Gene Berdichevsky is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sila. Prior to co-founding Sila, Gene was the seventh employee at Tesla Motors where he served as Principal Engineer on the Roadster battery, leading the development of the world’s first, safe, mass-produced, automotive lithium-ion battery system.

Gene holds two degrees from Stanford University; an MS in Engineering with a focus on energy and materials, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He has co-authored over 45 patents and academic publications. Gene has been named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list and the MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35.

Dr. Gleb Yushin is a Co-Founder & CTO of Sila. He is also a Professor of Materials Science at Georgia Institute of Technology and an Editor-in-Chief for Materials Today. Gleb has co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications, and over 210 US and international patents and patent applications. For his contributions to the development of energy storage materials Gleb has received numerous awards and was elected to be a Fellow of multiple organizations: the International Society of Electrochemistry, the Materials Research Society, the Electrochemical Society, the EU Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. Gleb was also recognized as one of the world’s most influential scientific minds.

Gleb holds BS and MS degrees in Physics from Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Materials Science from North Carolina State University.

Abbey Omokhodion is the Chief Financial Officer at Sila, where she is responsible for driving financial oversight, structure, operational rigor in financial processes, and delivering strategic organizational leadership.

Prior to Sila, Abbey was the CFO for The Programmable Solutions group at Intel Corporation. Prior to that, she was the CFO for a division of General Electric (GE) Lighting, where she built the first Lighting-as-a-Service business, driving new business models and increasing commercial effectiveness. Abbey has also held senior Finance leadership roles at GE Transportation and the Ford Motor Company.

Abbey holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Lagos, an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Business, and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.

Chris is the Chief Operating Officer at Sila. Prior to Sila, he spent 11 years at PPG Industries, a Fortune 500 global chemical and paint company. There, Chris was responsible for building and managing manufacturing facilities, and ultimately leading store operations within the role of Regional Operations Manager. At Sila, Chris oversees the expansion of Sila’s operations function and the scale-up of manufacturing across all facilities.

Chris received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and has two degrees from Duke University – a Master of Environmental Management and a Master of Business Administration.
 

Rosendo Alvarado is the Senior Plant Director for Sila’s Moses Lake manufacturing plant. Prior to joining Sila, Rosendo spent 26 years at REC Silicon, where he held a variety of leadership roles, including FBR Unit Manager, Production Managers, and Commissioning & Startup Superintendent at the REC Butte facility. At Sila, Rosendo oversees all aspects of plant operations, from staffing and commissioning to ongoing operations and engineering support. 

John is the General Manager of Consumer Electronics at Sila, where he will drive the expansion of Sila’s technology onto new markets beyond the automotive sector.

John has more than two decades of experience scaling innovative technologies on a global stage. Prior to Sila, John held multiple leadership positions at Corning Incorporated, most recently serving as Senior VP & GM of Corning’s Mobile Consumer Electronics, directing the end-to-end operations of its breakthrough Corning® Gorilla Glass®, Advanced Optics, and Bendable Glass programs.

John holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is also a board member for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and The Guthrie Clinic.

Susan Cashen is the VP of Marketing at Sila. Susan is a globally-recognized business leader with more than 30 years of leadership experience. Prior to joining Sila, Susan was SVP, Marketing at Control4, a residential provider of smart home and energy management solutions. She was part of the leadership team to take the company public, driving growth through international and market expansion, strategic partnership, acquisition, and broadened distribution. As VP, Marketing at TiVo, the first-ever digital video recorder, Susan led the company’s consumer launch, helping to forever change the way people watch TV.

She currently serves as a board advisor to companies in the audio, video, and smart lighting sectors and has received numerous awards for her work including the Innovators Vision Smart Grid award from Distributech, the Women in Technology award for Excellence in Marketing, The Masters Industry Heroes award by CEDIA’s Ce Pro, and The Most Powerful Women in Consumer Technology award from Dealerscope.

Susan holds a BA in Russian Studies from Hamilton College.

Michelle is VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at Sila, and was one of the company's first employees. Prior to Sila, Michelle served in client advisory roles to technology companies, working in China, across the United States and Australia. She worked as an investment banking analyst in Morgan Stanley’s technology group; then as a management consultant in Silicon Valley with Boston Consulting Group. Michelle also spent summers at Google, Microsoft, and O’Melveny & Myers while pursuing her graduate studies.

