Our Team
Executive Team & Management
Max Lewinsohn
Chairman & CEO
Max Lewinsohn is the parent company’s largest individual shareholder and main financial backer, having resolutely fought to maintain and support the development of this technology from the beginning.
Max played tennis as captain of the British junior team before training as a chartered accountant, and then becoming chairman of a public company in his late 20s. He has some 35 years experience at board level in the financial services and energy sectors, having invested in and guided six public and many private companies in Europe and the US.
Previous directorships include The Children’s Medical Investment Trust plc (investment), Wingate Investments Ltd (property development), Southwest Resources plc (oil and gas), States Petroleum Inc. (oil and gas), Card Clear plc (financial services), Film Finances Inc. (film finance), William Hunt Holdings Ltd. (Asia Pacific oil and trading), Kar-Tainer International Inc. (shipping), and Eneco Inc. (energy conservation).
Max Lewinsohn
Chairman & CEO
Dr. Tom Zirkle
Chief Technology Officer
Tom Zirkle is a senior technology manager with over 18 years of semiconductor industrial experience with Motorola / Freescale Semiconductor. He launched his career from a technical foundation built upon a Master of Science degree (1987) in concentrator solar cell research and a PhD (1990) in III-V semiconductor materials characterization, both awarded from Arizona State University. Tom has continued to enjoy working with universities as evidenced by being awarded Mentor of the Year from the Semiconductor Research Corporation.
Tom’s industrial experience demonstrates research and development innovation, coupled with principled technical leadership and management spanning numerical process and device simulation, to strategic portfolio-based technology business case studies and investment justifications. Technical work and collaboration has resulted in 7 patents and 31 publications. Tom’s technical flexibility is seen in his successful R&D leadership of a wide range of technical disciplines including numerical simulation, device engineering, characterization and modelling, and integrated passives.
After moving to a business group, Tom spearheaded key design projects directed for first application on new technology nodes requiring coordination of design teams, process integration teams, manufacturing teams, software enablement teams, and marketing. Based upon his strategic technology business case studies and investment opportunities, Tom was assigned as business group lead to manage the transfer of technologies into foundries around the world.
Dr. Tom Zirkle
Chief Technology Officer
Eric Robinson
US General Counsel & CFO
Eric Robinson spent fourteen years in private practice as a corporate attorney, including eleven years as a partner in the Salt Lake City, Utah law firm of Blackburn & Stoll, LC. His law practice focused on securities, corporate and other business transactions. His securities practice included working with companies in connection with public offerings of securities, SEC reporting, proxy statements, exempt offerings of securities and other financial transactions. His practice also included counseling with clients in corporate partnering, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and technology transfer, choice of entity and compensation planning.
Eric is a former member of the securities section of the Utah State Bar, was previously listed in Utah’s Legal Elite (Corporate Law), Utah Business Magazine, and is AV Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell. He graduated from the University of Utah with honors with a B.S. degree in accounting and he subsequently passed the CPA exam (unlicensed). Eric also graduated from Vanderbilt University with a J.D. where he graduated Order of the Coif and acted as a Managing Editor of the Law Review.
Eric previously acted as chief financial officer, general counsel, and an owner of Eckman & Mitchell Construction, LLC. This commercial construction company had revenues in excess of $100 million in 2007-08, and worked on projects in approximately 18 states during Eric’s tenure. Eric also acts as chief financial officer and general counsel to a genetics research company.
Eric Robinson
US General Counsel & CFO
Tristan Lewinsohn
Director, Business Development
Tristan Lewinsohn has been involved with MicroPower since the outset and is an executive member of the Board. He went to St. Paul’s School in London before graduating from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor of Science in Politics. Having initially trained as an accountant, he then moved into the world of marketing, working for several years as the press officer of pan-European TV sports channel Eurosport.
Using his experience in media, Tristan then worked as a freelance media consultant and journalist, and was appointed executive director of aka.tv, an online publication covering the digital media/technology sector, with over 15,000 subscribers in more than 100 countries.
