OUR TEAM AND ADVISORS
WHO WE ARE
We are pioneers in silicon photonics and sensory technology. With years of experience in these fields, we combine our strengths to deliver the next generation of inertial navigation sensors.
OUR MISSION
Advancements in technology are always around the corner. But there's a major void that has yet to be filled - where high-quality meets low-cost in navigation sensors. We believe that access to high-performance sensors can and should be democratized for every possible application. Our mission is to fill this void. Even better - we’ve developed something so compact, it can fit almost anywhere.
THE EXECUTIVE TEAM
Dr. Mario Paniccia is an experienced executive with over 20 years in the photonics industry. Prior to ANELLO, Dr. Paniccia was at Intel where he achieved the level of Intel Fellow, CTO & GM of the Silicon Photonics Group. Dr. Paniccia is considered a world expert in silicon photonics & the technology he pioneered is used in Data Centers around the world.
Mike Horton is an experienced executive with over 20 years in gyro, sensor and navigation industry. Prior to ANELLO, Horton was CEO and co-founder of Crossbow Technology a leader in developing MEMS sensor systems for aircraft, military, defense & commercial applications. Horton is considered a world recognized expert in Sensor Technology.
Dr. Kevin Sullivan is an experienced executive with over 20 years in the photonics and fiber optics industry. Prior to ANELLO, Dr. Sullivan spent 14 years at Intel Corporation commercializing optical technologies including silicon photonics. Dr. Sullivan also previously worked at Lucent Technologies in their fiber optics division.
Avi Feshali is an experienced executive with over 15 years in silicon photonics fabrication & high volume manufacturing at Intel Corporation. Prior to ANELLO, Feshali was part of the camera & depth sensor team at Apple developing the LiDAR scanner found today on the IPad Pro and iPhone 12.
Gerhard Boiciuc has over 15 years of experience building partnerships in the Mobility and Automotive space. Prior to ANELLO, Boiciuc was at HERE Technologies where he led various Strategic Alliances and the HERE Parking Platform. Boiciuc has extensive experience in Business Development, Partnerships and Product Management.
Ken Morrison is an experienced executive with over 30 years in the development and execution of government R&D and Production programs. Prior to ANELLO, Morrison worked for industry leaders such as General Dynamics, Leonardo DRS and GE Aviation. Morrison has deep expertise in Business Development, Engineering and Operations.
BOARD MEMBERS
John Christopher “Chris” Moran is the Executive Director and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures; the venture capital investment arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Moran was head of Corporate Strategy and General Manager of Applied Ventures LLC; the strategic investing arm of Applied Materials.
Darren Liccardo is a co-founder and managing director of Catapult Ventures. Liccardo has spent a majority of his career as an engineering executive working in the aerospace & automotive industries with a focus on autonomous systems. Prior to co-founding Catapult Ventures, Liccardo served as VP of engineering at DJI, and was founding Director of Tesla’s Autopilot engineering group where he shipped Tesla’s first autopilot system.
Dr. Alexander Wong is the Managing Partner at Topiary Capital. Prior to founding Topiary in 2020, Dr. Wong was a Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital at the D. E. Shaw group for 15 years. Before that, Dr. Wong was a Partner at Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, as well as an early member and Managing Director at Intel Capital.
DEFENSE ADVISORS
Hugh Wyman Howard is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Upper Half) with over 32 years of experience in the SEAL Teams, joint and combined special operations, the Intelligence Community, and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. Howard is a thought leader in disruptive technologies with deep expertise in geo-political risk and opportunities to irregularly deter conflict – including multi-domain autonomous systems, communications, critical infrastructure, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities.
Kevin J. Cosgriff is a retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral and his last assignment was as commander of the Naval Forces Central Command. Cosgriff simultaneously commanded the U.S. 5th Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces. Cosgriff was also deputy commander of U.S. fleet forces and the Atlantic Fleet and he was the executive assistant to the undersecretary of the Navy and subsequently headed the Office of Program Appraisal for the secretary of the Navy. Cosgriff was also director of the White House Situation Room and director of Systems and Technical Planning for the National Security Council.
Alan Baca spent 25 years in active and reserve military service in the US Navy leading diverse teams in conflict areas. Baca is currently a General Partner with a Private Equity Fund, Verde Equity Partners. Previously, Baca was the Managing Director and Principal responsible for a $2.7B in Assets Under Management practice for a large financial services company allocating to a diverse mix of public and private investments. Baca is on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Air & Space Museum and recently returned from the US Navy Reserve as an O6/Captain. Baca has 10 years of experience in various capacities at PEO C4I & Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
TECHNICAL ADVISORS
Professor John Bowers holds the Fred Kavli Chair in Nanotechnology, and is the Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency and a Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Electrical, Computer Engineering, and Materials at UCSB. Bowers is considered a world expert in Integrated Photonics is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, a fellow of the IEEE, OSA and the American Physical Society.
Graham Reed is professor & Deputy Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton, UK. Reed is a recognized pioneer in the field of Silicon Photonics and acknowledged as the individual who initiated the research field in the UK. Reed established the first Silicon Photonics Research Group at the University of Surrey in 1989 and is a world expert in silicon modulators.
Dr. Dragos Maciuca is the Executive Technical Director at Ford's Research & Innovation Center in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Maciuca is an experienced executive, with more than 20+ years in Silicon Valley spanning industries including consumer (Apple), automotive (BMW,Nissan Ford), semiconductor manufacturing (KLA-Tencor), and aerospace (Lockheed Martin).
Dr. Ralph Bergh has been working with fiber-optic gyroscopes and fiber-optic components since 1978. Dr. Bergh is the inventor or co-inventor of 25 patents on various aspects of the fiber-optic gyroscope and fiber-optic components, and has numerous publications in the field of fiber optics. Dr Bergh is considered world expert in Fiber Optic Gyros and systems.
Dr. Judson D. Ryckman is an Assistant Professor Clemson University, where he leads research in photonics in areas of sensing, biomedicine, computing & communications. Dr. Ryckman's expertise in nanophotonics encompasses topics ranging from silicon photonic design, optical metasurfaces, nanomaterials, and scalable nanomanufacturing of sensors and compact flat optics.