About Us

In this role John brings 10 years of cell-module-pack engineering / manufacturing / program / project / product management experience in lithium ion batteries as an executive at A123 Systems.  During his tenure at A123, he helped developed the automotive division from a 12 person “start-up” into a global $500M operation making tens of millions of battery cells and hundreds of thousands of battery packs in facilities around the world supplying product to virtually all the major automotive OEM’s.  John’s leadership roles include Operations, Engineering, Program Management, Supplier Quality and Business Development along with spending several years in China as the President of the China Division responsible for over 1,000 employees in 1M sq ft of facilities spread across 5 buildings in 2 different cities.

In addition to his A123 experience, John has 20 years of Tier 1 automotive new product development management experience from TRW in vehicle stability control and anti-lock brake systems.  At TRW he was part of many industry firsts such as initial launch in the late 1980’s of Rear Wheel Anti-Lock brakes on all pickup trucks and SUV’s, the initial launch of standard 4WABS on all SUV’s, vans and Class 6-7-8 trucks in the 1990’s, entire brake systems integration on light duty trucks / SUV’s / vans in the late 1990’s and finally the introduction of Stability Control Systems on all  vehicles in the 2000’s. 

John has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering as well as a Masters of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Systems Design / Optimization, both from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Eric Phillips is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial activities and executing the financial strategy.  Eric brings over 20 years of financial and leadership experiences to Navitas gained through roles with PwC, The Flint Group, Eberspaecher North America, EnvisionTEC and Extang/Truck Hero.

At Extang/Truck Hero Eric was Plant Controller, responsible for understanding and reporting on the operational performance of the plant. This involved developing a keen understanding on labor, material and other key costs variances, as well as reporting and tracking key operational metrics and developing detailed budgets and forecast.

Previous to this role he spent his career developing a solid foundation of financial reporting. This involved managing the financial controls in order to prepare financial statements; maintaining key relationships with lending institutions, insurance providers, vendors, customers and key stakeholders in the business.

Eric is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio.

Craig Allman leads all engineering for both the Government & Defense as well as Commercial & Industrial divisions of Navitas Systems. Craig brings over 25 years of engineering leadership experience to Navitas from his prior work at Eaton Corporation in automotive R&D, product engineering, program management, and aerospace engineering management. Prior to joining Navitas, he gained experience in the alternative energy industry by serving as program manager for a solid oxide fuel cell business within Ultra Electronics, formerly known as Adaptive Materials Incorporated, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Craig has a B.S. in Physics from Roberts Wesleyan College, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a M.S. in Energy Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan

Jonathan Weisberg leads the manufacturing and customer support functions for Deka Ready Power Operations in the Commercial and Industrial Division.  The group focuses on production and customer support of energy storage systems (ESS) to support the material handling industry, as well as other potential tangential industries. Jonathan has over 30 years’ experience in automotive design, manufacturing, business planning, operations, and service.  He draws from his experiences at Ford, Visteon, and ESG Automotive. Johanthan has his BSEE from Kettering University and a MSE in manufacturing systems from the University of Michigan.

As Product Line Director for Sonobuoy, David Backus is responsible for product, customer support, manufacturing, and operations in the Sonobuoy group. This group focuses on volume production of custom built lithium-ion cells and batteries for Government & Defense applications.

David began working at Navitas as the Program Manager for the 1st Sonobuoy production launch, guiding the team and product from development through validation and pilot manufacturing. David brings 8 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, program and product management, and leadership training. David began his career at Bosch in their Junior Manager Program and spent over 2 years working a series of 4 rotations in 4 divisions, including completing a project for $1.5M in scrap reduction. He then joined the Starter Motor division driving new product technology to keep pace with battery evolutions, including launching a new $1M starter testing lab.

David has a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering as well as a B.A. in Mathematics from The Ohio State University.

As Director of Program Management Office, Mike Becker is responsible for overseeing all divisional Program Managers in the areas of Commercial & Industrial, Government & Defense, and Research & Development. In addition, Mike is responsible for building tools and processes for the business to drive greater efficiency and ensure rapid scaling. Lastly, Mike is responsible for ensuring Navitas maintains government compliance for government contracts.

Mike brings 20 years of direct leadership experience across multiple industries to Navitas with a focus on Program Management. Mike’s leadership journey started in the United States Marine Corps where he served as a fire team leader in a weapons platoon. Mike then moved on to be an Army Infantry Sergeant with two post 9/11 deployments. After Mike’s time in service, Mike found a role with Comcast monitoring the delivery of 2.9 million commercials a day across the central division of Comcast. Mike also worked in the PMO office at Comcast, leading a number of high profile and critical projects. During Mike’s time at CCI Systems, Mike brought a new vision and rebuilt the Project Management Office, developed a “deals” desk to support faster sales to operations efficiencies, reviewed more than 600 contracts a year, negotiated master service agreements with Tier 1 customers, and led a team of sales engineers to elevate customer satisfaction and reduce sales contract reviews. Mike was able to bring in and leverage new tools and processes by leveraging Google and Smartsheet’s natural integration which resulted in a number of efficiencies by bringing finance, sales, operations, and engineering together in a common platform. In all, Mike was able to build four teams, manage a staff of 19, and bring up customer satisfaction from an NPS score of ~3 to a consistent ~9.5.

Mike received his Master’s in Business from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, Ann Arbor. Mike received his undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Flint and has received further training with specialization in Organizational Transformation Change by leveraging strong leadership frameworks and innovative People Change Management systems.

Kevin Wilson is the Purchasing Manager for Navitas Systems. His responsibilities include overseeing all Purchasing activities in Commercial & Industrial, Government & Defense, and Research & Development. Kevin has over 20 years’ experience within different aspects of Supply Chain Management in multiple Industries. He has extensive experience and knowledge in Purchasing, Planning, Operation, Logistics, and Project Management. Kevin draws from his experiences at Boeing, Eaton Aerospace, and API Inmet. Kevin has a Supply Chain Management Degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Project Management from City University.