He has invested in and assisted numerous technology start-ups in the last ten years and was a founding investor in Metail, a virtual fitting room service sold to clothing manufacturing giant TAL in 2019, as well as ventures in the regenerative medicine and fitness industries.
After playing a prominent role in establishing MicroPower, Tristan took on a non-executive role in 2013 before returning to a full-time executive role in 2019 as the company moved into the commercialization phase. He now plays a lead role in developing strategic relationships with industry partners.
Tristan Lewinsohn
Director, Business Development
Ed Sadjadi
VP, Engineering & Applications
Ed Sadjadi is an accomplished semiconductor industry professional, and a manufacturing technology and product development leader with extensive experience in managing every phase of the product life cycle. He started his career at Monolithic Memories while attending college and moved on to hold key leadership positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Spansion. Ed has started, acquired, and managed private businesses, turned around failing programs, lead development efforts for disruptive technologies and leading-edge products, implemented solutions to complex business and technical challenges, and executed several manufacturing transition projects.
Ed received his MBA from Saint Edwards University, Austin, Texas in 1996 after completing undergraduate studies in Business Administration and The Engineering and Technology Institute Program at The University of Texas in Austin (1994). He is a patent holder, recipient of several corporate and industry awards, and Author of Merit of Publications in International Symposium on Silicon Manufacturing and Technology Manufacturing Methods Council. He was featured in Semiconductor Magazine for the implementation of innovative manufacturing automation solutions, and on PBS while teaching technical courses in The Semiconductor Technology Program at Austin Community College – a model consortium effort between local technology companies (IBM, Motorola, AMD, Sematech) and the City of Austin to enhance technical labor pool in the area.
Ed Sadjadi
VP, Manufacturing & Applications
Ron Panchuk
President, MicroPower Canada
Ron Panchuk has almost 40 years’ experience within the oil and gas industry, initially as a lawyer in private practice in Calgary, Canada acting for a variety of large and small international E&P companies.
After nine years in the Middle East during the 1990s where Ron was general counsel to the Economic Department of the Government of Dubai and Emaar, Ron returned to Canada and worked for numerous E&P companies as a business development executive and in-house counsel operating in South America, the Middle East and Africa.
In 2013, Ron co-founded Maha Energy AB which eventually listed on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm. The Company operates significant producing interests primarily in Brazil. Ron retired from Maha in January 2020 to pursue other opportunities.
Ron Panchuk
President, MicroPower Canada
Dr. Ruwan Dedigama
Head of Materials Development
Dr. Ruwan Dedigama is currently leading the materials development division at MicroPower Global. He was the technical lead responsible for transferring the crystal growth process from Colorado Research Laboratory to MicroPower's facilities in San Marcos, Texas.
Ruwan received his Master of Science in Engineering Physics in 2006 and PhD in Physics in 2009 from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining MicroPower Global, Ruwan worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Duke University where he developed semiconductor-based gas sensors for military applications. Following the completion of his work at Duke, Ruwan joined Texas State University in San Marcos as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the MBE growth and characterization group, where he directed the lead telluride growth section.
Ruwan has over eight years of experience in semiconductor nanostructure device engineering and characterization, six years of successful research in physics and electrical engineering, and is the author of numerous international journal publications.
Dr. Ruwan Dedigama
Head of Materials Development
Cameron Paiga
Head of Process Engineering
Cameron Paiga is currently leading the process engineering division at MicroPower Global. He is responsible for streamlining the process line and testing the thermoelectric performance of our base material. Cameron received his Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas State University. During his time at Texas State, he worked as a research assistant studying the capabilities of FICO Xpress software with solving dynamic quadratic facility layout problems for flexible manufacturing systems.
Cameron interned with Samsung Austin Semiconductor in their photolithography department where he developed and implemented forecasting models for tool capabilities. He also interned with MicroPower Global as a process technician where he performed all tasks in the processing of the thermoelectric material. Upon graduating, he joined the photolithography team at Samsung full time where he managed new technology setups for all device nodes and optimized tool utilization across the fleet.
