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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, the MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35, and was a recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

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 170 peer-reviewed publications, and over 140 US and international patents and patent applications. For his contributions to the development of energy storage materials Gleb has received numerous awards, was elected to be a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, a Fellow of the EU Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and was 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.

Warren L. DeSouza is the Chief Financial Officer at Sila. Prior to Sila, Warren served as the Chief Financial Officer of Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:AIMT) and was responsible for Aimmune’s initial public offering. Prior to Aimmune, Warren served as Vice President of Finance for Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ:ONXX). In this role, Warren was responsible for all accounting, SEC reporting, purchasing, tax and treasury functions of the company prior to its $10 billion acquisition by Amgen. Prior to that for 15 years, Warren was employed as a senior manager at the accounting firms of Deloitte & Touche, LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP, respectively.

Warren received a B.B.A from the University of Notre Dame and is a certified public accountant (inactive).

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.

Michelle is VP of Strategy and was one of the first employees at Sila. 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.

Chris is the VP of Operations 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 the company’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.

Kurt Kelty is the VP of Commercialization at Sila where he leads Business Development, Sales, and Marketing for the Automotive market. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the battery industry, including 11 years at Tesla, where he most recently served as Senior Director of Battery Technology. There he was responsible for leading numerous key initiatives, including setting the company’s battery cell usage strategy, delivering the batteries implemented in the Roadster, Model S/X and Model 3, and leading partnerships and material sourcing efforts at the Gigafactory, among many others. Prior to Tesla, Kelty was Director of Business Development at Panasonic, where he founded the U.S. battery R&D lab.

Kelty holds a BA in Biology from Swarthmore College and a Master of Science from Stanford. He is the author of 16 patents.

Kate Martin is the VP of Technology at Sila. She is responsible for leading process, equipment, and technology development, as well as battery engineering. 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 PhD and MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Engineering Systems and Technology & Policy.

Steve Driskill is the VP of Legal, People & Culture at Sila. He is responsible for overseeing and identifying legal issues across the company and industry, as well as overseeing talent acquisition and organizational development. 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.