validation Engineer specializing in HEV Battery Packs. Her responsibilities included Validation Test Plan development for PHEV/HEV pack programs for OEM vehicle suppliers. She also worked as a cell test technician in addition to developing Product Specifications for clarification and application by Test, Quality, Manufacturing and Service engineering. She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University.

Scott Wilder

Mr. Wilder is the Senior Director of Technology at Jabil where he oversees technology development. Prior to his current position, he was a Chief Engineer at Ricardo where he was involved in business development, technical oversight, and resource management for energy storage systems. He is experienced in energy storage and transfer for stationary motive and portable applications. Mr. Wilder is proficient at identifying, securing, and developing advanced technology for new markets. He specializes in energy storage systems, automotive electronics, and global business development.

Dr. James Symanski

Dr. Symanski started with Johnson Controls in 1984 as a Senior Scientist and retired in 2017, as the Director of Advanced Product Engineering. He worked on projects that included nickel-hydrogen battery design, lithium-ion polymer battery development, and other non-lead technologies, including ultracapacitors. Dr. Symanski also led the JCI team in the Li-Ion battery joint venture with Saft-Bordeaux and eventually helped work on various micro-hybrid applications. He holds nine patents and is recognized for his many technical publications. Dr. Symanski has a PhD from the University of Buffalo in chemistry.

Phil Mott

Mr. Mott worked in many positions at BorgWarner Inc., over the course of 20 years.  He began as Corporate Scientist where he integrated new technology into current product lines and provided technical support for upper management. He became Vice President, Advanced Engineering to lead global product development, analysis, and testing. As a Corporate Fellow, Mr. Mott developed a means to identify future trends and the opportunities made possible by these trends. Lastly, as a Senior Technical Fellow, he was responsible for defining, determining the significance, and identifying the opportunities made available through an in-depth understanding of future transportation trends. He currently is an Independent Consultant focusing on Automotive Propulsion with Propulsion Specialties. He holds over 65 U.S. patents.

Randy Moore

Mr. Moore is a senior manufacturing executive, president, and CEO with experience in leading enterprises toward excellence in performance. He has worked with and for Fortune 500 companies, public companies, private equity, and entrepreneurial startups in Aerospace, Defense, Medical, and renewables industries. He is a recognized industrial manufacturing leader. Mr. Moore is credited with driving superior results by empowering and challenging teams through the creation and communication of a shared vision. This focus on strategic priorities combined with a disciplined and balanced approach to managing the business through goals and metrics consistently communicated provides motivation to the team to achieve and exceed commitments.