Management, Directors & Scientific Advisory Board
Spencer Huh
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Spencer Huh graduated from the Korea University in Seoul with a BEc. He is an experienced and proven financial professional with more than 25 years of financial and operational experience in Canada and Korea, and a track record of supporting ambitious growth plans. His expertise includes financial operations, strategy, performance management, and business planning for Korean and Canadian companies.
Mr. Huh began his career in 1993 as an investment advisor with Hanwha Securities in Korea. After immigration to Canada in 2000, he served for 6 years as an investment advisor with BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto and, subsequently, he joined TD Canada Trust in Vancouver. Since 2012, Mr. Huh worked with numerous private and publicly listed companies in Korea and Canada, including mining, medical device, and high-tech companies. He has played an integral role in the establishment, acquisitions, and financing for these companies.
Dr. Dongmok Whang
Independent Director, Lead Scientific Advisor
Dr. Dongmok Whang’s research expertise lies in the field of fabrication and manufacturing of low-dimensional nanomaterials, especially graphene, semiconductor nanowires, and porous nanostructures for applications in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and various energy storage solutions.
Dr. Whang owns more than 50 patents, 2/3 of which are co-owned with Samsung Electronics, and he has also co-authored over 177 peer-reviewed publications with over 13,850 citations. For the past 5 years, Dr. Whang was also the leader of a joint research team of Samsung and Sungkyunkwan University (“SKKU”), which the team had attracted interest from both the academic and industrial sectors for its work on developing proprietary technology for large-scale synthesis of single-crystalline graphene. With the Nanoelectronics Lab Team at Samsung, Dr. Whang had also developed technology to synthesize large-area monatomic amorphous graphene.
Dr. Whang is a Professor at the School of Advanced Materials Science & Engineering and Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology at SKKU. Dr. Whang has received his PhD degree in Chemistry from the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in 1997, and prior to joining SKKU, he was a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University, being a member of the Lieber Research Group that focuses on nanotechnology.
Ricky Lee
Lead Managerial Advisor
Mr. Ricky Lee is a 35-year battery and energy industry executive with substantial experience with battery material and cell design, mass-production technology, and equipment & process development at globally distinguished companies.
Throughout his career, Mr. Lee has served as the Senior Vice President and Chief of Process Engineering at several global Korean and Chinese battery cell manufacturers, including Samsung SDI (the 5th largest battery manufacturer), SK Innovation (the 6th largest battery manufacturer), and A123 Systems (one of the U.S.’s first LFP battery companies). He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of international companies and was a member of the National Research Review Committee and the WPM Operations Committee.
During his tenure at SK Innovation (currently SK On), he was the Vice President of the R&D Center and successfully launched large pouch cells for HEV, PHEV, and EVs in the U.S., Europe, and South Korea. Later, appointed as SK’s battery factory manager, Mr. Lee improved the defect rate and productivity to achieve quality control of >99% per unit process. He was awarded by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy for enabling an industry-leading mass-production capability.
Dr. Jae Ha Woo
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Woo is an expert specializing in the optimization of electrode materials used in lithium-ion batteries, interface modification, and all-solid-state batteries (ASSB). His research expertise focuses on the synthesis of silicon anode materials for high-energy batteries in long-range EVs and on interfacial engineering for sulfide-based ASSBs.
Working as a Scientific Research Engineer at General Motors’ Global R&D Centre through Optimal Inc., Dr. Woo participated in research projects regarding nanostructured silicon anode materials with artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), lithium-ion battery performance optimization, and electrode material synthesis.
Receiving his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder under the guidance of Professor Se-Hee Lee, Dr. Woo has published influential literature in international journals such as in Advanced Materials that advanced the field of silicon anodes and ASSBs. Prior to joining NEO Battery Materials, he worked as the lead research engineer at the Gwangju Institute of Green-Car Advancement, collaborating with South Korean EV battery companies for equipment process and battery testing development.
Dr. Jinhyuk Lee
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Jinhyuk Lee is an expert in the field of rechargeable batteries and is currently an Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering at McGill University. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2015 and performed postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley (2016-2017) and MIT (2017-2019) before he joined McGill in 2020.
