Management

Robert has been working with early-stage companies for almost three decades and has participated as the principle investor in over fifty business ventures. In this capacity he has founded companies, listed numerous companies on the NASDAQ and Toronto Stock Exchange and variously worked full-time and consulted to numerous startups. Prior to working directly with these companies, Mr. Miller worked as a stock broker, investing on behalf of a large base of individual and institutional clients. He is one of the most experienced private investors in Miami, having raised over $400 million in early-stage investment capital.

Mr. Miller's experience includes being the founder and Chairman of Crystallex International Corporation, a mining company with an estimated 17 million ounces of gold. He was a director and financier of Zmax Corporation a "y2k" company. He was the founder and director of Nanovation Technologies Inc, a developer of fiber-optic products which realized a market capitalization of over $500 million and principle financier and consultant to Asiamerica Equities Inc., a merchant bank while it grew from a market capitalization of $3 million to over $250 million. Currently, Mr. Miller is a director and early investor of Lifespan Biosciences Inc., an industry leader in commercializing proprietary antibodies, providing immunohistochemistry services and developing localization databases.

Mr. Sherman has been in the nano engineered coatings field for 25 years and has built a number of businesses as a serial entrepreneur. In addition to serving as CEO for MesoCoat, Mr. Sherman is also CEO of Powdermet, a company which he founded in 1996 to develop nanocomposite materials and manufacturing technologies. Prior to founding Powdermet, Mr. Sherman was Chief Metallurgist and New Business Development Manager for Ultramet, Inc., a leading Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) company, in Pacoima, CA, where his technical and business developments resulted in a 10-fold growth in company revenues and the creation of three spinouts (including a $100M plus exit). Mr. Sherman’s developments have been the basis for the formation of eight successful companies to date.

Mr. Sherman was appointed to the DOE’s Hydrogen Safety Panel and has served on the review panel since 2006.  Panel duties include interfacing with codes and standards, accident investigations, site reviews, H2 project reviews, and H2 information and training, education, and best practices development.

Mr. Sherman received an MSc. and BSc. in Ceramic Engineering and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University. He has also authored more than 95 papers and presentations on ceramics, metallurgy and composite powder coatings and was recognized with the 2000 R&D 100 award for his patented nano powder production and is a 2009 Ernst and Young entrepreneur of the year finalist.

Mr. Goss has served as a director of Gemocasha, SA, a specialist consultancy group with emphasis on giving technical, marketing and cash management advice to major firms such as Kraft, Heinz, Crystallex, and BP from 1987 to present. He served as the chief executive officer of Crystallex de Venezuela, a mining firm from 1992 to 1998 and Schindler Elevator from 1982 to 1987 in Venezuela, a role in which he successfully integrated multiple acquisitions. He also served as the Technical Maintenance and Installation Manager for Schindler Brazil between 1979 and 1982 in which position he managed over 2,000 people and turned it into one of the most efficient operations within Schindler worldwide. Stephen Goss speaks 5 languages fluently and has been decorated with the Order of the British Empire for his role in enhancing international trade.

Mr. Webb is the Business Development Manager and a Director of Fidelity (Cayman) Ltd., one of the largest banks in the Cayman Islands. He joined Fidelity (Cayman) Ltd in January 1990 and has since earned extensive experience in the international banking sector. Mr. Webb’s responsibilities have included the development, management and direction of investment banking activities alongside corporate finance and risk management. He has exhibited leadership in various roles and provided advice on multiple committees within and without the banking community.

Mr. Webb brings independent management oversight and an expert leadership background with over two decades of accounting, management and consultancy experience to the Corporation’s board of directors.

Mr. Tellini is currently the managing member of Brennecke Partners LLC, a private investment firm located in New York that makes specialty finance and growth capital investments. He brings to Abakan’s board of directors independent management oversight with an expert accounting background garnered over two decades of accounting, management and investment experience. Mr. Tellini will also head Abakan’s audit committee and serve as a member of its compensation, nominating and ethics committees.

Mr. Charbonneau has over 25 years of experience providing accounting and management expertise to a range of different industries. David was previously an independent director for Abakan. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University with a major in Accounting. He is a Ohio Certified Public Accountant and Florida Certified Building Contractor. Mr. Charbonneau started his accounting career as an auditor for Arthur Anderson & Co in Cleveland. His chief financial officer experience spans over 20 years in manufacturing, rental equipment and construction industries. Mr. Charbonneau was a chief financial officer of standalone subsidiaries of both an Australian and United Kingdom publicly traded companies. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of a strategic plan to transition them from a distressed company into a growing and profitable entity. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Charbonneau advised his clients on their strategic planning, budget preparation, sales and margin enhancement, overhead cost management, accounting and financial institution relationships.

Mr. Medanic most recent position was General Manager of Cladtek Bimetal Manufacturing, an Australian leader in the production of mechanically bonded bimetal and weld cladded CRA pipes. At Cladtek Mr. Medanic was instrumental in setting up one of the largest cladding plants in the world, and was involved in management of daily operations to deliver industry-leading products in the Oil & Gas sector.

Mr. Medanic is an expert on the planning and construction of industrial facilities for the oil and gas industry, and in implementing management systems to increase competiveness within the coating and cladding industry.  His two decades of experience in the Marine and Oil & Gas sector involves assessing various types of corrosion protection techniques and establishing plants to manufacture solutions.

Read More...

