Firefly Energy, Inc., the Peoria, Illinois-based battery technology company that has developed a portfolio of lead-acid battery technologies to break through the traditional performance barriers of safe lead acid chemistry, today announced it has named two executives to senior management and advisory positions and elected a new member to its Board of Directors.
Charles H. Williams has been named chief financial officer, C. David Moll has been elected to the Board of Directors and Richard E. Carver has been appointed to the Firefly Energy Advisory Board.
Mr. Williams brings to the company more than 25 years of experience in equity and debt financing, financial reporting and team building with U.S. and international firms. Before joining Firefly Energy, Mr. Williams was CFO and an executive director of Clipper Windpower Plc, a renewable energy company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and based in Carpinteria, California. Clipper raised more than a quarter-billion dollars in equity funding and implemented a $60 million credit facility during his tenure as CFO. He also spent five years as senior vice president and CFO of Sithe Asia Holdings, a pan-Asian independent power producer based in Hong Kong, and was previously responsible for corporate financial planning and analysis at Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc., a Fortune 250 drug company based in London and the U.S. In 2004, Williams’ strong interest in the alternative energy sector led him to post-graduate studies in emerging energy conversion technologies and the environment at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, where he was awarded an MSc degree.
Mr. Moll was elected to the Firefly Energy Board of Directors this summer. He is founder and managing director of Infield Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage, mass-produced, alternative energy solutions. Infield Capital is a current investor in Firefly Energy. Before launching Infield’s first venture fund, Mr. Moll served as chief executive officer of Webroot Inc., where he was a strong advocate of personal privacy and helped lead the first national educational effort to counter the threat of Internet spyware. While head of Webroot, he grew sales through major retail channels, created the company’s first enterprise division and led the first round of external funding. That effort culminated in early 2005 when Webroot earned $108 million in investment funding from three major venture capital firms.
Mr. Carver brings a wealth of experience from the private and public sectors. He was mayor of Peoria between 1973 and 1984, resigning to become assistant secretary of the Air Force. Before becoming a member of Firefly Energy’s Advisory Board, he served as president and chief executive officer of Zeppelin of North America, president and CEO of automotive supplier ZF Industries, a division of ZF AG (Germany), and chairman and chief executive of Carver Lumber Co. in Peoria. Currently, Mr. Carver is president of MST AMERICA, a consulting firm associated with the MST Group headquartered in Munich, Germany. As part of the advisory board, he will consult with other distinguished leaders Firefly Energy has tapped from the military and private sector and make recommendations to management to accelerate profitability and growth.
“We are pleased to be bolstering our leadership team and our boards by adding these three outstanding executives,” said Edward F. Williams, CEO of Firefly Energy. “Each has a career proving that thinkers and doers are winners, and winners are vital to forming the bedrock of highly successful, energy-focused companies. Charlie, Dick and David bring unique qualifications to their posts, and I am excited about the talents and insights they will be offering as we enter into advanced battery production phases next year.”
The announcement comes after important mid-year developments at Firefly Energy. In June, the company announced it completed a $15 million Series C equity round of financing led by a strategic group of Clean-Tech investors: Quercus Trust, Khosla Ventures and Infield Capital. The new investors joined existing Firefly Energy investors Caterpillar, Husqvarna, KB Partners, the Illinois Finance Authority and the Tri-County Venture Capital Fund. In August, Firefly Energy dedicated its new 40,000-square-foot world headquarters in Peoria. Last year, Firefly’s battery technology was recognized worldwide with awards in the category of Energy for technology innovation from the Wall Street Journal and the “R&D 100” from R&D Magazine.
About Firefly Energy (www.fireflyenergy.com):
Firefly Energy Inc. (“Firefly”) is a Peoria, Illinois-based battery technology company developing a portfolio of lead-acid battery technologies and products to enhance performance within major portions of the $30 billion worldwide battery marketplace. The company’s first applied technology is a microcell foam-based battery technology, which can deliver a unique combination of high performance, low weight and low cost, all within a battery that unleashes the full power potential of lead acid chemistry while overcoming its performance drawbacks. Firefly’s battery products and their patented microcell technology deliver to battery markets a level of performance achieved with advanced battery chemistries (Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium) but at one-fifth the cost. Firefly’s microcell battery products can be manufactured as well as recycled within the existing lead acid battery industry’s vast infrastructure. Firefly is backed by multi-billion-dollar product companies such as Caterpillar (www.cat.com, NYSE: CAT), and Husqvarna (www.husqvarna.com, other OTC: HSQVY.PK). Additional investors include Chicago-area Venture Capital firm KB Partners (www.kbpartners.com), Quercus Trust, Khosla Ventures (www.khoslaventures.com), Infield Capital and the Illinois Finance Authority.
Contacts:
(847) 279-0022, ext. 232
Jim.McClure@TechImage.com
