Kedar Munipella is the CEO of TAE Technologies’ power management spinoff, Power Solutions.
A noteworthy leader in the renewables industry for over 15 years, Kedar joined TAE Power Solutions from a Fortune 200 company, Applied Materials, where he was Vice President and General Manager.
Kedar holds a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where he completed his General Management Program.
His broad experience across operations, engineering, management, product development, and ecosystem development gives Kedar a unique perspective in his leadership role. Having initially put his expertise to highly effective use in the global semiconductor and photovoltaic markets, Kedar has made a significant impact in bending the cost curve to increase the affordability of solar energy and accelerate the adoption of photovoltaics around the world.
Having been at the vanguard of the drive to improve global access to renewable energy for over a decade, Kedar is a passionate and proven leader in guiding the market towards a cleaner, greener, safer and more affordable future.
Ben Russell is the Chief Commercial Officer of TAE Power Solutions.
A seasoned commercial and business development veteran, Ben possesses a strong, diverse technical background in numerous engineering disciplines, including automotive, motorsport, energy and renewables. Formerly the Chief Commercial Officer at Sprint Power and Eltrium, Ben brings a wealth of leadership experience to TAE.
With 20 years of industry experience in world-class, technology-led businesses such as Ricardo PLC, Prodrive, Cosworth and BP, Ben has helped multiple international corporations transform and innovate their business strategies to embrace opportunities and secure future growth.
A graduate of the University of Huddersfield, Ben has built his career on taking a highly focused engineering approach to sales and business development, delivering long-term sustainable results for companies of all scales and natures.
At TAE Power Solutions, he’ll lead with a vision and passion for delivering revolutionary energy storage and e-mobility capabilities to a growing market.
Ben holds a BSc with First Class Honors in Automotive Technology from the University of Huddersfield.
Richie Frost joins TAE Power Solutions as the General Manager of New Markets, spearheading the company’s strategic expansion efforts with the goal of driving innovation in the e-mobility and energy storage industry.
Imbued with an exceptional entrepreneurial spirit and a robust technical engineering background, Richie brings extensive experience in growing startups from ground zero to scale within the low-carbon ecosphere. At TAE Power Solutions, Richie’s role includes creating and leading a dynamic new division to source and secure lucrative new global markets and incubate strategic opportunities for the business, which other departments can capitalize on through the development and delivery of intelligent technological solutions.
Richie joins TAE Power Solutions following the company’s acquisition of Sprint Power, an organization Richie founded and led as Group CEO, providing unique insight and leadership to the UK’s low-carbon vehicle sector. In addition to Sprint Power, Richie spent more than a decade creating successful startups in low-carbon technology, recruiting top engineering talent and delivering more than 150 highly complex electrification projects.
Richie earned a BSc with honors in Engineering from the University of Northampton.
Richard Moore is the General Manager for E-Mobility at TAE Power Solutions.
A highly motivated leader with more than three decades of experience in the automotive industry, Richard is adept at establishing and leading engineering divisions to develop and deliver advanced technical solutions from concept to production.
At TAE, he leads the development and monetization of Power Solutions’ comprehensive catalog of energy storage and power management innovations, which will deliver faster charging, stronger power output, further range, and longer battery life without compromising EV affordability.
Richard, known as “Dickie,” joined Power Solutions from Group Lotus, where he held the position of Executive Director of Engineering, responsible for all Lotus sports car programs, third-party engineering programs and spearheading the rapid expansion of Lotus Engineering. Prior to that, Dickie served as Director of Propulsion at Lotus Cars, formulating and implementing the sports car company’s rapid strategic transition to electric mobility.
Before joining Lotus, Dickie spent eight years with Jaguar Land Rover, where he held the position of Chief Engineer, Electrification Engineering, and led the powertrain development of the Jaguar I-Pace – the all-electric SUV named European and World Car of the Year in 2019. Having initially begun his career in the aerospace sector before transitioning to automotive, he has also held key roles with MG Rover, BMW, Ricardo PLC and Shanghai Automotive.
Mikhail Slepchenkov oversees the R&D and Advanced Engineering Department at TAE Power Solutions. His growing team of 40-plus scientists and engineers validates new ideas, designs and algorithms while managing TAE’s product development lifecycle – from conceptual design to R&D to production.
Mikhail, known as “Misha,” is also responsible for finding new uses and applications for the fusion and power technology developed by TAE and securing that intellectual property.
With a background as an electrical systems engineer, a power electronics engineer, a control systems engineer and an algorithm developer, Misha has mastered a holistic understanding of power management R&D.
Misha joined TAE in 2010 as a lead Electrical Engineer before being promoted to Director of Engineering in 2020, and again to Vice President of Technology & Innovation in 2022. Prior to TAE he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at UC Irvine and an Assistant Professor at Nizhniy Novgorod State Technical University in Russia, where he earned his PhD in Power electronics.
As Vice President of Platform & Products, R. Colin Kennedy combines precision and a visionary approach to deliver a best-in-market platform and product strategy. Adroit in systems thinking, leadership, product management and technical communications, Colin values his role at TAE Power Solutions as an opportunity to deliver energy solutions that will help safeguard the environment for the next generation.
Colin’s successful, diverse career over the past two decades has included senior roles in academia and the commercial technology sector. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Colin held the position of Entrepreneur in Residence for three years. He also led the development of groundbreaking products at Sonos, and was responsible for platform technologies at Western Digital, accelerating solutions from innovation to customer delivery. Colin has also held numerous advisory and consulting roles, and has founded multiple technology startups.
Colin joined TAE Technologies as Senior Director of Platform in 2021 and was promoted to his current role in 2022. Bridging the research and commercial teams, Colin’s responsibilities are focused on translating laboratory demonstrated and proven innovations into platforms and products that serve the global marketplace.
Colin holds a BSME specializing in Dynamic Systems Modeling, Simulation, and Control as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Lehigh University.
Blair Mandell is a dynamic, high-energy team builder with exceptional experience in strategic operational growth, whose versatile skill set includes recruiting and developing the best hires at scale for companies at the forefront of innovation.
Blair brings more than 20 years of recruitment leadership to TAE Power Solutions, with a primary focus on building companies that specialize in emerging technologies. Equally passionate about and experienced in the biotech and clean energy sectors, Blair has delivered rapid growth strategies for organizations such as SolFocus, Nanosolar, California Environmental Associates and Climate Works. With a strategic background in HCI (Human Capital Intelligence), Blair has supported many of the world’s leading technology conglomerates, including Microsoft, Google, Apple and Lab126.
Blair was entrusted by Tesla to scale up the company’s solar division technical teams, with responsibility for the strategies and programs essential for global expansion worldwide. His role involved securing top-class talent for Tesla’s Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York, and the company’s facilities in Fremont, California, while growing and developing Tesla’s innovative technology teams worldwide.
Blair joins TAE Power Solutions at a crucial juncture in the company’s history as it seeks to scale its world-class team while delivering transformative solutions for electric vehicles and grid systems to the global market. Blair will build and lead the company’s new People Operations function, helping support the growth of the company and the career growth of the people it hires.
Blair holds a bachelor of arts in liberal studies and humanities from San Jose State.
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