People in composites: April 2023

Concordia Fibers announces new CEO

Sean Remond, CEO of Concordia Engineered Fibers.

Concordia Engineered Fibers (Coventry, R.I., U.S.) presents Sean Reymond as the company’s new CEO.

Reymond has more than 25 years’ experience pioneering advancements within the composites industry. Starting at the National Research Council of Canada, Sean went on to complete a Master’s degree in composite materials at the University of Montreal (Canada) that focused on the pultrusion process. Since then, he has been integrated within the composites industry across the development of pultrusion, compression and bladder molding processes for several companies.

After completing a Master’s degree in business administration, Reymond continued to push industry limits with the development of thin wall and curved profiles as well as structural profiles in thermoplastic resin. Within his prior role as CTO, Reymond is said to have developed molding processes for long and continuous fiber thermoplastic composites and led teams to successful delivery of innovative products. Reymond is now applying his most recent experience from development of new business applications for specialty fiberglass yarns and rovings to the position of CEO at Concordia Engineered Fibers.

Since 1920, Concordia has specialized in the design and development of technically engineered yarns, offering advanced twisting of carbon, glass, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW) and other hard-to-process fibers, as well as commingling, winding and plying for production of a broad range of complex fabrics. Concordia has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., France and Mexico capable of large-scale technical yarn production, where Reymond will bring his expertise to the forefront.

Chad Duty transitions into IACMI CEO role

As of April 1, Chad Duty officially stepped into the role of CEO at the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI, Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.). In this position, Chad has become responsible for the full scale of day-to-day operations of the institute. He was named CEO Elect in October 2022.

“It is an exciting time to become IACMI CEO,” Duty says. “IACMI has built a strong foundation and a strong 120-plus member consortium that has and continues to advance composite design, manufacturing, technical innovation and workforce solutions. I look forward to working with our members and partners to expand our impact.”

Duty has nothing but praise for the existing IACMI team, starting with Interim CEO Dale Brosius, IACMI’s chief commercialization officer (CCO). Brosius, who has served as interim CEO since April 2022, became executive vice president April 1. He will continue in his roles as CCO and executive director of the IACMI consortium.

Chad Duty, CEO of IACMI.

“Chad is well positioned for IACMI,” Maha Krishnamurthy, president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF), says. UTRF is the sole corporate member of Collaborative Composite Solutions Corp., the non-profit organization which operates IACMI. “He has a passion for partnerships and seeing people come together and make something happen. I am confident under his leadership that IACMI will continue to drive innovation, create economic value for our members and partners and advance our composites community.”

“I also want to express my gratitude to Dale for his leadership as interim CEO,” Krishnamurthy adds. “He has contributed significantly to IACMI’s operations since its launch in 2015. He is a great resource for our organization and champion for the composites’ community. I look forward to continuing working with Dale in his new role as executive vice president.”

An engineering professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) and joint faculty member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Duty has a strong background in advanced manufacturing research, technical management, strategic planning, industrial collaborations, navigating complex organizations, and working with a variety of stakeholders and funding agencies.

Duty, who will continue as a professor at UT, has more than 20 years of research experience in advanced manufacturing — spanning technologies in thin film processing, printed electronics, solar energy and additive manufacturing of polymer composites. Before joining the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering at UT in 2015, he served as a research scientist and group leader at ORNL, beginning in 2004, and helped to establish the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. He began his career as a senior aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.). He has a PhD in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech (Atlanta) and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech (Blacksburg).

Joby appoints former FAA administrator to company’s board of directors

Michael Huerta, former administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, joins Joby Aviation board of directors.

Joby Aviation Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) has announced the appointment of Michael Huerta, former administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, Washington, D.C., U.S.), to the company’s board of directors.

Huerta also serves on the board of directors for Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Ga., U.S.), which announced a multiyear, multi-market commercial and operational partnership with Joby in October 2022. As part of the agreement between the two companies, Delta made an up-front equity investment in Joby of $60 million, with a total investment of up to $200 million possible based on the achievement of mutually agreed progress milestones.

