Mr. Berg helped found Valence and has served on the board of directors since September 1991. For more than thirty years, he has been a major Silicon Valley industrial real estate developer and a private venture capital investor. Mr. Berg also serves as the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and director of Mission West Properties, Inc., and a director of Mosys, Inc. and Hancock Fabrics, Inc. Mr. Berg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Mr. Kanode previously served as senior consultant of product and account development for Valence prior to his appointment as president and chief executive officer. His extensive career includes over 13 years of experience in the battery industry including executive, senior management and technical consulting positions with BASF, IBM, United Technology, Varta Batteries AG and other technology corporations. He is an award winning leader in the worldwide introduction of new products, implementation of efficient manufacturing and fulfillment systems, and niche market sales expansion. Mr. Kanode has served on the board of directors for the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association and is a graduate of the Auburn University School of Engineering.
Dr. Keramidas has extensive experience in the development and commercialization of intellectual property and new energy storage technologies and currently serves as the managing director of Keramidas International Associates LLC. In prior roles, Dr. Keramidas served as vice president and research scientist for Bell Laboratories. He has authored or co-authored 165 technical publications and holds several patents. Dr. Keramidas holds a Bachelor's Degree in Physics from Rockford College, a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, a Master's Degree in Physics from John Carroll University and a Ph.D. in Solid State Science (Applied Physics) from the Materials Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University. For his contributions to his field and his technical leadership, Dr. Keramidas has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
Member of the Compensation Committee
Mr. Roberts originally joined Valence in 1992 and rejoined the company in 1998. He has served as chairman and chief executive officer of MCI, where he played a key role in transforming MCI from a start-up long distance company to a $20 billion leader in global communications. Prior to joining MCI, he held various management positions at Leasco Response, Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Company. In addition to being an advisor for many small start up companies, Mr. Roberts currently serves on the boards of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Long Lines, Inc. Mr. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Johns Hopkins University
Chair of the Compensation Committee
Mr. Tognazzini spent nine years as owner and operator of Gato Corporation, a privately held independent oil producer, which merged with Venoco, Inc. (NYSE: "VQ") in December 2007. Prior to his role with Gato, he served as a senior principal, executive vice president and director at Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates in Santa Barbara, California. He assisted in building the investment management firm from approximately $100 million under management to over $1 billion under management. Prior to his work at Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates, he lived and worked in Switzerland where he served as a corporate vice president and manager at First Boston Corporation and later held the same position for Bache, Halsey, Stuart. Mr. Tognazzini earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University. After serving as an officer in Naval Intelligence in Los Angeles, he attended Harvard Business School where he earned a Master of Business Administration.
Member of the Compensation Committee