Leadership

Bob is a battery and electric vehicle industry veteran with over forty years of experience. Prior to becoming CEO and President at Enevate, he held a number of key executive and technical positions in the automotive and lithium-ion battery industries, most recently as Senior Vice President of Product Execution at Faraday Future Intelligent Electrics.

Upon joining Faraday in 2019, Bob Kruse was responsible for product development, advanced technology, and product execution strategy. Prior to joining Faraday, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Karma Automotive from January 2017 to October 2019. Before that, he worked as Chief Technology Officer at Qoros Automotive. In addition, he served as Vice President at Townsend Capital, where he led the financing round for the transition of Dow Kokam to XALT Energy. Previously, he served as chief operating officer and board member of Sakti3, a solid-state battery company. Between 1978 and 2009, Kruse held various leadership positions at General Motors Corp., including Global Executive Director responsible for hybrids, electric vehicles, and advanced technology batteries. During his tenure at General Motors, he was responsible for the development of the first generation of the Chevrolet Volt.

Currently, Bob serves on the advisory board for American Battery Solutions.

Dr. Park founded Enevate (originally Carbon Micro Battery) in 2005 and, as CTO, leads the battery research, development, and engineering efforts. With more than 20 years of experience, he is an expert in surface and bulk chemistries, novel battery manufacturing techniques, battery materials screening and development, and battery chemistry. Ben has authored more than 45 book chapters, technical journals, talks and conference publications and has more than 150 patents issued.

He holds a doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of California, Irvine, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Seoul National University in Korea. Dr. Park is also the recipient of several awards, including the Orange County Business Journal Innovator of the Year and the Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Sameer has over 25 years of industry experience in technology and finance. He was previously a finance executive at MaxLinear, where he was responsible for their financial planning and analysis, budgeting, risk management, treasury, facilities, and business systems. Sameer has also held finance and product/project management positions at Broadcom. Previously, he worked in consulting at PRTM and chip design at Conexant Systems and Rockwell International.

Sameer holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina, and a BS in Electronics and Communications engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology.

Noel has more than 23 years of experience representing technology companies in the semiconductor, memory, and wireless industries. Prior to Enevate, he was vice president of intellectual property and licensing at Netlist, where he represented the company in all legal matters, including worldwide licensing and enforcement. Noel also served as vice president of intellectual property for Broadcom, where he acted as the principal legal and business advisor to the company on matters related to patent portfolio development and monetization. Noel began his legal career in private practice with Cooley LLP, and Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC.

Noel holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a juris doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

Martin Sandor is Head of Marketing at Enevate, responsible for driving the overall strategy and success of customer acquisition and business growth. With over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Martin is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge battery solutions that enhance customer experiences.

Prior to joining Enevate in 2016, Martin held various technical and marketing roles. He was a mixed signal integrated circuit designer at Intel and various startups. Later he was a Product Manager at Broadcom in the wireless connectivity and wireless charging products segment, achieving first-time success with new product development.

Martin earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Todd brings more than 35 years of experience in engineering and manufacturing operations at leading market-segment companies to Enevate. His key focus over the past 20 years has been supporting Tier1 OEMs as they develop and transition their portable power needs into high-volume manufacturing locations worldwide. Todd also has expertise in the areas of advanced battery testing, data management systems, battery pack power management design, and portable power certifications.

Prior to joining Enevate in 2011, Todd was vice president of product development at Powergenix and served on the management team of Sanyo’s battery business for 16 years. Early in his career, Todd worked in both factory automation and advanced military design environments at General Electric, Gould Electronics, and Martin Marietta Space Systems.

Kirk has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, and general management in several industries—from Li-ion batteries, coated films and electronic components to photovoltaic solar cells and modules. Prior to joining Enevate, he was COO of Global Solar Energy, a manufacturer of thin-film solar products. In his 18 years at KEMET Electronics, he held several executive management roles, including vice president of the Film & Electrolytic business group in Europe, vice president of global corporate acquisition and integration activities. He also held a variety of manufacturing and management positions with Fuji Photo Film and Union Carbide.

Trained in Six Sigma and lean manufacturing, Kirk holds a BS in industrial management with a minor in chemistry from Purdue University.

Dr. Bonhomme has over 20  years of experience in research, development and engineering of Li-ion to lead-acid batteries and supercapacitors. Prior to joining Enevate in 2014, his key focus has been on development of Li-ion cell chemistries and designs for automotive, industrial, space and defense applications. He held several technical management positions at Saft and Johnson Controls. He has led several USABC programs and was involved in start-up of Johnson Control-Saft’s Li-ion manufacturing plant in Michigan.

Fred has more than 20 authored publications and talks, and has more than 30 patents issued. He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Physical Chemistry, and a PhD in Polymer Science, all from Bordeaux University in France.

Dr. Choi has over 25 years of experience in lithium-ion battery materials research, cell design, cell development, and manufacturing fields. Prior to joining Enevate in 2010, Sung Won worked at Du Pont to develop the Energain^TM separators with a unique electro-blowing technique for lithium cells and super-capacitors. He has authored over 30 technical journals, talks, and conference publications and been issued over 25 patents.