Meet the team revolutionizing the lithium-ion battery industry!
John Busbee, Ph.D.
CEO/Co-Founder
John co-founded Xerion Advanced Battery Corp in 2010. Prior to Xerion, John spent 25 years with the United States Air Force, much of the time at the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Dr. Busbee was the Nanotechnology Portfolio Manager, responsible for a team of 125 scientists and a $100M portfolio of programs. In this role, he collaborated closely with a number of key companies in the defense industry, including Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Raytheon. He also led the Air Force’s Manufacturing Research Program for manufacturing integration and technology. John was the founding chair of the Nanotechnology Working Group for the Technical Cooperation Program between the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Dr. Busbee holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Wright State University, and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M.
Paul Braun, Ph.D.
CTO/Co-Founder
Dr. Braun helped co-found Xerion, and co-invented Xerion’s StructurePore™ architecture. He is the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory, the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, and Professor of Materials Science, Engineering and Chemistry at University of Illinois. Paul is also affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Dr. Braun’s research focuses on advanced materials with 3D nanoscale and mesoscale architectures for rechargeable batteries and energy storage. Prof. Braun received his B.S. degree from Cornell University, and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois. Following a postdoctoral appointment at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1999. Prof. Braun has been awarded multiple patents, and has co-founded three companies. He was a member of the 2010-2011 DARPA Defense Science Study Group, and the 2015-2017 National Academies Technical Advisory Board for the US Army Research Laboratory. In 2018, Prof. Braun was elected a Fellow of the Materials Research Society.
Chris Kolb
CFO/EVP/Co-Founder
Chris is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience with start-up and early-stage technology companies. Prior to co-founding Xerion, he founded Velocity Staff, Inc., an I.T. staffing and recruiting provider where he currently is President/CEO. His experience includes Chief Technology Officer at TimeCentre, Inc., a SaaS time and attendance software provider, Director at PSINet, Inc., the first for-profit commercial internet service provider, and a technologist at NYSERNet. Chris holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Mathematics from the State University of New York at Oswego.
Raja Parvez
Executive Chairman
Raja joined Xerion as Executive Chairman in 2017. He has more than 35 years of management, engineering, manufacturing and commercialization experience at public and private advanced technology corporations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Mexico and Israel. He has held advisory roles in private equity and venture capital firms, CM Acquisitions, Energy Foundry and KB Partners. Raja was President and CEO of Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN), which he transformed from a distressed venture-backed startup into a profitable public company with $300M enterprise value in 18 months leading to a market capitalization of over $675M within a few years. The company was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as a “FAST FIFTY”. Prior to joining Rubicon, he was Chief Operating Officer of CyOptics, Inc., which was acquired by Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) for $400M, and President of Optigain, Inc., a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric (NIKKEI: TYO). Raja began his career at Bell Laboratories (Lucent Technologies), in a variety of technical roles, including Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (DMTS) and Consulting Member of Technical Staff (CMTS). He was regional finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and recipient of the Outstanding CEO of the Year Award from Cross Atlantic Capital Partners. Raja is an industry advisory board member of NanoGraf Corporation. He holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.S. in Management Science from New York University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Peshawar.
John Cook, Ph.D.
Vice-President, Technology
Dr. Cook joined Xerion in 2016 to lead the company’s R&D efforts advancing its core and future technologies. John is a recognized expert in electrochemistry and batteries. Prior to joining XABC, he worked on multidisciplinary energy storage problems at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a member of the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Group. Dr. Cook has published 19 articles on high performance energy storage materials, and is an inventor on 9 patents. He holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from University of California, Los Angeles, and a B.S. from University of California, Berkeley.
Christopher Morris
Executive Director, Marketing & Business Development
Chris joined Xerion Advanced Battery Corp in 2020 to head up Marketing, Business Development, and Investor Relations. He is a marketing executive with more than 40 years of experience developing products and new business for technology-driven companies. Prior to Xerion, Chris held executive roles with Fortune 500 companies including Siemens, Emerson Electric, Reynolds and Reynolds, and CDK Global. Chris holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from University of Chicago Booth School, and a B.A. in Economics with distinction from Dartmouth College.
Tim O’Meara
Executive Director, Systems Engineering
Tim joined Xerion in 2019 as Executive Director, Manufacturing Systems. He brings 40+ years experience providing complex manufacturing systems for Aerospace & Defense, Medical, Semiconductor, Communications and Industrial Markets. Prior to joining Xerion, Tim served as President of GEMCITY Engineering and Manufacturing, overseeing the operations of GEMCITY’s locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Thailand. At GEMCITY, he successfully positioned and navigated the company through three sales to private equity investors. He was a Chairman of the Dayton Regional Manufacturers Association and was appointed for a term to the U.S. Manufacturing Council by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
Martin Rucidlo
Executive Vice President
Martin joined Xerion Advanced Battery Corp in 2017. He has a diverse management and marketing background with a mix of Fortune 500 companies and technology start-ups over his 40 year career. Martin has extensive experience moving technology companies from inception through commercialization to exit. Prior to Xerion, Martin was President of Workhorse Group Inc., a manufacturer of electric delivery vehicles and utility vans. Earlier in his career, Martin held various executive roles at Alcoa, Pocketscript, Mobile Voice Control, Quest Diagnostics, and WS Packaging. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Lordstown Motors, a manufacturer of light-duty electric trucks. Martin holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University.