Mr. Simmons is the founder and CIO of ICM Asset Management, an investment advisory firm founded in 1981. Jim has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1985 and has over four decades of experience in security analysis portfolio management. As ICM’s Chief Investment Officer, he leads portfolio strategy for all portfolios with a particular emphasis on undiscovered and turn-around small cap companies. In addition, Jim has been active over the years in assisting small start-up companies in Spokane and the Northwest. As Chairman of the Board of ICM he also provides the overarching strategic direction for the firm. Before founding ICM, Jim served as the head of Old National Bank’s trust investment department, and prior to this, as a portfolio manager with the bank now known as Comerica. Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Michigan State University, and is a member of both CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Spokane.
ClearSign designs, develops and markets technologies that aim to improve the key performance characteristics of combustion systems, including emission, operational performance, energy efficiency and overall cost effectiveness.
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Robert T. Hoffman, Chairman & Interim CEO
Mr. Hoffman is the Managing Director of Princeton Opportunity Management LLC, which he founded in February 2011. Mr. Hoffman is also the managing member of GPclirSPV LLC, which is the managing member of clirSPV LLC, our largest shareholder. Mr. Hoffman also served as the founder and managing partner of Candlewood Capital, a long/short fund which managed more than $1 billion in primarily institutional assets. He was also a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for the Scudder Stevens and Clark Growth & Income (G&I) product, where he was responsible for all buy and sell decisions. During his tenure, G&I assets under his management expanded from approximately $1.75 billion to more than $25 billion. Mr. Hoffman was also nominated by two separate Governors to serve three terms as a member and Chairperson of the State of New Jersey Investment Council from 1990 to 2002.
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Lon E. Bell Ph.D., Director
Dr. Bell joined the Board of Directors in 2011. He is a leading expert in the mass production of thermoelectric products. He has authored more than 20 publications in the areas of thermodynamics of thermoelectric systems, automotive crash sensors, and other electronic and electromechanical devices. Five of his inventions have gone into mass production and dominated their target markets. In 1991, Dr. Bell founded Amerigon Inc. and has been a Consultant to Amerigon since December 2010. Dr. Bell has served many roles in Amerigon, Inc., including Chief Technology Officer until December 2010, Director of Technology until 2000, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until 1999, and President until 1997. Dr. Bell served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of BSST LLC, a subsidiary of Amerigon from September 2000 to December 2010. He has served as a Director of Amerigon since 1991. Previously, Dr. Bell co-founded Technar Incorporated, which developed and manufactured automotive components, and served as Technar’s Chairman and President until selling majority ownership to TRW Inc. in 1986. Dr. Bell continued managing Technar, then known as TRW Technar, as its President until 1991. He co-founded Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Co Ltd. in 1994 and serves as its Vice Chairman. He has been a Member of Scientific Advisory Board of Nextreme Thermal Solutions, Inc. since 2006. Dr. Bell received a B.Sc. in Mathematics, an MSc. in Rocket Propulsion, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He serves on the board of directors of Ideal Power Inc. (NASDAQ:IPWR) and Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTI).
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Susanne Meline, Director
Ms. Meline joined the Board of Directors in 2018. She is a specialist in both finance and law having worked for many years with both public and privately held companies in all stages of their life cycles. She has held positions as a lawyer, investment banker, board member and investor. Susanne co-founded Francis Capital Management, a value-based investment advisor, where she continues to specialize in small cap stocks. Ms. Meline is an experienced legal professional, having worked with Jones Day – an international law firm that provides corporate legal advisory services across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. She previously worked as an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank serving corporations, institutions, and governments worldwide. Susanne is a Certified Director through the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Ms. Meline received a B.A in political science from UCLA, and a J.D. from the UC Hastings College of the Law. She served on the board of directors of Finomial Corporation, a Series B stage FinTech company, until 2018 at which time she transitioned to her current role as a Series A board observer.
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Jim Simmons, Director
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Bruce Pate, Director
Bruce Pate joined the Board of Directors in 2019. Mr. Pate is the general partner of Pate Capital Partners LP, which he founded in 2004 to invest in publicly traded companies with a special emphasis in energy and resource-related sectors. Prior to founding Pate Capital Partners LP, Mr. Pate spent over 20 years at Morgan Stanley & Co. as a principal of the firm, where he managed fixed income and equity portfolios for entrepreneurs, foundations, and corporations.