Dr. Lee’s research is discovering sustainable battery materials based on experimental and theoretical materials research and has published numerous high-impact papers such as in Science, Nature, Nature Chemistry, and Nature Communications. He is widely known as the inventor of the disordered-rock salt Li-ion battery cathodes, which is being currently highlighted as one of the highest-energy-density and cheapest cobalt-free cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. He also owns five key patents and patent-applications related to battery materials.
In recognition of his research achievement, Dr. Lee was chosen as one of the five finalists of the Science Award Electrochemistry (2019) by Volkswagen and BASF and received the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement Award (2020). He was also selected as the Samsung Presidential Scholar (2010-2015) and received the prestigious MRS Graduate Student Gold Award (2014) during his Ph.D. Dr. Lee currently serves as a journal reviewer for Nature Communications, Joule, Chemistry of Materials, and other academic journals.
Dr. Jun Woo Park
Solid-State Battery R&D Task Force Advisor
Dr. Jun Woo Park is an expert in the field of electrochemical materials and next-generation rechargeable batteries. Since 2013, he has been a Principal Researcher at the Battery Research Division of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI). During his tenure, Dr. Park has committed to several high-impact research including sulfur-based solid-state electrolytes, cost-effective fabrication of all-solid-state batteries, and redox flow batteries.
He owns over 50 exceptional research papers and holds more than 100 patents. In 2022, Dr. Park was honored with the Minister of Science and ICT Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT, and in 2021, he received the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Award from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. He received 2 billion won in technology royalties based on his research achievements.
In addition, Dr. Park is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic Functional Materials Engineering at the University of Science and Technology (UST) and is a committee member of the Industry Technology Evaluation group at the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. He also serves as a committee member at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs. Furthermore, Dr. Park holds a position on the Editorial Board of the Korea Battery Society (KOBS). He earned his Master's and Ph.D. degrees under the guidance of Professor Masayoshi Watanabe at Yokohama National University, Japan, as a recipient of the prestigious Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship.
Dr. Hee-Dae Lim
Solid-State Battery R&D Task Force Advisor
Dr. Hee-Dae Lim is a devoted researcher primarily focusing on the development of next-generation batteries with an emphasis on ceramic and carbon materials. Creating novel materials and conducting process research for commercialization, he specializes in electrode and active material technologies for energy storage devices, SSBs, and multivalent-ion batteries. Engaging in collaborative efforts with local companies and institutions, Dr. Lim actively contributes to the advancement of battery technology.
Possessing an impressive publication record, he has published over 80 SCI papers with more than 40 patents related to next-generation battery technologies. Currently, Dr. Lim has been an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Hanyang University. He obtained his Ph.D. from Seoul National University in 2016 and served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He furthered his expertise as a Senior Researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
Dr. Jiwoong Bae
Solid-State Battery R&D Task Force Advisor
Dr. Jiwoong Bae specializes in electrochemical energy devices, focusing on solid-state batteries and next-generation batteries employing lithium-metal and silicon anode materials. With an ability to design high-performance energy systems, his expertise in materials chemistry enables exceptional results in the synthesis and selection of suitable materials for energy devices. Including collaborative research with Dr. John Goodenough, Nobel laureate and the inventor of the lithium-ion battery, Dr. Bae published numerous influential papers that advanced the field of SSBs and lithium-metal anodes.
Dr. Bae has been an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University since 2022. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020 and subsequently served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Molecular Foundry of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) from 2021 to 2022. Actively engaged in energy device manufacturing, Dr. Bae strives to commercialize high-performance batteries, and as vice chairman of the Green Manufacturing System at KSMTE, Dr. Bae demonstrates his dedication to sustainable manufacturing processes.
Dr. Suk Min Moon
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Suk Min Moon is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Applied Carbon Nano Technology Inc. He specializes in the field of battery recycling and nanomaterials which include carbon nanotubes (CNT), plasma, and graphene technologies.
He currently retains a patent portfolio of 40 related to various CNT, graphene, plasma, and material recycling technologies. Dr. Moon has conducted research projects on behalf of POSCO, the 5th globally largest steel manufacturer, and South Korea’s G7 Advanced Technology Advancement Project.
Dr. Moon has received his PhD degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Yonsei University, and before joining ACN, he was a Senior Research Engineer at Pohang’s Research Institute of Science & Technology and Chief Technology Officer of Korea Iron.
