Management

John Crawley is the founder of Niotan, Inc. Mr. Crawley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Occidental College and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, both in Los Angeles, California. In addition to being the originator of Niotan, he has led the team of individuals for all aspects of the Company's development, fundraising efforts and day-to-day activities. Mr. Crawley is the inventor on a number of issued patents and patent applications dealing with improvements to tantalum processing.

James McClintock will be responsible for the operations of Niotan, assuming the position of Interim CEO. Jim is a Mechanical Engineer from NC State University with 27 years of Ta Capacitor experience at KEMET Electronics in a variety of roles, most notably as President/COO from 2003-2006. More recently, Jim has been President/COO of Micro Stamping Corporation, a supplier to the Ta capacitor industry. Jim brings to Niotan deep industry knowledge, and strong managerial and technical expertise, arising from working with and for the tantalum industry for over three decades.

Andy Conibear has a degree in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Southampton in England. Mr. Conibear possesses more than 30 years of experience in the tantalum industry in the field of capacitor manufacturing, ranging from R&D and qualification of new tantalum powders, running capacitor production, new product development, process engineering, yield improvement and cost reduction programs and technology transfer to overseas manufacturing plants.

Jim Fife is presently the Vice President of Technology and Secretary for Niotan, Inc. Mr. Fife earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Engineering from Ohio State University and is a registered Professional Engineer. He has worked in the tantalum industry in both capacitor and powder manufacture for the last 32 years. Mr. Fife is the most prolific inventor in the history of tantalum, having been the named inventor on fifty-two issued patents.

Dave Knudson is the Vice President of Engineering at Niotan, Inc. Mr. Knudson has been in the tantalum industry for 30 years, first spending 23 years in Cabot Corporation’s Boyertown plant and the past 7 years at Niotan. Mr. Knudson began his career as a Research and Development Technician working on tantalum powder development projects. After 13 years as an R&D technician, he was promoted to the position of Project Engineer, where he completed many projects associated with expanding plant capacity and automation of specific processes. After two years as a Project Engineer, he was then promoted to the position of Manufacturing Engineer responsible for the flake product line as well as the dry processing of tantalum powder products. After coming to Niotan, Mr. Knudson was able to use his years of experience to commission the Niotan facility for production of capacitor grade tantalum powders. Mr. Knudson holds a Chemical Engineering Degree from Villanova University.

Previously, Mr. Carte was the Chief Financial Officer of The Trigen Companies. During his tenure with Trigen, Mr. Carte jointly led the process and negotiations for the sale of the company for $800 million to Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE), a large French conglomerate, in a process that more than doubled the equity value of the company in less than three years. Mr. Carte has also held senior financial positions at Texas-New Mexico Power and NRG Energy, Inc. During his time at NRG, Mr. Carte raised over $10 billion in debt and equity capital from financial institutions and the capital markets, including the largest initial public offering in Minnesota history. Mr. Carte received a B.A. in Mathematics from Earlham College and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP).

Mr. Fleming is the Controller and Chief Compliance Officer of Niotan Inc., responsible for the day-to-day operations of the finance department including budgeting, financial statement preparation, monthly close process, maintenance of effective internal controls and cash management. Mr. Fleming brings significant manufacturing experience to Niotan. Prior to Niotan, he was the Controller of a $20 million company that manufactured and distributed vitamins and dietary supplements. He was also the Controller of a $100 million company who manufactured roofing materials. Mr. Fleming was an audit manager at Grant Thornton LLP, where he spent 5 years specializing in manufacturing, gaming and benefit plans. Mr. Fleming earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics from George Fox University.