Board of Directors and Advisors

Mike is a senior adviser to several organizations utilizing his 20 plus years of senior leadership experience into building operational value. He has diverse domestic and international experience across multiple verticals such as telecommunications, energy, automotive, aerospace and defense, data storage, enterprise software, and electronic hardware. His diverse background has spanned the gamut of company life cycles from start-ups to large organizations.

He held leadership positions including Partner at SAIL Venture Partners, CEO at Vigilistics, CEO at Nexiant, CEO at ARGO Tracker, VP of Global Operations at Cogent Communication, and Director of the South American Automotive Practice at Ernst & Young Consulting. Recognized as an expert in private equity, energy, supply chain, operations, manufacturing, product development and logistics, Mike has spoken at multiple conferences and written numerous articles. Mike serves on several boards including the Advisory Board for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He has also received multiple awards throughout his career, including Top 100 Most Innovative Vendors from Supply and Demand Chain Executive and Deloitte and Touche Fast 500. He earned a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Jeff retired from Caterpillar Inc. in 2012 after a 34 year career. During that period he held senior management positions with geographic, distribution and global business unit responsibilities. Those responsibilities were carried out from positions based in Asia, Europe, South America and the U.S. The majority of his focus being on the Power Generation and Mining markets.

Most recently, Jeff was the Managing Director of Caterpillar Power Generation Systems. In this role he had global responsibility for the design, sale, construction and operation & maintenance of turn-key power plants based on Caterpillar technology. The power plants ranged in size from 50 to 200 MW and were used in both base load and peaking capacity. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of F.G. Wilson, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, whose global focus was on the design, distribution and product support of power generation products in the 15 to 2000 KW range which were used in emergency back-up and prime power applications. Other key positions held include Director of Electric Power and Director of the Caterpillar Corporate Mining Group.

University Of Wisconsin, B.S., Economics; Carnegie Mellon, Program For Executives; Caterpillar Advanced Management Program

Bennet Tchaikovsky has served as a Chief Financial Officer for publicly traded and privately held companies for the last 15 years including Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company (NASDAQ: SKBI) and China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CJJD). As CFO, Mr. Tchaikovsky assisted these companies with raising over $55 million collectively through public offerings, obtained three NASDAQ up-listings, and led a company through the direct listing process. Presently, Mr. Tchaikovsky consults for publicly traded companies providing guidance as to reporting responsibilities, investor relations, and cost reduction strategies.

In addition to his CFO roles, Mr. Tchaikovsky has served as chairman of the audit committee and “designated financial expert” for several publicly traded companies including Ever-Glory International Group (NYSE MKT: EVK). Mr. Tchaikovsky serves on the advisory boards of the Arthritis National Research Foundation (www.curearthritis.org), and the audit committees of Pretend City Children’s Museum (www.pretendcity.org) and the Long Beach Day Nursery (www.lbdn.org). Mr. Tchaikovsky is also an adjunct instructor of accounting at Irvine Valley College and Pasadena City College.

Mr. Tchaikovsky earned his Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, CA, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Mr. Tchaikovsky is an actively licensed California Certified Public Accountant and active member of the California State Bar.

Stephen brings to the advisory board over three decades of exemplary commitment to the environment. Within the EPA, he controlled a $7.7 billion annual budget and managed over 17,000 employees. He is also the recipient of the White House’s Presidential Rank Award, the highest award bestowed to civilian federal employees. Before working for the U.S. Government, he held a number of positions in laboratory and bio-technology companies. He was also the director of Hazelton Laboratories, now Covance.
Stephen began working at the EPA in 1979. He had been working at a private lab, Litton Bionetics Inc., in Washington. Johnson’s rise from career scientist to EPA chief began in 2001, when he made the jump from civil service bureaucrat to political appointee after serving as the acting deputy administrator in 2003 and then in January 2005 the acting administrator of the EPA. On March 4, 2005, President George W. Bush nominated him formally for the permanent position. He became the first career employee to hold the position of Administrator and the first scientist to head the Agency. His tenure as Administrator of the EPA expired on January 20, 2009. Stephen received a B.A. in Biology from Taylor University and a Master’s Degree in Pathology from George Washington University. He has also been awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Taylor University and Wesleyan University.