Management Team
Dr. B.J. Stanbery, Chief Science Officer
Dr. B.J. Stanbery has an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years in the solar industry. He is an expert in the business and science of photovoltaics (PV). In 2008, his innovation of inkjet printing of CIGS, won a prestigious 2008 R&D 100 Award. He founded HelioVolt to develop and commercialize a revolutionary FASST® process for manufacturing CIGS thin-film PV that is now covered by 11 patents issued, 9 additional patent applications, and 83 international extensions. Prior to founding HelioVolt, Dr. Stanbery managed Boeing's terrestrial PV program. During that 17-year tenure his team manufactured and deployed PV for spacecraft, and in 1990 achieved the world record in multi-junction thin-film PV conversion efficiency. Dr. Stanbery completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2001 at the University of Florida, having previously obtained an M.S. in Physics from the University of Washington and B.S. in both Physics and Mathematics from the University of Texas. Dr. Stanbery also serves on the Board of the Texas Renewable Energy Association (TREIA), and as Chairman of the Board of the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities (TFIC).
Steve Darnell, Chief Financial Officer
During his 20+year career, Mr. Darnell has been directly involved with over $350 million of public and private debt and equity financing transactions. Since 2006, he has led HelioVolt's fund raising efforts including a $101 million Series B financing in 2007. Previously to HelioVolt, Mr. Darnell held senior financial positions with Molecular Imprints, VIEO and Advent Networks, having focused his career on building and financing venture-backed technology companies. In total, he has been responsible for over $190 million of private capital financing transactions, including securing over $15 million of capital through commercial banks, specialty finance company and government program transactions.
Prior to 2000, Mr. Darnell held financial management positions at Cisco Systems, Compaq Computer and Seagate Technology. His expertise includes building financial planning and analysis functions, SEC reporting, credit rating due diligence, contract manufacturing management and investor and banking relations. He played key roles in Compaq's first public debt offering of $300 million and helped establish $600 million of syndicated bank lines of credit.
Mr. Darnell holds a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the University of Houston. He is a registered Certified Public Accountant in Texas and Oklahoma.
Sei Jin Jang, VP of Engineering
Mr. Jang leads HelioVolt’s high volume manufacturing process development and engineering. Prior to joining HelioVolt, he managed high volume LCD manufacturing process development and operation for 12 years at LG Display. Mr. Jang has also served as Senior Process Integration engineer and Process Engineer for 12 years at SK Hynix, where he
specialized in new semiconductor manufacturing process development and metrology. Mr. Jang holds B.S. in Physics from Korea University.
John Prater, VP of Business Operations
Mr. Prater leads HelioVolt's Commercial activities including business development, sales, sourcing and procurement to support HelioVolt's strategic initiatives and international growth plans. In his than 20 years experience in the Semiconductor and Solar Industries, John has led global teams in the development of new markets, establishing global supply chain networks, implementing strategic outsourcing programs, and creating strategic investor partnerships. Prior to joining HelioVolt in 2009, Mr. Prater held leadership positions at Oerlikon Solar and Applied Materials. He is a graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington.
Dr. Baosheng Sang, VP of Technology
Dr. Sang has led HelioVolt's proprietary CIGS thin-film PV technology development, evolution and transfer to a manufacture line since 2006. Prior to joining HelioVolt, Dr. Sang had been developing CIGS technologies with Showa Shell Sekiyu (now Solar Frontier), the Institute of Energy Conversion, and Energy Photovoltaics for over 15 years. Dr. Sang has 52 publications including journals, international conferences and patents. Dr. Sang holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and a B.S. and M.S. in Solid State Physics from Lanzhou University.
