Sven Schulz understands the challenges that ambitious entrepreneurs must overcome. With no small amount of entrepreneurial skill, he has continuously grown the Schulz Group into a multifaceted corporate group. At the same time, he has played a decisive role in shaping the success story of the battery system manufacturer AKASOL, guiding it from its foundation to IPO and through to its acquisition by a leading global automotive supplier.

It is this expertise that he now wishes to pass on through Summiteer, not only sharing it with dedicated young entrepreneurs but also affording them access to his extensive networks. In addition to his position on the University Council at the University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten, Sven Schulz also supports various start-up initiatives in the transnational region of Lake Constance.

Jeff Kostos, Founder, President & CEO of Spear Power Systems, Inc., has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of energy storage & energy management, both domestically and internationally, in the areas of business development, operations, marketing, sales management, and design engineering.

Prior to founding Spear Power Systems, Jeff served as Executive VP of Dow Kokam LLC, a JV between The Dow Chemical Co. and Kokam America Inc. At Dow Kokam, Mr. Kostos was responsible for supporting Dow Kokam’s growth strategy with a focus on defense and industrial markets. Prior to Dow Kokam, Jeff was the COO of Kokam America Inc., a company he co-founded in 2005. Here, he helped lead both the efforts to establish one of the first lithium polymer cell manufacturing facilities in the U.S, as well as take primary responsibility for leading profitable top line growth for the company.

Before jumping into lithium energy storage Jeff spent several years in the lead acid battery industry serving as VP Sales & Marketing & President of Europe for EnerSys’ Reserve Power Business Unit and as UK Managing Director for GNB (now part of Exide).

Mr. Kostos holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago, and is an Executive Development Program Graduate from University of Melbourne in Australia.

Dr. Ryan Wartena is a serial entrepreneur, scientist, and dedicated to collaboratively creating a sustainable world. Ryan founded and is CEO of mobile microgrid builder Southern Beams Builds, he founded the pioneering Internet of Energy and energy storage software company GELI and exited to Hanwha Solutions/Qcells, he created digital project finance platform Banyan Infrastructure, and is founding advisor for modular carbon capture company AirCapture, ultrasonic BMS company Titan Advanced Energy Systems, composite EV company Planet Electric, and social exploration platform Voiijer.

Dr. Ryan Wartena brings over 10 years of experience in computational and battery R&D and 15 years of experience in energy storage business, company & project financing, and control platform technologies. Prior experience includes computational software development, UL/ETL storage product validation, organizing battery pack manufacturing in US and Japan, developing 3D printed & solid-state Li‐ion microbatteries, and integrating energy storage systems into grid networks. He is the author of patents in energy storage, energy computing, and integrated microgrid technologies.

Ryan holds degrees in Chemical Engineering from UC San Diego, Ph.D. in Electrochemical Engineering & International Business minor from Georgia Tech, and Material Science Post Doc research at U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and for the Director of Central Intelligence Program while at MIT.

Ryuta Kawaguchi has over 25 years of battery technology and R&D experience currently serving as Chief Technology Officer of FREYR in Norway.

Prior to joining FREYR, Ryuta was Solution Owner EV Battery at Dyson in UK. He has also held multiple positions at Nissan Motor Corporation, AESC and Toyota Industries Corporation in the field of EV Battery and Fuel Cell in Japan and USA.

Ryuta holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Nagoya University.

Steve is the Director of Technology and Business Strategy at Stryten Energy where his visionary leadership directs the company's product development roadmap while also being involved in M&A and IP licensing areas of the business. Stryten Energy is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of advanced battery systems. Steve joined Stryten through their acquisition of Galvion Power Systems Inc., a military focused company and one of the largest producers of soldier worn protective gear, power and high technology systems in the world. Steve was also the Head of Innovation for Revision Military which was sold to Asgard Partners in late 2019.

Steve has a history of award winning business and technology achievements with companies like Blackberry where he was the director of intellectual property managing over 10,000 patents and Panacis where he was the founder and CEO prior to acquisition in 2014. Steve was also instrumental in organizing the acquisition of companies like Lux Aerospace (Tuscon, AZ) and Protonex Power Systems (Boston, NH)

He has founded Profit 100 companies, received the Deloitte Green 15 award and is a Top-40-Under-40 alumni and has served as an advisor and board of directors member in dozens of startup companies.

Steve is listed as an inventor on about 80 patents worldwide.

David Pascoe is Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of International Automotive Components Group. In this role, Pascoe is responsible for expanding the company’s advanced technology portfolio and evolving its global product strategy.

Previously, Pascoe was Vice President of Engineering, Research and Development for Magna International, where he is credited with launching Magna’s Open Innovation Initiative to identify and vet global technology solutions. He held various executive positions with Magna companies throughout his 31-year career including Vice President of Corporate Engineering and R&D, Vice President of Electric Vehicle Technology and Vice President of Battery Technology. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a design engineer for Magna, where he worked on product design and development for full vehicle, body, chassis, hardware, powertrain, interiors, seating and mirrors.

Pascoe has extensive leadership experience having held numerous board positions throughout his career. Most notably, he was Chairman of the Board of MAHY E-cell, a partnership between Magna International and Hyundai Heavy Industries. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Frank Stronach Institute and Terradyne Armored Vehicles, Inc. He also served as Chairman of the Ontario Centre of Excellence Advanced Manufacturing Sector Advisory Board.

Pascoe earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

Shmuel De-Leon is the Founder and CEO of Shmuel De-Leon Energy Ltd.

Shmuel is a leading international expert in the business of energy storage. Prior to founding the company, Shmuel held for over 21 years various positions as an energy storage, electronic engineering and quality control team manager.

Shmuel holds a BSc. in mechanical engineering from Tel-Aviv University and an MBA in quality control and reliability engineering from the Technion Institute in Haifa as well as an Electronic Technician’s diploma. Shmuel is an advisory board member of several industry companies.

Ken Kim is currently the VP of Technology and Strategic Planning at Origis Energy and previously was the CTO/SVP of Product at Greensmith Energy (later acquired by Wärtsilä).

Ken brings extensive experiences in engineering, corporate marketing, product management, strategic planning and business development through his experiences from the global giants such as Intel and Samsung SDI where he held senior management positions as the VP of Strategic Marketing and VP of Corporate Strategy.Prior to Intel, Ken worked as a consultant in the power generation industry providing engineering services to the utilities by working for the companies such as Bechtel and Sargent & Lundy.

He holds an MBA and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of California at Davis.

Dr. Joon Kim, co-founder and CTO at Spear Power Systems, Inc., has a Ph.D. in Chemistry with an emphasis in electrochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a B.S. with Cum Laude in Chemistry from Seoul National University in Korea. Dr. Kim has over 30 years of direct battery business experience including material development, project management, and sales & marketing.

Dr. Kim previously worked at LG Chem in Korea as Director of Corporate R&D and as a Research Group Leader. Since that time, he has held multiple leadership roles in both research and sales at companies such as Sion Power Corporation and Eagle Picher Inc., and Dow Kokam. Dr. Kim is regarded as one of top-tier experts in advanced cell technologies and R&D of safer, cleaner, and lighter energy storage systems.