President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Age 59)
Mr. Breese joined Clean Diesel as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director in March 2012. Mr. Breese has more than 30 years of experience in senior business management roles encompassing global business development, acquisitions, strategic alliances, plant management, sales, marketing and finance. He has extensive business experience with original equipment manufacturers, automotive aftermarket and heavy duty diesel businesses. Mr. Breese's prior experience includes four years with Honeywell International (NYSE:HON), a Fortune 100 company that invents and manufactures technologies to address challenges linked to global macro trends such as safety, security and energy. From 2008 to 2011, he served as President of Honeywell Consumer Products Group, which was comprised of the Prestone, FRAM, Autolite and HOLTS brands and businesses worldwide, and prior to that from 2007 to 2008, as Vice President and General Manager, Americas of the Environmental Controls and Combustion business. From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Breese served as President of Rheem Manufacturing Company's water heating division, a leading global producer of efficient heating, cooling and water heating products. Prior to that, from 2001 to 2006, Mr. Breese served as President of Maytag International, Inc., a division of Maytag Corporation which was acquired in 2006 by Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Before joining Maytag International, Inc., Mr. Breese held various leadership positions including those at Deere & Co., Tenneco, Inc. and United Technologies Corporation. Mr. Breese received a BA degree from the University of Florida.
Stephen J. Golden, Ph.D.
Chief Technical Officer
Dr. Golden joined Clean Diesel as Chief Technical Officer in October 2010, immediately following the business combination of Clean Diesel and Catalytic Solutions, Inc. Dr. Golden, one of the founders of Catalytic Solutions, Inc. and developer of its technology, has served as the Chief Technical Officer and Director of Catalytic Solutions, Inc. since 1996. From 1994 to late 1995, Dr. Golden was the Research Director for Dreisbach Electromotive Incorporated, a developer of advanced batteries based in Santa Barbara, California. Dr. Golden received his doctorate in Material Science at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England. Dr. Golden did extensive post-doctoral work at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Queensland, Australia in ceramic oxide and mixed metal oxide materials.
Christopher J. Harris
Chief Operations Officer
Mr. Harris joined Clean Diesel as Chief Operations Officer in October 2010, following the business combination of Clean Diesel and Catalytic Solutions, Inc. Additionally in October 2010, Mr. Harris was appointed President of Engine Control Systems Limited, a Clean Diesel company. Mr. Harris served as President of Catalytic Solutions, Inc.'s Catalyst Business from August 2008 to October 2010. Mr. Harris has over 20 years of technical, commercial and general management experience in both privately-held and publicly-traded specialty chemicals and materials companies. From May 2007 to August 2008, Mr. Harris served as Chief Operating Officer of Aculon, Inc., an early-stage nanotechnology company, and prior to that was Global Vice President/General Manager of Avery Dennison Corporation's (NYSE:AVY) Performance Polymers business. Earlier in his career, Mr. Harris held various management positions in North America and Europe during eleven years with Rohm and Haas Company, acquired by The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) in 2009. Mr. Harris earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and completed graduate business coursework at Temple University.
Nikhil A. Mehta
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Mehta joined Clean Diesel as Chief Financial Officer in October 2010, following the business combination of Clean Diesel and Catalytic Solutions, Inc. Mr. Mehta has served as Chief Financial Officer of Catalytic Solutions, Inc. since July 2008, and as a Director since August 2008. Mr. Mehta has more than 25 years of financial management experience in high technology and medical technology companies. His experience includes significant operational finance management in manufacturing companies, fund raising, several acquisitions and experience as Chief Financial Officer for companies listed on NASDAQ as well as AIM in London. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Mehta served as Chief Financial Officer of Spacelabs Healthcare, Inc., a medical technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS).
Mr. Mehta served as Vice President of Corporate Development for OSI Systems, Inc. from 2002 to 2005, where he participated in or led several acquisitions and the IPO of Spacelabs on AIM. From 2000 to 2002,
Mr. Mehta was Chief Financial Officer of Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., a previously listed NASDAQ biotechnology company. Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc. was the subject of a Liquidating Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization in 2003. Mr. Mehta also spent over 15 years in several financial positions with Xerox
Corporation (NYSE:XRX). Mr. Mehta received an MBA degree from The Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Commerce from Bombay University.
Rori M. Ridley
General Counsel and Secretary
Ms. Ridley joined Clean Diesel as General Counsel in October 2011. Ms. Ridley oversees all legal aspects of Clean Diesel worldwide, including transactional matters, litigation and compliance. From March 2009 to August 2011, Ms. Ridley served as the Corporate Counsel for Superior Industries International, Inc. (NYSE:SUP), a tier one OEM provider of aluminum wheels with operations in the United States, Mexico, Hungary, and Brazil, where she oversaw the company's litigation, significant transactions and corporate work, including SEC reporting. From November 2007 to January 2009, Ms. Ridley served as Chief Compliance Officer for The Cheesecake Factory, Inc., (NASDAQ:CAKE), where she developed, implemented and administered securities compliance policies and worked with the Compensation Committee on executive compensation matters. Prior to that, Ms. Ridley worked for the law firm of Quisenberry, Ridley & Schiffman helping businesses create and implement compliance solutions, defend themselves in government inquiries, as well as served as Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary for small companies. Ms. Ridley also served as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice and as a Prosecutor for seven years, and was appointed Deputy District Attorney for Ventura County. Ms. Ridley graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law and received her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from California State University at Fullerton with a Minor in Criminal Justice.
David E. Shea
Corporate Controller
Mr. Shea joined Clean Diesel as Corporate Controller in October 2010, following the business combination of Clean Diesel and Catalytic Solutions, Inc. Mr. Shea served as Corporate Controller of Catalytic Solutions, Inc. from 2009 and as Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis from October 2005 to 2009. Mr. Shea has over 20 years of financial management experience in a number of different industries. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Shea served as Director of Finance for ENCO Utility Services, a privately held utility services outsourcing provider. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Shea was the Manager of Business Planning and Development for Edison Enterprises, an unregulated subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE:EIX). From 1986 to 1998, Mr. Shea held several of financial positions, the last being Manager of Material Estimating and Cost Management at Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC). Mr. Shea received an MBA Degree from The University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics/Mathematics from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Daniel K. Skelton, Ph.D.
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Dr. Skelton was appointed Vice President, Sales and Marketing in October 2010 and served as Vice President, Global Sales from February 2009. Prior to that, Dr. Skelton served as Vice President, International from August 2008; Commercial Director, Europe from September 2006; and Business Development Manager, International from January 2005. From 2000 to 2004 Dr. Skelton served as a Manager at Mitsui & Co. Ltd., an international diversified company, with responsibilities for developing emission control technology. Dr. Skelton holds a Ph.D. degree in metallurgy and a First Class Honors degree from The University of Wales, Swansea.
Lyndon Smith
Vice President and General Manager
Mr. Smith joined Clean Diesel as Vice President and General Manager in July 2011. Mr. Smith has more than 25 years of technical, manufacturing, sales and marketing experience in both privately-held and
publicly-traded companies. From August 2008 to July 2011, Mr. Smith served as President of E.V. Roberts, an aerospace and electronics specialty materials distributor for companies including the Henkel Corporation (Xetra:Henkel) and 3M (NYSE:MMM). Prior to that, Mr. Smith served as Vice President and General Manager of the global aerospace business of Henkel Corporation, the world's largest adhesive supplier as well as Vice President and General Manager for the automotive and industrial businesses of Dexter Corporation, which was later acquired by Henkel Corporation. Mr. Smith earned a
GRSC degree from The University of Hertfordshire and is a chartered chemist and fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry.