Richard Saburro brings a broad base of technology and manufacturing management experience, including executive level leadership experience in the military. He completed a high profile US Air Force active duty assignment as Commander of Support Forces Antarctica before joining Starfire in July 2001. As a US Air Force colonel, he was the ranking US military commander in the South Pacific and Antarctica, responsible for transitioning logistics support for the US Antarctic Program (USAP) from 45 years of Navy command to the Air Force. He was formally recognized for his accomplishments, including the South Pole rescue of Dr. Jerri Nielson, by the National Science Foundation manager of the USAP.
Prior to his active duty assignment and while squadron commander of an Air National Guard unit, Mr. Saburro pursued a civilian career assisting high technology companies as deputy director of the University at Albany's Center for Advanced Technology, and earlier, as a business analyst at the Center for Economic Growth in Albany. Mr. Saburro's manufacturing management experience began as a graduate of GE's Manufacturing Management Program followed by rapid advancement to the position of manager of manufacturing engineering.
Herbert A. Armstrong has over 20 years of domestic and international experience in various sales, marketing, and management positions in the industrial and specialty chemical markets. Mr. Armstrong advanced to the position of president of the North American division of Raschig Corporation (subsidiary of Raschig AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany) with responsibility for the $14 million business in fine and specialty chemicals. Earlier in his career he held a number of sales management positions at leading chemical companies such as Upjohn and Ashland Chemical.
David C. Michaels has more than twenty years experience in all aspects of domestic and international financial operations and reporting at public companies including Albany International Corp. and Veeco Instruments, Inc. He brings to Starfire particular expertise in capital structuring, international financing, cash management, foreign taxation, bank and investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, pension and 401(k) plan administration, and risk management. At Albany International, David advanced to the position Vice President of Treasury and Tax and Chief Risk Officer. As a senior financial officer at Albany, he participated in an IPO and a secondary offering of equity. He led the structuring, negotiating and marketing of a $150 million private placement, a $180 convertible bond offering, and a $460 million revolving credit agreement. Prior to joining Albany International, David worked for Veeco Instruments, Inc. where he held various financial positions including Controller, Tax Manager, and Cost Accountant.
Walter Sherwood earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science from RPI in 1986. He is the founder of Starfire® Systems and led the company since 1988 until recruiting Richard Saburro as President and CEO. Concurrent with his early years at Starfire, he directed the development of ceramic composites for high temperature gas reactors while at the GE operated Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. During his nine years at Knolls (1986-1994), Dr. Sherwood advanced from "individual contributor" to manage a team tasked to develop a viable fabrication process for ceramic components destined for testing in nuclear reactors. Dr. Sherwood worked with a team of six people in the critical path of a $10 million program, which was completed on time and within the allocated budget. Since 1995, he has directed the development of a number of new materials that have resulted in two patents and five patent applications relating to the products in the energy, electronics, and aerospace industries.
David M. Stiles brings to Starfire Systems over 20 years of experience in manufacturing management in the chemical and materials industries, including leadership roles at ARCO Chemical, GE Silicones, and Chemfab/Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. Mr. Stiles has held senior management positions in R&D/new product introduction; product and process technology transfer; materials and logistics; and plant management. Additionally, he has collaborated on successful cross-functional design and implementation of business processes involving new product introduction, order-to-remittance cycle time reduction, and dual ladder and skill based compensation systems.
Guillermo Borges has over 20 years of varied experience in science and technology laboratories that range from R&D to production to QC. Early in his career, he helped develop one the first robotic systems designed for chemistry laboratories at J&J - McNeil Pharmaceutical – improving assay efficiency by over 300%. He has held supervisory and project lead responsibilities that included successfully organizing and directing a team of engineers to manage a >$6 million technical program at Lockheed Martin. Since joining Starfire in Spring 2006, Mr. Borges immediately assumed the role of program manager and principal investigator for FIRST, a program that involves extensive technical coordination and administrative oversight of leading outside laboratories and universities. Funding for this program may eventually surpass $10 million, at the current rate of financial support. Mr. Borges was recently promoted to Leader of the Advanced Materials Laboratory for his contributions and forward charging attitude.
Susan Hayes joined Starfire in 1998 as a Chemist in its advanced materials laboratory. She became a Senior Chemist in 2001, and was promoted to her current position in February 2005. She is a graduate of Smith College and Cornell University (Ph.D Inorganic Chemistry, 1972), and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at IBM in San Jose, California. Before coming to Starfire, she was a product development chemist at GE's Silicone Division in Waterford, NY, with responsibility in the areas of adhesives and methoxysilanes. She has been awarded four patents, and has taught at Union College in Schenectady, NY, Siena College in Loudonville, NY, and the National Engineering University in Lima, Peru. In her role as QA Manager, Dr. Hayes is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Company's Quality Assurance policies and procedures, and is coordinating Starfire's ISO certification process.
Stan Hemstad brings extensive experience in developing Carbon/Carbon and Ceramic Matrix Composite materials. He managed Honeywell Advanced Composites in Newark, DE where he led the effort to develop CMC brakes for Honeywell and contributed to new business revenue in the areas of CMC aerospace and industrial components. At Goodrich, he managed the development of CMC and oxidation protected C/C materials and successfully commercialized SiC/C turbine engine variable exhaust flaps and seals for the F/A18E/F Super Hornet. As part of that role Mr. Hemstad helped to develop and scale up carbon and SiC CVD processes for related to aircraft brakes. He was most recently at Powdermet, Inc. where he developed and marketed fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition coated nanopowders for making metal matrix composites and conductive fillers.
Dennis Hull has more than twenty-five years of senior level management experience in operations and marketing for multinational, high technology corporations including GEC Alsthom, Intermagnetics General Corporation, Mechanical Technology Incorporated, and WeldComputer Corporation. He holds an electrical engineering degree from Union College and he is a graduate of General Electric's Manufacturing Management Program. He is also a Distinguished Military Graduate of Officer Candidate School and served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Mr. Hull has managed the transition from prototype manufacturing to volume production for several operations in technology-oriented industries as divergent as high-speed rotating compressors and superconducting magnets that operate at near absolute zero temperatures. He is responsible for managing SSI's advanced ceramics manufacturing resources.
John Kuznia, a certified public accountant, was previously a manager at BST Valuation & Litigation Advisors, LLC of Albany, where he earned his accreditation in business valuation. He is the former CFO of Lexington Center, a non-profit human service agency in Gloversville, and has held senior management positions at National Trade Publications, Inc. of Latham, and C.R. Bard, Inc., a medical device manufacturer in Glens Falls. He earned his CPA in 1988, while employed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Albany and is certified as a Sr. Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). As Human Resources Manager, he will direct the Company's recruitment efforts, compensation & benefits plans, and employee relations programs.
Andrew Skinner is a seasoned Sales and Marketing Manager with extensive experience in both mature and developing technologies and markets. Andrew received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was most recently Manager of New Products and Commercial Development for Schenectady International's Electronic Specialties Business. In this role, Andrew drove sales penetration into the Asian electronics industry with particular focus in China. Prior to Schenectady International, Andrew held a variety of positions in General Electric's Silicones Products Business in Waterford, NY. These positions included Global Business Leader - Fluids and Marketing Manager for Specialty Fluids. These roles in the silicones business focused on the Coatings, Textile and Personal Care Industries. Andrew also attended General Electric Company's Manager Development Course in Crotonville, NY.
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