CRAIG WILKINS

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | BOARD MEMBER

Craig has 30 years of proven sales and executive management experience with a variety of start-ups in the financial and technology sectors. Craig currently serves as the CFO of Æsir Technologies, leading the customer acquisition team and driving funding efforts. Mr. Wilkins was previously the founder of ViZn Energy and served as EVP of Finance and then Chairman/CEO until 2014 when he hired his replacement. ViZn Energy provides grid-scale energy storage solution to utilities, EPC’s and renewable developers. Craig was also the founder and President/CEO of Acceptance Capital Mortgage Corporation (ACMC), a nationwide mortgage banker with 450 employees and licensed in 30 states with annual funding exceeding $1.2B. ACMC was sold in 2007 to Complete Financial Solutions. Prior to ACMC, Craig was a founder and principal owner in NetWireless, the largest distributor for Nextel Communications, which grew to $45M in revenue in less than 3 years before being sold to Bearcom, the largest national Motorola distributor. Craig has a BA in Finance from University of Montana and completed his graduate studies in Economics.

DAVE WILKINS

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER | BOARD MEMBER

Dave Wilkins has over 25 years of experience in a range of executive, sales, marketing and business development positions with various technology and manufacturing companies. Dave leads the board and strategy roles with Æsir Technologies serving as the Chairman of the Board/Chief Strategy Officer. Previously, Dave served on the board of ViZn Energy, a company he led from inception as CEO/President and Chairman of the Board, including directing strategy, funding, management and critical milestones.  Dave spent over 10 years in the wireless industry with executive positions at both Bearcom and Northstar. Mr. Wilkins founded and was the Chairman/CEO and President of NetWireless in 1996 which focused on reselling and distributing cutting edge wireless products and services to medium and large corporations. NetWireless was Nextel’s largest Nationwide Distributor with over 250 employees. Dave started with Nextel during the launch of their 1st digital market in the U.S. and received many awards in Southern California, including Top Regional Sales Manager. In addition, Dave founded and serves as CEO/Chairman of Glacier Stone Supply, a mining and manufacturer of premium decorative stone products distributed throughout North America.  Mr. Wilkins studied business at Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California. Dave served on the Board of the Flathead Valley Home School Athletic Association. Dave has been married to his wonderful wife Catherine for 26 years, and they have eight children ages 24 to 6.  He loves the outdoors, including water and snow skiing.

DR. ADAM WEINSENSTEIN

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Dr. Weisenstein has 12 years of fuel cell and battery research experience with multiple scientific publications and 25 patents in various stages of prosecution, with 10 granted. He is an expert in zinc battery chemistries and was the lead author for the NiZn chapter in Linden’s Handbook of Batteries. Dr. Weisenstein has been able to successfully develop novel zinc-based technologies from the R&D stage to production rapidly. His leadership has led to significant advancements in cycle life, power, and manufacturability of the zinc battery technologies. Dr. Weisenstein received his BS, MS, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University.

TOM SHIREMAN

VICE PRESIDENT of OPERATIONS

Tom Shireman is a proven manufacturing expert with 35 years of experience building batteries. Over 30 years of this experience has been in manufacturing, building, and managing the factory for silver-zinc battery production at EaglePicher Technologies. As Head of Manufacturing and Plant Manager for EaglePicher, Tom was responsible for over $100 million in revenue which was played out in over 30 different chemistries and in varying formats. Some of Tom’s certifications and oversights include: Total Safety Evaluation (TSE) and DUPONT STOP, Safety Program Leader, Team Building/Leadership, Manufacturing Operating System (MOS) Implementation Leader, Factory P&L Accountability, Cost Reduction/Avoidance Program Leader, LEI Toyota Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Green Belt, and Plant Preventive Maintenance Oversight Leader. In practicing his learnings around MOS and LSS, Tom’s track record is one of consistent over-delivery when it comes to on-time customer delivery, manufacturing cost management, shop scrap reduction and improved safety incident rates.

KIRK PLAUTZ

VICE PRESIDENT of SALES & MARKETING

Kirk is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of executive management and business development experience in start-ups and strategic growth of companies. Kirk has been a part of 5 successful start-ups, including AirTel, Nextel, Netwireless, and most recently ViZn Energy and ZAF Systems. Currently, Kirk is a Consultant with ViZn Energy and V.P of Business Development with Æsir Technologies, leading the global sales team. With over 11 years in the energy storage industry, Kirk has an extensive knowledge of the industry and key market drivers. He is the former Director of the Eastern Region and was part of the executive team with BearCom for 11 years, managing a $25.8 million budget. Strengths include business development, P & L management, sales training and new market launches. Mr. Plautz has a BS in Health Sciences from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is active in several charitable organizations.

