Transforming the Battery Experience

Nadim Maluf is the CEO and co-founder of Qnovo with over 30 years dedicated to engineering better experiences and products for others. Nadim’s vision for Qnovo is to enable the electrification revolution for people around the world by paving the way for a more intelligent and resilient technology future. He has brought together a world-class team passionate about battery intelligence, blending chemistry with software and systems expertise for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer electronics. Together, they bring the transformative science, intellectual capital and industry insight to power a rapidly changing world.

From his initial work as an entrepreneur-in-residence at U.S. Venture Partners to co-founding Qnovo, Nadim has nurtured adaptive charging from concepting to shipping products to customers. He has held various other leadership roles at LumaSense, Bookham, Stanford University, New Focus and TRW Automotive.

Nadim holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, a B.E. from American University of Beirut and an M.S. from California Institute of Technology. When he is not consumed in battery chemistry, he can be found putting miles on his road bike through the California hills.

Dania Ghantous, a Qnovo co-founder, is Vice President of Technology with more than 25 years of experience in technology development related to materials, batteries and computation algorithms.  A battery scientist at heart, Dania’s innovations and unique understanding of lithium-ion batteries enables her to recognize the theoretical promise of new materials and technology yet distill it into practical implementations that can be readily commercialized. Dania’s team develops the core battery science behind Qnovo’s battery management algorithms. Prior to Qnovo, Dania served in leadership roles developing advanced materials and batteries at Imara, Greatbatch and NanoGram Devices. Dania is an inventor on more than 50 patents on battery technology.  She is recognized as one of the Top 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley and is a recipient of the Women’s World Awards for Excellence in Industry Women of the Year in Engineering and Technology.

Dania holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. Dania enjoys traveling when she can, watching the Golden State Warriors and solving all types of puzzles.

Hurley Davis is the Vice President of Software at Qnovo, where he helps realize the company’s vision for the Battery Defined Vehicle. With more than two decades of experience in embedded software spanning the automotive, robotics, and automation industries, he has delivered advanced solutions for battery management systems, powertrain controls, and software-defined vehicles.

Passionate about elevating physical systems with intelligent software, Hurley enjoys collaborating with business development teams to advance market position.

Hurley began his career developing advanced robotics solutions for the US Department of Energy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  He then focused on automotive applications, leading global teams in developing battery management systems for A123 Systems, engine and powertrain controls at Continental, and infotainment and infrastructure software at Elektrobit.  He has built, led and worked with global teams in Germany, Finland, Romania, India, China and Mexico to drive profitability for Fortune 500 companies as well as to establish stability and maturity for thriving startups.

Hurley holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and completed the Stanford LEAD program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  

A proud husband and father of five, Hurley loves live music, sports, and travelling to new places.

Al Chami is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in the technology industry. As the Vice President of Global Sales at Qnovo, he leverages his expertise to drive strategic initiatives and foster growth.

Prior to his current role, Al held leadership positions at Rensair and AirLabs, where he spearheaded sales and business development efforts. He was also a key member of the executive team at ACTIA Group, holding multiple roles and contributing to the establishment of two significant business units in North America: a large-format battery pack assembly facility in Indiana and a circuit board manufacturing plant in Michigan.

Al holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Wayne State University and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence from the same institution. Al enjoys playing and coaching soccer and basketball, as well as weightlifting.

TaeSung Kim is Qnovo’s Managing Director of Korea, where he drives commercialization of Qnovo’s battery innovations across Asia. With nearly three decades of experience in sales, engineering and marketing—spanning Korean corporations and global technology firms—he has led the successful launch of emerging technologies from initial R&D through full commercialization.

At Qnovo, TaeSung serves as a hub for sales in Korea and Asia, spearheading the adoption of Qnovo’s advanced battery management solutions.

Prior to joining Qnovo, TaeSung incubated overseas solutions for leading Korean companies such as LG, Samsung, and Hyundai, ensuring successful market entry and growth. He established and managed multiple partner agencies, introducing core technologies to Korean conglomerates. Earlier in his career, he spent over six years as a hardware engineer in R&D before transitioning to a field application engineer role, providing on-site support and bridging customer requirements with new solutions.

Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, traveling, watching baseball and soccer, and occasionally playing golf.

Sam Kanakamedala is the Vice President of Product at Qnovo. He has over 15 years of experience in product management spanning across the technology sector through networking, cloud, intelligent transportation and IoT industries.
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Sam joined Qnovo to bring transformative products to market that help scale sustainable solutions globally. He believes possibilities for next gen mobility, energy system transformation and consumer device enhancement can only be enabled though untethered design. At Qnovo, he is responsible for defining battery management solutions that unlock this potential.

Prior to Qnovo, Sam held various product management and marketing roles at Cisco Systems, Packet Design and LiLee Systems. His experience spans launching and scaling hardware, software and cloud to provide vehicle connectivity at high speeds.

Sam holds an MBA from Berkeley Haas, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s in computer engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology(BHU).

Sam loves to read and race cars of all sizes in his free time.

Vanessa Roscoe Forbes is VP of Marketing Communications at Qnovo with nearly 20 years of experience leading environmental and purpose-driven marketing and communication strategies. At Qnovo, she heads strategic programming, campaigns and initiatives at a worldwide level to drive shared success and sustainability for the industrial ecosystem.

Vanessa has directed sustainable marketing and communication strategies from startups to Fortune 100 companies in technology, consumer goods, the built environment and renewables. Previously, Vanessa has worked for HP Inc., Edelman, Apple and Coca-Cola, as well trading commodities in the organic food industry.

Vanessa Forbes holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and a BS in Marketing from Fairfield University. Her passion for the environment extends deeply into outdoor activities, especially skiing and fly fishing. Her cattle dog, Mocha, joins in the wilderness adventures.

Christina Teng is VP of Finance and Administration at Qnovo with more than 20 years of experience in finance operations and HR management for start-ups to multinational companies. Christina has a track record of growing companies from R&D to commercialization stages. As the leader for both the finance and administration departments, she serves as the hub to the interdisciplinary spokes of the business. Prior to Qnovo, Christina served in leadership roles at Innovalight, acquired by DuPont and New Focus, acquired by Bookham. Earlier in her career, she worked as an auditor at KPMG and is a California certified public accountant.

Christina holds a BS in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Christina loves hiking and travel and finds gardening a most therapeutic activity.

David Coakley is the vice president of operations for Qnovo, managing operations and IT functions. While building Qnovo’s internal infrastructure, he is a leading proponent of an asset light strategy. Dave’s role can be summarized succinctly as solving problems and removing barriers to sales. Dave has extensive international experience in the outsourced supply chain, engaging with the leading Asian and European foundries and a worldwide customer base.

Dave has over 40 years of experience in high technology fields including semiconductors, thin films and media. He has built and scaled manufacturing operations from ground zero to volume production. Starting his career as a process engineer, Dave’s organizational skills and attention to detail resulted in broader responsibilities managing production, engineering, quality, finance and IT functions. Adopting best known practices, Dave’s operations excelled in new product introductions, driving down cost and accelerating cycles of learning through JIT and six-sigma based manufacturing.

Dave received his bachelor of science in physical electronics from Northumbria University. Personal creativity includes developing the Silicon Shuttle (MPW) and methods for hillock suppression, used widely in the semiconductor industry today.

Outside of work, Dave spends time with family and friends. His interests include hiking, camping, kayaking, photography, theatre and opera.