John Van Scoter has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and as a Class I Director since June 2023. Prior to joining Solid Power, Mr. Van Scoter served as Vice President, General Manager Products at SRI International Inc. (“SRI”), an independent nonprofit research institute from 2019 until June 2023. Prior to joining SRI, Mr. Van Scoter was the CEO, President and Chairman of eSolar, Inc., an early-stage solar power plant technology company, from 2010 until 2018. Prior to eSolar, he held multiple leadership positions over an almost 30-year career with Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN), including as Senior Vice President, Alternative Energy Strategy and Senior Vice President, General Manager of DLP® Products Division. Mr. Van Scoter served on the board of directors of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) from 2008 until 2018. Mr. Van Scoter holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont.
Kevin Paprzycki serves as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. He has served as our Chief Financial Officer since October 2021. Prior to joining Solid Power, Mr. Paprzycki served as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary (Principal Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer) of Scott’s Liquid Gold-Inc. (“SLGD”) since June 2018, a member of its board of directors since 2019, and began serving as interim co-President in April 2021. Prior to joining SLGD, Mr. Paprzycki was employed by Westmoreland Coal Company and its subsidiary, Westmoreland Resource Partners, LP, where he served as Chief Executive Officer from December 2015 to November 2017, as Westmoreland Coal Company’s Chief Financial Officer from May 2006 to December 2015 and Westmoreland Resource Partners’ Chief Financial Officer from December 2014 to July 2015. Mr. Paprzycki was also a member of each company’s board of directors. Mr. Paprzycki holds an M.B.A. from the University of Utah and a B.S. in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University.
Joshua Buettner-Garrett serves as our Chief Technology Officer. He has served as our Chief Technology Officer since November 2013. Prior to joining Solid Power, he served as Program Manager of the Energy Storage Group at ADA Technologies, Inc., a research and product development business, from 2011 to 2013. He served as a Senior Research Scientist in the ADA Technologies’ Energy Storage Group from 2010 to 2011. Mr. Garrett holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University.
Derek Johnson serves as our Chief Operating Officer. He has served as our Chief Operating Officer since January 2020. From September 2016 to January 2020, he served as Vice President of Global Research and Development at A123 Systems (“A123”), a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries and energy storage systems for automotive applications. His responsibilities ranged from new technology development and IP generation, customer and strategic partner engagement, and production strategy and supply chain rationalization, prior to which he served as the Executive Director of R&D at A123, from April 2015 to September 2016. Dr. Johnson serves as a director of Symbios Technologies, LLC, an aqueous plasma technology platform, and previously served as its Director of Technology Development, Senior Scientist and Engineer from April 2009 to January 2014. He also serves as the President of Fields of Hope, a non-profit focusing on enriching the lives of at-risk youth. Dr. Johnson holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Colorado State University. Dr. Johnson has published 16 peer reviewed publications and holds 38 patents.
James Liebscher serves as our Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. He served as our Lead Corporate Attorney from June 2021 until December 2021. Mr. Liebscher was a senior attorney at Aspect Holdings, LLC, an international energy company, from February 2020 until June 2021. He previously was in private practice as a securities and corporate attorney at Polsinelli PC from August 2016 until February 2020 and Dufford & Brown, P.C. from October 2014 until August 2016. Prior to his legal career, he served for nine years in the United States Air Force as an airborne cryptologic linguist. Mr. Liebscher holds an LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Bellevue University.