GLENN BAILEY

VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Glenn has nearly 20 years of experience in military service and oversight of government defense contracts outside of the contiguous United States (OCONUS). During his time in service with the United States Army, he earned the title of Non-Commissioned Officer, performed route clearance operations in Afghanistan and led multiple ordinance disposal teams. Immediately following his military service, he transitioned to Theater Oversight Officer for various classified defense contracts in Afghanistan. As Program Manager, Glenn currently oversees all Æsir’s commercial and government programs. Glenn has managed programs and contracts across several defense and intelligence projects, including Rapid Reaction Tunnel Detection (R2TD), Base Terrestrial and Arial Detection Systems (BTADS), and Advanced Forms of Hyperspectral Imagery (HIS) for Intelligence Collection (IRIS-G). Glenn is now focused on developing advanced energy storage solutions for a wide array of defense and aerospace applications with Æsir Technologies. His strengths include effective team management, dissemination of pertinent information, and strategic project development. Glenn completed numerous leadership and personal development courses throughout his military and civilian career and has led multiple development efforts through open-gate processes to production and project closure. He holds program management certifications through the Program Management Institute (PMI) and obtained extensive well-rounded knowledge during his studies at Saint Louis Medical University and Missouri Southern State University.

RICHARD WHITELEY

VICE PRESIDENT of EUROPEAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Richard has over 15 years of business development experience and proven strategic sales growth in a variety of different fields, including real estate, pensions and investments and general insurance. Most recently before joining Æsir, Richard was the founder of OMR Developments Ltd, a property development company, and served as Sales Director for MetLife UK. Generating annual sales of over £30 million, Richard led MetLife’s internal sales team and was responsible for driving strategic partnerships within the investment world. Prior, Richard also held executive management positions with Citigroup and Kingfisher Insurance where he was tasked with delivering multi-million annual sales and increasing AUM, along with budget responsibility and strategy implementation.

DR. EIVIND LISTERUD

VICE PRESIDENT of ENGINEERING

Dr. Listerud has over 15 years of experience in the energy storage industry and joined Æsir in the fall of 2017. Prior to that, he was a Principal Engineer at EaglePicher Technologies where he was responsible for the mechanical design and development of prototype Lithium and Li-ion batteries and transitioning prototypes from R&D lab environments to low rate initial production. These batteries were typically designed for harsh and challenging environments, like those encountered in space and in launch vehicles. He has significant experience working on space and defense rated programs and recently conducted thermal performance and safety analysis on a battery designed for the Orion MPVC program. He has also experience with Ni-H2, Ag-Zn, and Li-SOCl2 systems. Dr. Listerud has two patents and is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri.

ALLEN E. MARTIN

BOARD MEMBER

Currently the Owner/President of AEM Environmental Technologies, Allen joined the Interstate Battery System in February 2014 by acquiring the Greater East Texas and Greater Conroe distributorships. He expanded his operations to include Longview, Texas, in 2015 and recently acquired the distributorship in Birmingham, Alabama, with sales of approximately 350k batteries per year. His last position was with Power Solutions (now Clarios) as VPGM of the global aftermarket battery business with responsibility for all commercial sales and operations worldwide. Under his leadership, the business grew organically through market share gains and acquisitions. He launched several new greenfield manufacturing plants and existing plant expansions, which included $4.3 billion in revenue with 38 global plants. Allen spent the first 30 years of his career with Johnson Controls, mostly in the Building Efficiency (BE) division. His final role in the BE unit was VPGM, North America Commercial and Residential Systems, Latin America and Middle East, which included $5 billion in revenue and over 10,000 employees. Allen also served as Vice President and Managing Director of Europe and Africa and was instrumental in the EMEA business turnaround and integration of the York International acquisition. He and his family enjoyed living in Brussels, Belgium, during this time.

RAY BROWN

BOARD MEMBER

Ray Brown, who today partners in a consulting firm with Dennis Brown, has been in the automotive industry for over 40 years with a specific focus on the energy storage segment. During his time at Johnson Controls, Ray held numerous executive positions in the Power Solutions business, including Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development for Asia and the Pacific, Vice President of Automotive Aftermarket Sales and Marketing for North America and Vice President of Automotive OEM Global Sales and Engineering. 

In these roles, he was instrumental in growing the JCI OEM battery business from a US only position into becoming the global leader it is today. As a result, Ray was directly involved in developing and launching new markets, joint ventures, and acquisitions in Mexico, India, Japan, Korea, South America, and Europe. Mr. Brown has also been influential as the project for several JCI battery factories. 

Ray’s career in the SLI battery industry has been a driving force in evaluating and purchasing businesses, initiating, and managing joint ventures, planning, building and overseeing new battery plants, global segment management, and large OEM customer relationships including GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, VW, Mercedes, and BMW. 



Mr. Brown retired from Johnson Controls in 2010 after 30 years of service in the Power Solutions business. Since then, he has serviced on the Board of Directors of multiple companies including Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. in India. Ray holds a holds an accounting degree from Pennsylvania State University.

BRAD STREELMAN

BOARD MEMBER

Brad Streelman serves as the Chairman of Continental Battery Systems after the merger of Battery Systems and Continental Battery into one organization.

Brad is the former CEO of Battery Systems and grew the company from one location in Long Beach, California to one with over 100 locations across the US. 



Brad lives in Long Beach with his wife. They have three daughters and three grandchildren. His favorite pastime is being outdoors with his family, hiking, biking, and “anything that has to do with water”—water skiing, snow skiing, fishing, scuba diving, boating, and swimming.