Cameron Paiga
Head of Process Engineering
Non-executive Directors
Neville Davis
Non-Executive Director
Neville Seymour Davis has acquired extensive business experience over a 40-year period. His early career was in the merchant navy where he served as a deck officer. He founded his first company in 1980 and launched a substantial and successful business career.
This business ultimately became the Britannia Group of Companies, which he expanded and diversified over a 30-year period to encompass activities in the fashion, construction, metal and leather industries. He also developed another complementary group of companies in the music and entertainment industries, London Bridge Group of Companies.
Neville progressively refocused his investment activities towards addressing ecological issues and has made a variety of “angel” investments, including MicroPower, in which he was one of the founding investors.
Neville Davis
Non-Executive Director
Eddy Swaab
Non-Executive Director
Edgar “Eddy” James Swaab was born and went to school in Amsterdam, before attending Neyenrode Business University for three years to gain his BBA. Subsequently, he attended both Delft University and the University of Amsterdam over a two-year period, completing an MBA and a Law degree at the same time.
In March 1982, he began his business career at Paribas Valeurs (now BNP Paribas) in Paris. Autumn 1983 saw Eddy move to a role with the World Bank in Washington, before being headhunted by Rothschilds in New York, where he moved in June 1984. Here, he speeded through the ranks to become Junior Partner in 1986 and Partner in 1987. 1986 also saw another big success in Eddy’s life, his marriage to Marja, his wife of 25 years. In February 1988, Eddy decided to go it alone, and set up his own business with the backing of some major European financial institutions.
In more recent years, Eddy has taken a step back from the city, acquired interests in various private equity vehicles and, in 2002, decided to concentrate on his family office interests. An admitted technophobe having come to email late, Eddy has rather more interest in investing in technology than using it, and is a frequent supporter of potentially game-changing projects, such as MicroPower.
Eddy Swaab
Non-Executive Director
Maarten Scholten
Non-Executive Director
Maarten R. Scholten holds a Master of Science in politics from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and a JD Commercial Law from the University of Amsterdam. He started his career at Loeff & van der Ploeg, a Dutch law firm (now part of Allen & Overy) working in the Amsterdam and New York offices after which he spent two decades in senior and executive positions at Schlumberger Ltd. During his career at Schlumberger, Maarten was Director of Legal Services, Head of Finance, President of Schlumberger Oilfield Services ECA (Europe, Africa and CIS), and Director of Mergers & Acquisitions.
From 2006 to 2009 he was co-founder and co-executive director of Delta Hydrocarbons SA (Luxemburg and Amsterdam) a private equity firm investing in the oil and gas business. Most recently, Maarten was Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of Total, where he led a team of more than 900 lawyers and compliance professionals across more than 100 countries.
In addition to his role at MicroPower, Maarten also serves as a non-executive board member and acts as an advisor/consultant for several other small and medium sized companies in the energy, healthcare/medical and industrial sectors.
Maarten Scholten
Non-Executive Director
Consultants
Dr. Victor Sevastyanenko
Senior Consultant Scientist
Dr. Victor Sevastyanenko provides device testing and data reduction expertise. In addition to his major interest of plasma physics, he also has extensive experience in areas that will be useful to MicroPower’s development effort, such as thermodynamics and computer simulation. Prior to emigrating from the former Soviet Union in 1999, Dr. Sevastyanenko had headed the Department of Applied Physics at the Belarusian State Polytechnic Academy in Minsk from 1981 onwards. Other posts include Senior Scientific Researcher at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk (Russia’s Science City) from 1967 to 1981.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sevastyanenko has held teaching positions in a wide variety of areas in physics, in addition to managing research laboratories. He has authored more than 100 scientific papers and three books, including the key paper on this technology which appeared in the Journal of Applied Physics in January 2005, and has also received numerous honours for his scientific and educational accomplishments.
