Ener1 Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, FL), a developer of lithium batteries and fuel cells, announced that its lithium battery subsidiary, EnerDel Inc., has appointed four key executives to the company's senior management team. The appointments round out the company's executive team in support of its strategy of becoming a leading supplier of lithium-ion batteries to manufacturers of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs).
David Burns was named Chief Financial Officer. He has more than 20 years of finance, investment banking, and accounting experience. Zenzo Hashimoto was named Chief Technology Officer. He has over 20 years of high-level technology development, operations, and manufacturing experience with leading Japanese manufacturing companies, where he developed lithium-ion battery and production process technologies.
Naoki Ota was named Vice President, Operations. He has more than 15 years of management, technical, operations, and marketing experience in lithium-ion battery production and related industries. Ronald Stewart was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of EnerDel. Stewart has been with the Ener1 companies since 2002, serving most recently as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Ener1.
EnerDel CEO Ulrik Grape commented, "The battery industry expertise we have assembled within our senior leadership team is ideally suited for executing our business plan. In all major business areas -- research, technology application, manufacturing, marketing, financial, and legal -- we are well positioned to serve the accelerating demand for HEVs and other lithium-ion battery applications, both in the US and globally."
