Mr. Ott joined the Board of Directors in 2015. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Quest Integrity since 2006 and, since February 2016, as President of Team-Furmanite, both subsidiaries of Team, Inc. (NYSE: TISI), a provider of asset integrity management and asset reliability solutions in the refinery, chemical, petrochemical, pipeline and power industries worldwide. Prior to joining Quest Integrity, Mr. Ott was a general partner at Gryphon Investors from 2001 to 2006 where he was responsible for managing the group’s middle market-focused technology investment interests. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Ott managed the West Coast private equity effort and technology investments as a general partner at Deutsche Bank Capital Partners and, from 1987 to 1996, led the global convertible and equity-linked capital markets effort for Bankers Trust. He began his career as an engineer in the Operations Analysis group at Rockwell International’s North American Aircraft. Mr. Ott holds a BSc. in Engineering Management and Operations Research from Southern Methodist University and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.
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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Stephen E. Pirnat, Chairman & CEO
Prior to joining ClearSign as a member of the Board of Directors in 2011 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer in 2015, Mr. Pirnat was Managing Director of Europe, the Middle East and African operations at Quest Integrity Group, a division of Team, Inc. (NYSE: TISI), which provides asset integrity management and asset reliability solutions in the refinery, chemical, petrochemical, pipeline and power industries worldwide. From 2009 to 2011, he was President of Quest Integrated Inc., a technology incubator and boutique private equity firm. From 2000 to 2009, Mr. Pirnat served as President & CEO of the John Zink Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries and a worldwide leader in the supply of combustion and air pollution control equipment to the energy industry. Mr. Pirnat, a long-time executive with Ingersoll-Rand and Ingersoll-Dresser Corporation, went to John Zink from a previous post as President & CEO of Pangborn Corporation, a leading supplier of surface preparation equipment and associated services to the automotive and aircraft industries. Mr. Pirnat began his career as an applications engineer with the Pump and Condenser Group of Ingersoll-Rand, where he advanced through a variety of sales, marketing, engineering, and operational positions with that company and its successor, Ingersoll-Dresser. These positions included Vice President of Ingersoll-Rand’s Standard Products Division, Vice President of Marketing for Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps, President of Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps Canada Ltd., and Vice President & General Manager of Ingersoll-Rand Engineered Equipment Division. Mr. Pirnat received a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He serves on the board of directors of AZZ Incorporated (NYSE:AZZ).
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Scott P. Isaacson, Director
Mr. Isaacson joined the Board of Directors in 2011. He has over 33 years of experience in advising and representing businesses in managing their programs related to environmental, legal and regulatory risk issues. From 2000 to 2016, he was Vice President with California Portland Cement Company where he oversaw the environmental programs for this construction materials manufacturing company with operations in the Western United States. Mr. Isaacson is an experienced legal expert on a broad scope of environmental compliance requirements for major federal environmental laws and programs as well as related state programs. He has been the principal advising attorney on environmental issues for complex, multi‑program projects to include remediation of federal and state cleanup sites, development projects, industrial air emissions, and, more recently, federal and state actions to regulate greenhouse gases. In his prior position as a partner with the Seattle law firm of Bogle and Gates, he advised clients on federal, state and local environmental compliance, land use, government contractor liability and exposure to toxic or hazardous materials as well as issues related to individual and corporate civil and criminal liability under environmental laws. Clients included local governments and a number of large and mid-size businesses and companies involved in manufacturing, production, and service. Previous to that, he was the Chief of the Environmental Law Division at the Department of the Army and the senior attorney responsible for advising commands throughout the United States on environmental policy and compliance issues arising from Army activities, and handled or supervised complex and significant environmental actions that were under the scrutiny of federal, state, and local regulators as well as interested private environmental organizations. Mr. Isaacson holds a BSc. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington. He is a member of the bar for United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
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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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Jeffrey L. Ott, Director
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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.