Mr. Glasgow has been working in the thermal spray field for over 25 years.  He is currently working on developing and commercializing the MesoCoat, PComP™ line of thermal spray coatings and CermaClad™ cladding coatings for components. Mr. Glasgow is also responsible for administrating five SBIR grants from organization including Department of Energy (DOE) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Prior to MesoCoat, Mr. Glasgow had been working for Deloro Stellite Inc. (Now Kennametal) leading a startup venture in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  This $2.5M startup was dedicated to thermal spray coating and finishing of aerospace landing gear.  Mr. Glasgow began his career working for Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc (formerly Union Carbide Coatings Services).  He held many positions with PST including, process engineer, project engineer, quality manager, plant manager and R&D manager.  He was instrumental in growing the Chicago facility from $3.6M up to $11M in sales through new product, process and customer development.  Mr. Glasgow has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

Mr. Allen’s most recent position was Chief Executive Officer of Vortek, a Canadian technology company that had developed the world’s most powerful arc lamp. In 2004, Mr. Allen successfully sold Vortek to a public US semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Mr. Allen is considered a leading authority on applications of the focused arc lamp system that is employed by Abakan.

At Vortek, Mr. Allen assembled an international team of top-caliber staff and executed an ambitious business plan to commercialize the application of arc lamp technology in advanced semiconductor equipment manufacturing. Mr. Allen has over 30 years of experience working with engineering related solutions. We look forward to his involvement with Abakan.

James Rodriguez de Castro brings with him key industry insight and experience in the financial markets. A highly-experienced international trader and businessman, de Castro’s far-reaching investments have also connected him with an extensive network of operators in Asian oil and gas logistics, steel treatment and fabrication. His appointment marks an important step in Abakan’s work to bring its groundbreaking anti-corrosion and anti-wear technologies to Far East markets.

Mr. de Castro’s extensive professional background includes 14 years spent with Merrill Lynch based in Japan and Hong Kong. His numerous senior executive roles there included Head of Global Markets, New Initiatives and Advisory, Pacific Rim; Head of Trading, Equity Derivatives, CBs and Index Arbitrage, Asia; and Head Trader, Japanese Equity Derivatives. His experience in the oil and gas sector began with Bankers Trust during the 1992 Gulf War. He remains a very active investor in this sector in Asia, and maintains active interests in mining and offshore equipment rental.

Morris Reid joined BGR Group, a lobbying firm, as Managing Director in 2008 through BGR’s acquisition of his consulting and public affairs firm, Westin Rinehart. Morris has worked with high-profile individuals, government officials and corporate executives in the successful resolution of complex and high-level political and corporate issues for more than 15 years. He is adept at fostering business development programs and specializes in launching partnerships that meld brand building, coalition advocacy and effective public affairs and issue management strategies.

As the Managing Director of Westin Rinehart, Morris has consulted and provided counsel to the leaders of many Fortune 500 companies. He also served as a Clinton administration senior staff aide to the late Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown and Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Additionally, Morris was the director of Vice President Al Gore's office at the 1996 Democratic Convention and Deputy Director of Vice Presidential Operation for Clinton/Gore '96.

In the 2008 presidential campaign, Morris was one of several senior Democratic strategists utilized by the Obama campaign to engage the mainstream media.

Dr. Thomas has won seven teaching excellence awards as a professor of banking and finance at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Thomas’ research and consulting focuses on investment science and valuation, where he is actively engaged with corporate strategists, institutional investors, financial advisors and money managers and is known for his ability to materially integrate academic research with product development.

Andrew Hall is the founder and managing partner of Hall, Lamb and Hall P.A., based in Miami, Fla., where he specializes in complex commercial litigation, professional negligence, securities litigation and arbitration and international cases. From the Watergate trials and the Ohio savings and loan crisis, to the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole, Hall’s trial skills have earned him national recognition, including being named one of “The Best Lawyers in America” by Best Lawyers for the past decade.

Vinod Gupta, based in Wadsworth, Ohio, is currently the chairman of the Ohio Board of Regents, where he also chairs the Commercialization Task Force and serves on the Shared Services Task Force. He also serves as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) for the Cleveland-based venture development non-profit organization, Jumpstart Entrepreneurial Network (JEN) Advisors, where he helps to grow the northeast Ohio technology ecosystem by using his 14 years of materials sector experience to coach entrepreneurs.

Gupta is a successful entrepreneur focusing on Indian development, and is also an active member of the Ohio Indian-American community, including serving as founding president of the Columbus based Asian-Indian Alliance.

Dr. Kotecki brings 43 years of welding expertise as well as his extensive technical and business network to Abakan. Dr. Kotecki's extensive experience in welding research, pipeline failure analyses, welding training and specifications, welding procedure development, quality assurance and stainless/high alloy welding filler metal and product development will help assure the company’s CermaClad™ products incorporate the highest levels of technical excellence.

In addition to co-authoring the leading textbook on stainless steel welding, Dr. Kotecki conducted welding research projects and pipeline failure analyses for the Battelle Memorial Institute, was the Director of Research for Teledyne McKay (today part of Illinois Tool Works) and retired as the Technical Director for Stainless and High Alloy Product Development for the worlds largest welding company, The Lincoln Electric Company. Dr. Kotecki is past president of the American Welding Society (AWS), where he currently chairs the A5D subcommittee on stainless steel welding and the International Standards Activities Committee. He is also past chair of the International Institute of Welding Commission II Arc Welding and Filler Metals. Dr. Kotecki holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Metallurgical Engineering.