Dr. Victor Sevastyanenko
Senior Consultant Scientist
Dr. Maurice Brau
Consultant Scientist
Dr. Maurice Brau began his scientific career with the US Naval Radiological Defence Laboratory after completing graduate studies at Creighton University. He then spent 31 years with Texas Instruments developing materials used in night vision applications.
Dr. Brau was a Texas Instruments Fellow as well as manager of the Advanced Materials and Sensors Group. He requested early retirement to establish Colorado Research Laboratory where he continues to develop materials used in the infrared industry.
His work on Mercury Cadmium Telluride has received international attention and he was chairman of the Infrared Information Symposia for three years. He is author or co-author of more than forty scientific papers and holds 14 patents.
Dr. Maurice Brau
Consultant Scientist
Dr. Thomas Myers
Material Science Consultant
Dr. Thomas Myers joined Texas State University as Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program in July of 2008. In Spring of 2009, he also accepted the position of Associate Dean in the College of Science. Prior to coming to Texas State University, he was the Robert C. Byrd Professor of Physics at West Virginia University and Co-Director of the WVNano Initiative, the State of WV’s nanoscale science, engineering and education initiative.
Dr. Myers has a broad background of research experience in advanced electronic and energy materials growth, materials and surface science and device fabrication, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary research. He has 145 publications in this area, three book chapters, and has presented more than 200 invited and contributed presentations at national and international venues in the last 10 years. In recognition of his educational accomplishments, he was chosen as a WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher, a recognition limited to three people per year University-wide. He has also been recognized with the Outstanding Researcher Award twice, and was an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand in 2005.
Recently he has focused on developing interdisciplinary research at the undergraduate and graduate level. Prior to moving to WVU in 1993, Prof. Myers was Manager of General Electric Electronics Laboratory’s Infrared Materials and Devices Lab and was responsible for a group of 43 professionals involved in activities ranging from basic materials development to prototype infrared focal plane array fabrication for system insertion.
Dr. Thomas Myers
Material Science Consultant
Dr. Ravi Droopad
Material Science Consultant
Dr. Ravi Droopad joined Texas State University in 2008 as a professor after spending 13 years at Motorola Labs/Freescale semiconductors developing novel materials for future device applications. His early education took place in England where he was awarded a BSc in Electronics & Communications from the University of Birmingham and a PhD in Semiconductor Physics from Imperial College, London. After a stint as a Research Scientist at Arizona State University, he joined Motorola Labs where he developed growth processes for PHEMT and EMODE type devices for power amplifiers. He has led a team to develop multifunctional oxides on semiconductors including oxides on silicon as a high k dielectric replacement for SiO2 in Si CMOS devices and GaAs on oxide on silicon technology.
More recently his work on oxides on III-V semiconductors has led to the successful demonstration of Fermi level unpinning on GaAs and the realization of high-performance enhancement mode III-V MOSFET devices. In 2002, he was elected to the Motorola’s Scientific Advisory Board Associates for his contributions to materials research. In 2006 he received the IEEE Phoenix section engineer of the year award. He currently has 39 issued patents and has published over 140 refereed papers.
Dr. Ravi Droopad
Material Science Consultant
Jeremy Jones
Steel Industry Consultant
Jeremy Jones is Managing Partner/President of Continuous Improvement Experts Inc. and is responsible for all process related services globally, providing technical services to the metals industries from the Board Level through to plant floor operations. Previous assignments have been completed for clients in more than 100 countries. Clients have included the United Nations, US Department of Energy, WorldSteel, The International Iron Metallics Association, US Department of Homeland Security and most of the world’s top steel companies.
In addition to projects related to process improvement/optimization, he has also acted in an expert witness role related to various plant operating accidents. Jeremy has written more than 100 technical papers and was the primary author for the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) chapter in the most recent edition of ”The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel”. He is a distinguished fellow of both AIST and IIMA and the recipient of the John Bell award for innovation related to EAF technology.
Jeremy Jones
Steel Industry Consultant