DDS Leadership Team
VATCHE ARTINIAN (Chief Executive Officer)
Mr. Artinian is a co-founder of Direct Drive systems and holds the role of CEO in the company. Additionally, Mr. Artinian is a co-founder of Calnetix, where the technological roots of DDS come from such as Motors, Generators, Magnetic Bearings and IP. Mr. Artinian’s key responsibilities consist of working with DDS investors and maintaining key customer relations. Mr. Artinian holds a Masters in Business Administration from University of Southern California (USC), a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from USC, and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from California State Polytechnic University. Mr. Artinian has a total of 25 years of experience in the industry including successfully founding and growing startup technology companies.
DENNIS STROUSE (Chief Operating Officer)
Mr. Dennis Strouse is directly responsibility for the day to day operations of the company. Mr. Strouse has over 25 years experience in engineering, program management, and manufacturing of highly reliable rotating machinery for power generation. He received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University. Prior to joining DDS he held various upper management positions with large technology based companies such as AlliedSignal and Honeywell. Most recently, Mr. Strouse was at Honeywell in the Aircraft Electric Power Generation business where he successfully transferred Honeywell’s aerospace power generation manufacturing and engineering operation in New Jersey to Arizona and Mexico. Additionally, he received his Six Sigma Black Belt certification from Honeywell. Prior to the Honeywell merger, Mr. Strouse was Site General Manager of AlliedSignal Aerospace Power Generation, responsible for design-development, production, service, repair and customer support. He is an expert in advanced manufacturing and engineering techniques, and has received a variety of production awards.
HERMAN ARTINIAN (VP of Corporate Development & Programs)
Mr. Artinian was formerly the Director of Business Development for parent company Calnetix, a post he held since the company’s inception. There he was responsible for the implementation and supervision of all sales and marketing activities. From the company’s beginnings, he was responsible for securing development contracts in various industries, principally focusing on turbomachinery.
He additionally led Calnetix’s efforts in identifying opportunities in various industries to create product-focused and market-focused subsidiaries. During that period, he was responsible for driving the market studies and business cases leading to the formation of DDS and Vycon (Calnetix’s energy storage flywheel subsidiary).
Mr. Artinian has held senior sales roles with.a worldwide distribution of turbomachinery equipment. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles.
VENKATESHWARAN “VENKY” KRISHNAN (Director of Programs)
Mr. Krishnan joined the team in January of 2005 after a career as an officer in the Indian Navy. He is a graduate of the National Defense Academy in India with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (Control Systems) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. In his career in the Navy he was responsible for the successful completion of several multi-million dollar international programs as a systems engineer and a project manager. He brings with him a wealth of field experience in the marine and defense fronts as well as systems engineering expertise.
At DDS, Mr. Krishnan has been managing all funded development programs including the Frame 2 cost reduction and productionization.
DANIEL M. SABAN, PE PhD (Technology Director & Frame 8 Program Manager)
Dr. Daniel Saban joined the team in June 2006 after working at Hamilton Sundstrand (HS) and General Electric (GE). He is a licensed professional engineer, has over 14 years experience in the design and development of electric machines for a variety of applications and holds eighteen US Patents.
At HS, Dr. Saban was responsible for electromagnetic design for aircraft generators, motors and starter/generators for various aircraft including the E2, 787, F35 and F22. His work included lamination design, controls development, and high speed permanent magnet motor technology maturation. Prior to his work at HS, he led the Motor Design Tools team at GE as well as provided advanced engineering support, including new lamination and winding designs.
Dr. Saban has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. His Masters of Science degrees include Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Controls, Electrical Engineering with a focus on Power Electronics both from the University of Wisconsin, and Electrical Engineering with emphasis on Electric Machinery from Purdue. His Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign concentrated in the Power Area.
DR. RAED AHMAD (Director of Power Electronics)
Dr. Raed Ahmad joined the team in August 2006 after working at Siemens in the US and Germany, where he last held the Traction and Open Pit Mining engineering manager position. Some of the projects done at Siemens include: design and implementation of a Diesel-Boast Trolley system for AC haul mining trucks, the world’s 1st water cooled IGBT drive for mining trucks. He has extensive experience in all aspects of engineering; R&D, product design and development, system engineering as well as manufacturing & assembly.
Dr. Ahmad has a Ph.D., MS in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan.
At DDS, Dr. Ahmad is responsible for the development of AC drive system solutions and integration with the high speed PM machine.
RICHARD FROGGE (Sales Director)
Mr. Frogge joined DDS as Sales Director in February 2008 following a highly successful career with Siemens AG serving as the Global Corporate Account Manager for Exxon Mobil Corporation. In that role Mr. Frogge represented Siemens entire portfolio worldwide. Prior to joining Siemens, Mr. Frogge spent 20 years with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America in various field and corporate roles.
Mr. Frogge holds a Bachelors of Science Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri, Columbia and in Business Administration from the University of New York, Albany. Mr. Frogge also has a MBA from West Texas State University and a Master’s of Science in Finance from The University of Dallas.
DAVE LEHMANN (Senior Advisor)
Backed by more than 40 years’ turbomachinery experience, from sales and marketing to new product design and production, Mr. Lehmann has been consulting for DDS since July 2004 in all aspects of the business, including:
- Product specifications: identifying the needs and wants of the industry
- Strategy: product development, market penetration, service
- Introductions to end users, owners, OEMs and target key vendors
Mr. Lehmann has also assisted in identifying markets and articulating DDS’s value proposition within the oil and gas industry, services which have been instrumental in establishing its sales and marketing plan. Mr. Lehmann was formerly Vice President of the Turbomachinery Business Division at Solar Gas Turbines (a division of Caterpillar, Inc), responsible for developing new products for the oil and gas industries—industrial gas turbines to complete compressor systems—and specifically for natural gas pipelines and offshore platforms. Prior to this he was the manager of International Industrial Gas Turbines at GE, a position that included responsibility for all overseas production, sales and marketing.
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