Huerta’s appointment to the board of directors follows the appointment of Dan Elwell, former acting administrator of the FAA, to the company’s advisory board in 2021. The FAA plays a critical role in bringing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to market, and the appointment comes as Joby continues to make progress in certifying its aircraft with the FAA for commercial passenger use in 2025.

“Michael is joining our team at a pivotal time for Joby and the broader eVTOL industry, and his dual seat on Joby and Delta’s boards will be invaluable as we prepare for commercial operations,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby says. “He has been a strong proponent of electric aircraft and future aviation technologies, and we’re grateful for the passion and depth of experience he brings to our team.”

Huerta completed a five-year term as FAA administrator in 2018, during which the agency reportedly earned an unprecedented safety record. He previously served as acting FAA administrator from 2011 to 2013 and deputy FAA administrator from 2010 to 2011. Huerta is currently a consultant serving the aviation and transportation industries, and also serves on the board of directors of Verra Mobility Corp. (Mesa, Ariz., U.S.).

“The United States is on the verge of a new era of aviation, with electric aircraft like Joby’s transforming how we travel,” Huerta notes. “I’ve been impressed by Joby’s leadership in the sector and look forward to supporting the team as it works toward making fast and clean everyday flight a reality.”

Joby has continued to build its board of directors with industry expertise. In addition to Huerta, the company’s board members include Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and a partner at Greylock; Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox; Dr. James Kuffner, CEO and representative director of Woven by Toyota, and a member of the board of directors of Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC); Dipender Saluja, managing director of Capricorn Investment Group; Halimah DeLaine Prado, general counsel of Google; and Laura Wright, former CFO of Southwest Airlines Co. The board is chaired by Paul Sciarra, cofounder of Pinterest.

Nawa Technologies prepares for future global growth with new CEO appointment

Antoine Saucier, Nawa Technologies CEO.

Nawa Technologies (Aix-en-Provence, France), known for its nanotechnology which is said to achieve game-changing energy storage and composite material products, has appointed Antoine Saucier as its new CEO.

Bringing more than 25 years of automotive industry experience in leadership positions at PSA Peugeot Citroën, Valeo, Hutchinson and TomTom to Nawa, Saucier has a long track record in delivering innovative solutions to some of the world’s leading OEM brands.

In his previous role as managing director of TomTom (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Saucier is said to have boosted and transformed the company’s automotive business to multi-billion orders.

Nawa’s next-generation energy storage and advanced composite products are all based on one patented, in-house developed technology, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNT), with the company’s innovations offering potential across multiple sectors. With Saucier’s combination of achieving success in the introduction of new technologies to leading OEMs and business development experience, he will play a vital role in the acceleration of the development and industrialization of Nawa’s products.

“I am delighted to be joining Nawa at this time,” Saucier says. “The company is a pioneer in the development of VACNT, a technology that has a rich variety of applications, from energy storage to advanced composites, across many fast-growing global sectors, including the automotive industry. As Nawa enters its next fundraising round, I will draw upon my expertise to focus on bringing these products to market quickly, delivering on the global potential of the business.”

Akarmak America welcomes new manager for U.S. operations

Akarmak America (Reno, Nev., U.S.), an autoclave manufacturer in Turkey, announces the addition of Loyd Champion (a.k.a. Mr. Autoclave) to its team as the company’s new manager of U.S. operations. Champion brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organization within the U.S. as well as around the world, and Akarmak says it is excited to have him on board.

Champion joined Akarmak America with more than 25 years of experience in the aerospace autoclave sector, having previously worked at ASC Process Systems (Valencia, Calif., U.S.) and Thermal Equipment Corp. (TEC, Rancho Dominguez, Calif., U.S.) in business development and project management. His innovative solution skills and technical expertise will be an important asset as Akarmak continues to provide autoclave systems worldwide.

“We are thrilled to welcome Loyd to our team,” Saddettin AK, general manager of Akarmak, says. “His skills and experience make him an excellent addition to our company. We look forward to their contributions as we continue to grow and succeed in the aerospace composites sector.”

Champion notes that he is “excited to join Akarmak and be part of a vertically integrated dynamic team which offers capacity and capability than their peers.”

Akarmak is an ISO-certified manufacturer of industrial autoclaves used across all industry applicable sectors for more than 30 years.