Michelle holds four degrees from Stanford University – a JD from Stanford Law School, an MBA from Stanford GSB, an MA in Sociology with a focus in Organizational Behavior, and a BA in Economics.

Steve Driskill is the VP of Business Affairs at Sila. Prior to joining Sila, Steve was a partner at the DC area law firm of Muncy, Geissler, Olds & Lowe. Steve’s practice included handling and advising his clients on intellectual property and associated matters in a wide range of technical fields, including energy storage devices, semiconductors, electronic circuits, web services, and telecommunication systems.

Steve holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and a JD with a specialty in Patent Law from the George Mason University School of Law.

Gwen Harrison is the VP, Deputy General Counsel at Sila. Prior to joining Sila, Gwen was the VP & Deputy General Counsel at Pure Storage, where she led a global team utilizing her deep expertise in commercial transactions, IP licensing, international law and governance. Gwen also held leadership roles at Citrix Systems and Symantec Corporation with a focus in strategic alliances, SaaS software licensing, mergers & acquisitions, and product support.

Gwen holds a BA in Communication from Arizona State University and a JD with a speciality in International Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

Gwen Hsu is the VP of Product at Sila, where she leads the company’s product strategy, portfolio planning, and go-to-market execution across multiple product categories and global markets. 

Prior to Sila, Gwen served as VP of Global Product Management and R&D at Kensington/ACCO Brands, where she led global product strategy, roadmap planning, and adjacent category expansion. She oversaw teams across the U.S. and Asia spanning product and project management, engineering, and compliance. She is recognized for driving business transformation through strategic product vision, innovation, and execution, as well as for her collaborative leadership style and global business expertise.

Gwen holds an MBA from National Taiwan University and a BA in International Trade from National Chengchi University.

Alex Jacobs is a Co-Founder & VP of Engineering at Sila. Prior to Sila, he designed and developed battery packs at Tesla, including those used in the Roadster and Daimler’s Smart Fortwo electric drive. He later oversaw battery cell build and test at lithium-ion materials manufacturer Amprius. Earlier in his career, Alex worked in product design at IDEO, where he co-developed two novel medical devices for a Fortune 500 client, both now FDA approved and in production.

Alex holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and has co-authored 18 issued or pending US patents.

Arjun Karavadi is VP of Supply Chain at Sila. He joined Sila in 2020 as Head of Strategic Sourcing, responsible for developing and executing material sourcing strategies to support Sila's growth and scale-up plans. Prior to Sila, Arjun spent several years at SunPower holding both functional and leadership roles within the global supply chain organization spanning New Product Introduction, Commodity Management, Planning, Procurement, Logistics, and Supplier Quality.

Arjun holds Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University, in Operations Management from Northwestern University, and in Liberal Arts from the University of Chicago.

Kate Martin is VP of Programs and Chief of Staff at Sila, where she serves as a strategic partner to the CEO, ensuring alignment between company priorities and operational execution. She heads the Office of the CEO and directs a team of Program Directors, driving the cross-functional delivery of Sila’s key product and technology initiatives. Prior to Sila, Kate worked at Chevron where she held six positions including Process Engineer, Technical Manager, and Executive Advisor to the President of Oronite. At Chevron, she developed processes, facilitated leadership teams, and built empowered technical teams that solved multi-disciplinary problems in complex operating environments - like those in Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, refineries, and chemical plants.

Kate holds a BA in Physics from Reed College and a Ph.D. and MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Engineering Systems and Technology & Policy.

Justin Virgili is the VP of Research, Development, and Engineering at Sila, where he leads the development of novel battery materials and their use in Sila’s high-performance product solutions for lithium-ion batteries.

Prior to Sila, Justin held multiple leadership roles at Tactus Technology. In his last position as VP of Engineering, he led New Product Introduction (NPI) for two material-based product families, managed the IP strategy and portfolio, and developed industry partnerships to accelerate speed to market for innovative materials. Previously, Justin led the commercialization of novel, materials-based products at Dow Chemical.

Justin received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and two B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biological Sciences from Stanford University. Justin has also authored and co-authored 9 peer-reviewed journal articles and 11 patents/applications.