Battery Innovation Center Adds Former Enerdel CEO
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Battery Innovation Center at the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park has named David Roberts president. He stepped down a year ago from his position as chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based Enerdel Inc. Roberts succeeds Charles LaSota, who passed away in January. March 5, 2015
Notice Posted to the Battery Innovation Center's Website:
Friends, members, and allies of the BIC,
The passing of our previous President and CEO, Chuck LaSota, was very hard on us all; however,we are continuing on with the mission and pushing forward in our efforts to promote innovation to the battery and alternative energy sectors. Along this line, we would like to welcome our latest additions to the company, David Roberts (President) and Ben Wrightsman (Chief Operations Officer/Chief Engineer).
David Roberts has held diverse roles including serving as CEO for EnerDel, a Board member of a Chinese joint venture with Wanxiang, IP counsel for Caterpillar, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, and as a patent & business attorney in private practice. David was trained as an attorney at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He also received his bachelor's degree in Materials Science & Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA). He is currently licensed to practice law in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is committed to advancing the mission and vision that the BIC’s Board and Chuck previously crafted: that the BIC would serve as a public-private partnership catalyzing next generation energy storage solutions by incorporating leadership from academia, industry, and government to quickly build, develop, and test safe, reliable, low-cost, and lightweight energy storage systems.
Ben Wrightsman is a strategic industry executive with over 15 years of experience in high tech manufacturing, electronics, and product development companies. Ben has a passion for finding and utilizing untapped resources and capabilities within a company to open up new opportunities for growth and revenue generation. Ben's diverse background in executive leadership, engineering, business development, and supply chain gives him a broad range of understating to tackle problems at all levels of the organization. Ben has held key positions with one of industry's leading electronics contract manufacturers, large format lithium battery manufacturer, and several small business ventures/startups. Ben attended Purdue University at Indianapolis majoring in Electrical Engineering where he was co-captain of the Electric JAG (Indy) Car Team. He is APICS-CPIM accredited, received Lushin/Sandler President’s Sales Training, and is a dedicated Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.
With these updates in leadership, the BIC will refine its approach to the needs of the industry. Stay tuned for some big news about new partnerships and programs. These programs will expand the BIC's ability to further test micro-grid technology and validate industry standards along with offering growing manufacturing capabilities.
Source: Battery Innovation Center