Management Team
Dr. B.J. Stanbery, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. B.J. Stanbery has an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years in the solar industry. He is an expert in the business and science of photovoltaics (PV). In 2008, his innovation of inkjet printing of CIGS, won a prestigious 2008 R&D 100 Award. He founded HelioVolt to develop and commercialize a revolutionary FASST® process for manufacturing CIGS thin-film PV that is now covered by 11 patents issued, 9 additional patent applications, and 83 international extensions. Prior to founding HelioVolt, Dr. Stanbery managed Boeing's terrestrial PV program. During that 17-year tenure his team manufactured and deployed PV for spacecraft, and in 1990 achieved the world record in multi-junction thin-film PV conversion efficiency. Dr. Stanbery completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2001 at the University of Florida, having previously obtained an M.S. in Physics from the University of Washington and B.S. in both Physics and Mathematics from the University of Texas. Dr. Stanbery also serves on the Board of the Texas Renewable Energy Association (TREIA), and as Chairman of the Board of the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities (TFIC).
Steve Darnell, Chief Financial Officer
During his 20+year career, Mr. Darnell has been directly involved with over $350 million of public and private debt and equity financing transactions. Since 2006, he has led HelioVolt’s fund raising efforts including a $101 million Series B financing in 2007. Previously to HelioVolt, Mr. Darnell held senior financial positions with Molecular Imprints, VIEO and Advent Networks, having focused his career on building and financing venture-backed technology companies. In total, he has been responsible for over $190 million of private capital financing transactions, including securing over $15 million of capital through commercial banks, specialty finance company and government program transactions.
Prior to 2000, Mr. Darnell held financial management positions at Cisco Systems, Compaq Computer and Seagate Technology. His expertise includes building financial planning and analysis functions, SEC reporting, credit rating due diligence, contract manufacturing management and investor and banking relations. He played key roles in Compaq’s first public debt offering of $300 million and helped establish $600 million of syndicated bank lines of credit.
Mr. Darnell holds a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the University of Houston. He is a registered Certified Public Accountant in Texas and Oklahoma.
John Prater, Vice President Supply Chain
Mr. Prater leads HelioVolt's Supply Chain activities to include sourcing and procurement of materials and equipment to support HelioVolt's strategic initiatives and international growth plans. John joins HelioVolt from Oerlikon Solar where he led Strategic Sourcing efforts to reduce the net Cost / Watt for the thin film equipment manufacturer. Previously to Oerlikon, John held a wide variety of roles at Applied Materials, supporting Manufacturing, Spares and Applied's thin-film solar sourcing team. John is a graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington.
