SPARQ Board
Praveen Jain, CEO
Dr. Praveen Jain PhD, FIEEE, is a world renowned expert in power electronics and highly successful serial entrepreneur. He was founder of CHiL Semiconductor in Tewksbury, MA, USA, which was recently acquired by International Rectifier for $75M. He has considerable experience in working with industry in the field of power electronics (Astec, ABB, Ballard Power, CHiL Semiconductor, Crompton Greaves, Canadian Aeronautics, General Electric, Intel and Nortel Networks).
Dr. Jain is a recipient of many awards including Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), Engineering Medal of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the IEEE Newell Award - the highest field award in power electronics. He is also a holder of the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Power Electronics at Queen's University in Canada.
John P. Molloy, Chair
John Molloy (MBA, Queen's) has been responsible for the commercialization of intellectual property at Queen's University since 1986. During that time PARTEQ has generated more than 40 technology companies that have attracted more than $900 million in investor funding and created more than 700 jobs. Mr. Molloy has also led the creation of a number of venture funds, including the Working Ventures CMDF Queen's Scientific Breakthrough Fund and the PARTEQ Internet Ventures Fund, both focused on investing in early-stage, high-growth business opportunities arising primarily from research at Queen's. In 2009, under his guidance, PARTEQ became the first Canadian technology transfer office in Canada to host a national Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR).
Mr. Molloy is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), is chairman of the Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer (OnSETT), and is a founding director of the Alliance for the Commercialization of Canadian Technology (ACCT). He is also a member of the Boards of Directors of numerous companies.
Dr. Nishith Goel
Dr. Nishith Goel was awarded his PhD in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He is a veteran technology executive and entrepreneur, who held positions at Bell Northern Research and Nortel before founding Cistel Technology in 1995. He is the co-founder of CHiL Semiconductor and was the co-founder of Ipine Networks.
Dr. Goel, the CEO of Cistel Technology, has an impressive track record of starting companies and expanding businesses. He played a key role in the successful commercialization of university research in co-founding CHiL Semiconductor with Praveen Jain. His industry expertise has been recognized with his appointment to the Board of Directors of Enablence (ENA:TSX-V) in 2007 and Excelocity in 2006.
In 1995, Dr. Goel founded Cistel, which has grown to over 150 employees in Ontario with revenues exceeding $10M per year. Cistel is a dynamic and progressive IT services company whose professional services are diverse, ranging from project management, business and technical analysis, implementation of communication networks and the establishment of nationwide email systems to helpdesk, desktop and server support. Cistel is committed to remaining an industry leader, with 20% of annual revenue dedicated to research and development activities. Dr. Goel brings Board experience with a startup IPO to the consortium.
Dr. Kalai Kalaichelvan
Dr. Kalai Kalaichelvan, as CEO and founder, has developed EION Wireless into a world leader in IP software and wireless networking solutions. Dr. Kalaichelvan holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, and is on the Advisory Board of Samsung Electronics. Dr. Kalaichelvan brings to the project over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry in business and technical leadership. For his entrepreneurial innovation, CATA Alliance and the National Research Council honoured him with the 2004 Innovator of the Year Award. EION, which he founded in 2001, has a staff of 50 and annual revenues of over $10M, and has an established track record of university collaboration and subsequent technology transfer and commercialization.
Prior to founding EION, Dr. Kalaichelvan was a VP in Nortel Networks, heading up the strategic IP software business unit in Wireless and Carrier Networks. While at Nortel, he was recognized as Top Talent Platinum for leadership and was a recipient of the prestigious President’s Award of Excellence. He was also Chairman and co-founder of iPine Networks prior to its acquisition by Nakina Systems.
Dr. Kalaichelvan brings strong system product development, market development, channel strategy and startup capabilities to the consortium.
Randall North, COO
Randall North, P Eng, is a senior executive with significant experience in management, operations, product development and marketing of advanced semiconductor, optical and software based technologies. Before joining SPARQ he was with a number of organizations, including at GSI Lumonics, Nortel and JDS Uniphase. He was general manager for the WavePrecision group of GSI Lumonics responsible for development, manufacturing, sales and marketing of precision optoelectronic components. At JDS he directed DWDM manufacturing operations, shipping over $1M daily of coupler based photonics components to customers worldwide. At Nortel he managed the laser diode optoelectronics manufacturing for shipment to Nortel customers in Paignton, England and Montreal, Canada.
- HIGH VOLTAGE MICROINVERTER
SPARQ’s software-based system eliminates unreliable components, giving you 25 years of hassle-free operation with a full replacement guarantee. This means that your power conversion system now lasts as long as your PV panel – an industry first. SPARQ microinverters: your best choice for the most reliable energy solution.
- SPARQ MONITORING SYSTEM
SPARQ’s user-friendly monitoring system ensures that your PV system is operating at peak reliability and giving you the highest yield on your solar investment. The LCD display of the SPARQ Energy Hub provides real-time performance indication on the health of your system.
