Executive Team

David Vieau is the president and CEO of A123 Systems. He brings more than 30 years of experience and leadership in developing rapid-growth technology and component businesses. Applying his expertise to A123 Systems, Mr. Vieau has led the company from its founding in 2001 to be the largest lithium ion battery maker in North America. Under Mr. Vieau's leadership, A123 has established itself as the world's leading provider of lithium ion battery technology for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and for grid-scale energy storage systems.

Prior to joining A123 Systems, Mr. Vieau held corporate officer positions at American Power Conversion [NASDAQ: APCC], serving as vice president of marketing and vice president of worldwide business development. During his nine years at American Power Conversion, Mr. Vieau helped grow the company from $50 million in revenue to $1.5 billion, making it the world leader in power protection for IT markets and employing 6,000 people globally.

Mr. Vieau earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University in 1972.

Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, a co-founder of A123 Systems, is also a full professor in the materials science and engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Chiang's research at MIT focuses on the design and synthesis of advanced materials as well as the development of new devices enabled by material advances, including new energy storage and mechanical actuator technologies.

In 1987, Dr. Chiang co-founded American Superconductor [NASDAQ: AMSC]. He has published widely in materials science and engineering, and served on numerous government panels and editorial boards of journals in his field. Dr. Chiang earned a materials science and engineering degree from MIT in 1980 and a degree in ceramics from MIT in 1985.

Jason Forcier has served as vice president of A123 Systems' Automotive Solutions Group since August 2009. Prior to joining A123 Systems, Mr. Forcier served as vice president and general manager of Lear's global electronics business since August 2008.

Mr. Forcier served as regional president, automotive electronics for Robert Bosch LLC since April of 2007. In this position, he was responsible for operations of Bosch's North American automotive electronics business. Mr. Forcier previously held the position of president and CEO of ETAS, Inc., a Bosch subsidiary. Mr. Forcier joined ETAS in 1997, where he was manager of engineering service. He has held various other assignments at ETAS, including a product line manager, manager of customer value teams and vice president of automotive embedded control tools. Prior to joining ETAS, Mr. Forcier worked in marketing at DSP Technologies and as a systems engineer at Delphi Automotive.

Mr. Forcier earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the GMI Engineering & Management Institute (now Kettering University) and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers since 1990.

Louis Golato brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in operations and manufacturing to his role as vice president of operations at A123 Systems. He has proven abilities in team building and achieving manufacturing excellence in safety, yields, cycle time and costs.

Prior to joining A123 Systems, Mr. Golato held various executive positions with Texas Instruments, Sipex Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, National Semiconductor and Micro Components. Mr. Golato holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bryant College.

Mujeeb Ijaz is the vice president of the Cell Products Group at A123 Systems, helping to lead global product development and advanced manufacturing of the company's market-leading HEV, PHEV and EV batteries. Mr. Ijaz joined A123 in 2008 when he was responsible for A123's Automotive Solutions Group, and he also led the expansion of the company's module and pack production in 2010.

Prior to joining A123 Systems in 2008, Mr. Ijaz worked in Ford Motor Company's electric vehicle programs since 1992, focusing on battery and fuel cell technologies. He has served on the Board of Directors of Advanced Traction Battery Systems, the joint venture company formed in 2009 between A123 and Shanghai Automotive. Mr. Ijaz also holds 26 patents in the field of battery and advanced alternative energy technologies.

Mr. Ijaz has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.

Robert Johnson brings more than 15 years of leadership and expertise in power, cooling and management solutions to his role as vice president of the Energy Solutions Group at A123 Systems.

Prior to joining A123 Systems, Mr. Johnson served as senior vice president and president of North America at APC-MGE, a global provider of critical power and cooling services. Mr. Johnson joined APC in February 1997, when APC acquired the software management company he founded, Systems Enhancement Corporation (SEC). Upon joining APC, Mr. Johnson became general manager of this group and eventually served as president and CEO of APC, prior to its acquisition by Schneider Electric for $6 billion which combined its industry leadership with that of MGE UPS SYSTEMS.

Edward (Ed) Kopkowski brings more 25 years of global management and operational leadership in the manufacturing industry to A123 Systems, where he is responsible for the company's global manufacturing operations, advanced manufacturing engineering capabilities, IT, supply chain and quality organizations. Prior to joining A123, Kopkowski served as vice president of operational excellence at Dana Holding Corporation, a leading supplier of driveline products, power technologies and service parts for light- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers. At Dana, Kopkowski managed operations and let the implementation of the Dana Operating System across four operating units, which accounted for $6.1 billion in annual revenue and encompassed nearly 100 major facilities in 26 countries. He has also held leadership positions at Hayes Lemmerz International, Bosch Braking Systems and AlliedSignal.

Kopkowski received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a master's degree in management from Nazareth College. He is also a registered Professional Engineer and Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

David Pantano joined A123 Systems after a 23 year career with Boston Scientific Corporation where he held various leadership positions in both Operations and Human Resources. Most recently, Pantano was Vice President of Corporate Human Resources and was responsible for providing HR services to the IT, Finance, HR and Communications functions at this 26,000 employee medical device manufacturer.

Pantano received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross, a master's degree in business administration from Nichols College and a master's degree in Human Resources from Framingham State University. Pantano is also a certified executive coach, receiving certification from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.

David Prystash brings a wealth of financial leadership and senior executive experience to his role as A123's newly appointed chief financial officer. Prior to joining A123, Prystash served as chief financial officer for NewPage Corporation, the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America with $3.6 billion in sales and 7,300 employees. Before that, Prystash spent more than 20 years at Ford Motor Company, where he held a variety of senior financial and operational leadership positions. Prystash served as CFO of Ford's global product development and purchasing where he was responsible for managing multi-billion dollar annual capital investment and engineering budgets, in addition to capital allocation for Ford Motor Company globally. He also served as an executive director of Ford's Pre-Owned and Vehicle Remarketing. David's leadership experience also includes serving on the Board of Directors for Ballard Power Systems and NewPage.

Prystash received a bachelor's degree in administrative and managerial science with a major in economics and a master's degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Eric Pyenson brings more than 20 years of legal, business development and international experience in the technology space to his role as vice president and general counsel at A123 Systems. Prior to his legal and business career, he worked for the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. and overseas, focusing on counterterrorism.

Before joining A123, Mr. Pyenson established the in-house legal functions at several Boston-area software start-ups, including Authoria, Excara and Open Market, where he helped lead that company's successful IPO in May 1996. Mr. Pyenson has also served on the legal staff of Bull HN Information Systems, Inc. and was in private practice at the Boston law firms of Palmer & Dodge and Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove.

Mr. Pyenson received a bachelor's degree from Williams College, a master's degree in international relations from the University of Sussex, England and a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law, during which time he served as a clerk to Judge William G. Young of the United States District Court in Boston.

Dr. Bart Riley brings more than 15 years of experience in technology development and commercialization in the advanced materials, portable power and superconductor industries to his role as CTO and vice president of research & development at A123 Systems.

Prior to co-founding A123 Systems, Dr. Riley held a number of key development and management positions over an 11-year career at American Superconductor. In his most recent role, he served as senior manager in corporate engineering where he led research for superconductor wire products. Dr. Riley holds more than 40 patents and has published more than 80 papers in the field of advanced materials. Dr. Riley has a Ph.D. and a master's degree in materials science and engineering from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree in physics and geology from Middlebury College.