Emily Liggett - CEO
 Emily joined NovaTorque in March 2009 with thirty years of experience as engineer, technology entrepreneur and CEO. Her passion is to successfully commercialize new technology-based products, which she has successfully done many times in her career.
Emily was most recently CEO of Apexon, a supply chain analytics provider for discreet manufacturing companies, before which she was CEO at Capstone Turbine, the world's leading producer of low-emission microturbine systems. Emily began her career with DuPont and then joined Raychem Corporation where she held assignments in Sales, Marketing, Operations and General Management, including GM of the Raychem Telecommunications Division and CEO of Elo TouchSystems, the global leader in touch technology products. She has had several international experiences; working in Switzerland with EPFL, Australia with McKinsey, Japan with TouchPanel Systems and Belgium with the European Community Task Force for Industrial Innovation.
Emily has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, an M.S. degree in Manufacturing Systems and an MBA from Stanford University.
John Petro - Founder and Chief Technology Officer 
 John is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of NovaTorque. John has developed the key elements of the innovative motor design that is the foundation of NovaTorque. He is responsible for the company's technical roadmap and the design and development of future products. He has an extensive background in innovative product design with particular expertise in electromechanical design, magnetic analysis and control theory.
John sold his previous company, Quizix, to Ametek, Inc. in 2005 so he could focus his efforts on the high potential motor innovations introduced through the NovaTorque technology. Quizix was founded in 1987 and John served as President and lead design engineer for eighteen years. Quizix designed and manufactured precision pump systems for use in oil field research labs and counted all the major petroleum companies in its customer base. John previously worked for the Federal Communications Commission, SRI International and Phase II Automation.
John obtained his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. John holds ten patents in the field of electrodynamics, including those covering NovaTorque's revolutionary motor technology.
Don Burch - Co-Founder and VP Product Development
 As NovaTorque’s Vice-President of Product Development, Don focuses on guiding new products through manufacturing, quality assurance and reliability phases.
Don's career is highlighted with his development of medical products at Acuson, a leading medical ultrasound company that was acquired by Siemens. Don joined Acuson in its early startup phase and served as VP of Engineering. He then joined John Petro at Quizix, Inc. and helped lead the development of the technology that is the core of NovaTorque’s revolutionary motors. Previously, Don worked at SRI International on military and medical electronic projects.
Don received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is co-inventor on six issued US patents.
Kim Baker – VP of Applications Engineering
 Involved in the design and production of electro-mechanical systems for over twenty-five years, Kim Baker joins NovaTorque as its Vice-President of Applications Engineering. Kim is responsible for providing technical assistance to customers and helping them realize the tremendous potential of NovaTorque technology in their applications.
He founded and oversaw KCB Software, a consulting firm specializing in systems automation, prior to his employment at Quizix, Inc. with John Petro. At Quizix, Kim developed proprietary control software for high-precision pumping equipment, and served a primary role in sales and marketing.
Kim obtained his B.S. degree from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and further education at the University of British Columbia, Canada and Santa Clara University.
Alan Crapo – VP of Engineering
 Alan Crapo is NovaTorque's Vice-President of Engineering and has been involved in the research, design, development and production of electric motors for over thirty years. At NovaTorque, Alan oversees design engineering and product finalization efforts with a focus on manufacturability and product cost while maintaining exceptional quality.
Alan joined NovaTorque after leading electric motor development at Emerson Electric, where he worked on induction and brushless DC motors. Previously, he was active in electric motor research and design at Seagate Technology, Inland Motor and the Westinghouse Electric Research Center.
Alan obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University. He has been granted 16 patents in the fields of brushless DC motors, induction motors and superconducting motors.
Lawson Fisher – VP of Manufacturing
 Lawson Fisher is NovaTorque's Vice-President of Manufacturing, responsible for the game-changing automation that revolutionizes how electric motors are built. Before joining NovaTorque, Lawson was in charge of the design and manufacture of innovative medical devices with Pelikan Technologies and Dynatherm Medical Inc. He has extensive product manufacturing experience, having previously worked at Hewlett-Packard, Phase 2 Automation, Spectra-Physics, Zyomyx and Protogene Labs.
Lawson obtained his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He has been awarded two patents in the field of automation.
R. Scott Johnson – VP of Sales
 R. Scott Johnson is NovaTorque's Vice-President of Sales, responsible for introducing NovaTorque to potential customers. He has thirty years of experience as a senior executive in the motor and controls industry.
Scott was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Power Efficiency Corp., a provider of energy efficient motor controllers. He successfully utilized his experience in driving sales as the CEO of Industrial Devices Corp., CEO of AutomationSolutions Int., and served as the President of BMG Seltec and Trakit GPS. Scott began his career in sales at Warner Electric (now part of Danaher Corporation) and rose rapidly through the ranks to become its chief sales/marketing executive. At Compumotor Corporation, Scott built the motion control industry's leading sales and distribution network. He also served as the General Manager and Group VP after Compumotor's acquisition by Parker Hannifin.
Scott obtained his B.A. degree in Political Science, with honors, from Rockford College.
Dan Mertens – VP of Marketing
 As NovaTorque's Vice-President of Marketing, Dan Mertens is responsible for identifying markets and applications that would most benefit from the NovaTorque technology. He brings over twenty years of experience in executive positions, including nine years running his own consulting practice focused on marketing and business strategy. Dan held the CEO position at Online Focus, Inc. and MicroSpeed, Inc. He has extensive experience marketing industrial products and was responsible for global field marketing efforts at Novell, Inc.
Dan holds a B.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Idaho, and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. |
