Chairman of the Board
Vahan Garboushian founded Amonix, Inc. more than 20 years ago. Mr. Garboushian’s continued vision and leadership as Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors place Amonix at the forefront of CPV technology, and position the company as a strong competitor in the broader solar market. Prior to Amonix, Mr. Garboushian founded and profitably sold Power Hybrids, Inc., a supplier of military and commercial power semiconductors. Mr. Garboushian received a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a BS from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Amonix CPV Technology Board of Directors
The Amonix Board of Directors represents a strong, balanced blend of skills and experience in business management, technology, manufacturing, solar project management, finance, and utility-sector expertise. The Board guides the overall philosophy and direction of Amonix, reflecting the corporate vision to make solar the commercial and environmental energy resource of choice, utilizing CPV technology.
The depth and breadth of the Board's experience provides guidance in the core areas important to Amonix.
Click on a Director's name for background information.
Vahan Garboushian
Brian Robertson
Director
Brian Robertson is Chief Executive Officer and a board director at Amonix, Inc. As co-founder of Sunworks Solar LLC, a solar manufacturing plant developer, and co-founder and President of SunEdison, Mr. Robertson accrued significant financial, execution, and solar manufacturing experience, which he brings to Amonix with its acquisition of Sunworks. Mr. Robertson is a graduate of MIT with a BS in Computer Science and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mark Cirilli
Independent Director
Mark Cirilli is a founding partner and co-leads MissionPoint Capital Partners in its overall investment strategy. He is a member of the investment committee, and heads private equity execution for developers, specialty finance, and specific environmental project investments. He has served as Chief Investment Officer of Marshall Street Management, LLC since 2000, and was a Founder and Managing Partner of MSM Capital Partners, LLC, where he oversaw investment strategy in clean technology and environmental finance sectors. Prior to Marshall Street, Mr. Cirilli held Chief Financial Officer and operating positions at a retail franchise and at Cannondale Corporation. Mr. Cirilli earned an MBA with Distinction from Columbia University and a BA in Accounting and Economics from Fordham University.
Michael Skelly
Independent Director
Michael Skelly led the development of Horizon Wind Energy from a two-man company to a leadership position in the U.S. wind industry. Founded by the Houston-based Zilkha family, Horizon was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2005. In mid-2007 Goldman Sachs sold Horizon Wind to EDP in the largest transaction to date in the burgeoning clean energy industry. Before Horizon, Mr. Skelly developed thermal, hydroelectric, biomass and wind energy projects in Central America with Energia Global. In the early 1990’s Mr. Skelly co-founded the Rain Forest Aerial Tram, a mile-long tramway system which takes visitors on an aerial tour of the rain forest in Costa Rica. That company currently has 400 employees. Mr. Skelly has played a leading role in several other businesses. In 2008, Mr. Skelly ran for the United States Congress as the Democratic nominee in the seventh District of Texas. Michael Skelly has a BA in Economics from the University of Notre Dame. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Central America before obtaining an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ben Kortlang
Independent Director
Ben Kortlang is a Partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where he focuses on growth-stage greentech investing.
Prior to KPCB, Ben worked at Goldman Sachs for 8 years, most recently co-heading Goldman's Alternative Energy Investing business. In this capacity Ben managed Goldman's multi-billion dollar portfolio of alternative energy investments including Horizon Wind Energy, SunEdison, First Solar and Iogen.
Prior to this, Ben led the private equity investing business within Goldman's Special Situations Group, before which he was a Vice President in Goldman's investment banking group focusing on Industrials and Natural Resources.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ben was an Associate with A.T. Kearney where he focused on strategic and operations consulting in the energy, manufacturing, packaging, transportation and communications industries. Before A.T. Kearney, Ben was a Business Analyst at National Australia Bank in strategic planning and macroeconomic forecasting.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) from RMIT University, a Bachelor of Commerce and an Honors degree in Econometrics from University of Melbourne and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Zeb Rice
Independent Director
Mr. Rice is co-founder and a Managing Partner of Angeleno Group. Mr. Rice has 10 years of energy investment and related transactional experience. Mr. Rice oversees Angeleno Group’s investment activities in the areas of energy storage, renewables, carbon, and advanced lighting technologies. Prior to the formation of Angeleno Group, Mr. Rice managed venture investing for News Ltd., a division of News Corporation. At News Corp., Mr. Rice originated transactions and deployed and/or managed News Corp.'s capital at a Board or General Manager level. His portfolio included expansion stage investments in high growth technology companies. Mr. Rice held various positions managing software development projects and multi-million dollar marketing budgets for technology companies. Mr. Rice received a B.S. Magna Cum Laude in Government and Economics from Bowdoin College.
Matt Ryan
Independent Director
Until the end of 2008 Matt was Executive VP of World Wide Operations and Logistics at Flextronics International. He joined CEVA in August 2009 as COO, bringing with him experience of nearly 15 years from Flextronics, where he ran end-to-end contract manufacturing and logistics operations generating revenues in excess of $20 billion. He assumed his current role at the beginning of 2010.