Our Team

Henry Burkhalter - Chairman & CEO
hburkhalter@firstchargeenergy.com

Henry Burkhalter serves as the Chairman of a Private Equity Group specializing in Alternative Energy and Healthcare. He presently serves as the Chairman of FirstCharge Energy. Mr. Burkhalter was the managing director of the acquiring company that purchased the Horizon technology in 2000.  Over the past fifteen years, he has been instrumental in the development of new and innovative energy-storage applications.  Henry is a founder and past Chairman of a healthcare company that recently elected to go public. The company developed a proprietary data network system designed to streamline work flow and improve value-added services for healthcare facility patients.  Prior to his experience in Private Equity, Henry was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of two public wireless technology companies that were eventually sold to an International Telecommunications Company. Henry is a CPA and served as a founder and managing partner of a large CPA and Consulting firm specializing in Utilities and Healthcare. Prior to starting his own firm he was employed by Ernst & Young.  He graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in Accounting and Finance.  Henry has served on or presently serves on numerous Boards of Directors of National and local non-profit organizations.


Benny Jay - Chief Technology Officer, President Grove Manufacturing
benny.jay@firstchargeenergy.com

Educated in the natural sciences and engineering at Abilene Christian University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Texas at Austin, Benny E. Jay,  (B. S. Physics-magna cum laude; M. S. Engineering Mechanics –Tau Beta Pi) has accumulated over forty years’ experience in research, product development and manufacturing, project management, commercial and military, domestic and international business development, SBU (i.e., P & L) management, and Corporate management  in public companies, having allocated roughly equal amounts of his experience to each of these business disciplines.

During a twenty-two year tenure at a NYSE Fortune 250 Company, his responsibilities ranged from engineer-scientist to Systems Engineering Manager in the research and development disciplines, Division Vice President for Business Development to Group Vice President for the $240 million Aerospace Group, and Corporate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Special Projects for the $700 million Corporation.  His management experience includes SBU project, line and general management, acquisitions, turn-around management and corporate-management.

During his tenure as President and CEO of a new public Corporation founded by Jay in 1988 and listed on NASDAQ in 1992, the Company market capitalization appreciated 2200% within two years after listing and was recognized as one of the 100 fastest growing U.S. public companies in 1994. The Company’s first advanced-battery product was recognized in 1996 by R & D Magazine as one of the 100 most Technologically Significant New Products of the year. Under Jay’s leadership, the newly capitalized Company was acquired by Eagle Picher Horizon Batteries, LLC, and built new manufacturing facilities in China and the US in response to renewed, international demand for its advanced energy storage products.

Howard Kuo, Vice President – International Development
 
Howard manages our international operations and is based in Mountain View, California. He is also the General Manager of our Chinese licensee, HAODE HORIZON BATTERY, of Baotou, China. He has held senior positions in the US, China, and Taiwan and is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Taiwanese languages and cultures. Some of his career highlights include: (i) turning around a battery manufacturing startup in China through a full-scale overhaul of business strategy, production, supply chain, training, and government relations, (ii) launching a $100M production facility for Haode, delivered $25M business for Maxim, achieved #1 market share for STMicroelectronics in various power segments; and captured high-profile accounts: IBM, Logitech, Sony, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia-Siemens, Ericsson, ZTE, Huawei, GE, Samsung, Dell.