Dr. Dae Yeol Lee
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Dae Yeol Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Applied Carbon Nano Technology Inc. His expertise lies within carbon nanotubes (CNT), carbon nanofibers, graphene, plasma, and metallurgical engineering.
He owns a total of 50 patents with over 30 years of industry experience. He started his career at Pohang’s Research Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) established by POSCO. He is a co-founder of Applied Carbon Nano Technology Inc. Along with Dr. Suk Min Moon, Dr. Lee has cooperated in research and commercialization projects related to material recycling and nanomaterial engineering.
Dr. Lee has earned his PhD degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Pusan National University. He has had experience as a Senior Research Engineer at RIST and the Institute of Resource Recycling.
Daniel Lim, CPA (Wash.)
Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary
Mr. Daniel Lim has extensive accounting experience in accordance with Canadian and U.S. GAAP, IFRS, and Canadian and U.S. Corporate Income Tax Act. Mr. Lim holds a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license from Washington State. He has an excellent history of guiding corporate M&As, designing highly efficient financial systems, and optimizing business processes.
Before joining the Company, Mr. Lim has accumulated experience in various industries, including the public sector, IT, manufacturing, and financial services, for over 15 years.
Chris Theodoropoulus
Advisor
Mr. Chris Theodoropoulus received his BCL and LLB degrees from McGill University in 1981 and 1982. He has practiced law in Vancouver, B.C. until 2006 with an emphasis on public companies, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, secondary debt and equity financing, and dispute resolutions.
Mr. Theodoropoulus is the Founder and President of Dominion Goldfields Corporation, a private investment and precious metals royalty firm. In the period from 2006 to 2012, he served as the Chairman of Africo Resources Ltd., a company that was listed on the TSX until its privatization in 2016, and was involved in the exploration and development of a copper and cobalt deposit in the DRC.
In addition, during his tenure, he has served as a director of a number of technology and mining companies including Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc., Norsat International Inc., Goldquest Mining Corp., Pediment Gold Corp., Ethos Capital Corp., and a number of other companies.
Larry Okada, CA, CPA, (Wash.)
Independent Director
Mr. Larry Okada has been involved with a number of public mining companies for 36 years. He is a Chartered Accountant and has been in public practice since 1974 with extensive public finance and accounting experience with Deloitte and Touche, Staley Okada and Partners and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Mr. Okada presently serves as the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) for RedQuest Capital Corp (CPC) and is the Acting CFO of Africo Resources Ltd. as well as being a director and serving as chairman of the audit committee of Forum Uranium Corp. and Revett Minerals Corp.
John Kowalchuk, P. Geo.
Independent Director
Mr. John Kowalchuk is a professional geoscientist with the Association of Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. Presently he is Project Manager for Golden Reign Resources Ltd. developing a high– grade gold resource in Nicaragua. He has over 43 years of experience developing and managing exploration projects with both senior and junior mining companies and has worked in Canada, the United States, Russia, Mexico, Chile and Nicaragua.
Mr. Kowalchuk was Yukon and Northern B. C. District Geologist for Placer Dome Inc., during which time he was instrumental in the discovery and advancement of several world–class mineral deposits, including the Howard’s Pass lead–zinc deposits and the Kerr copper–gold porphyry deposit.
Mr. Kowalchuk was directly responsible for the discovery of the barium–lead–zinc–silver deposit in Driftpile Creek, and the discovery and exploration management of the Clea Tungsten property, which has the potential to become a significant tungsten mine in northern Canada.
Roberto Fia
Independent Director
Mr. Fia is a former investment banker who has developed a career of working with early-stage technology, medical device, mining, and oil and gas companies and advising corporate executives on business matters dealing with corporate finance, strategy, expansion, mergers and acquisitions, concept creation, private equity, corporate development, and corporate governance. Mr. Fia has an extensive contact base in the investment community and the financial sector as well as knowledge of the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange and Canadian Securities Exchange listing processes and guideline requirements.
Mr. Fia currently acts as chief executive officer and director of Therma Bright Inc. and City View Green Holdings Inc. and was instrumental in pivoting both companies into new market segments resulting in a significant increase in market capitalization for both entities. Mr. Fia was formerly co-head, corporate finance, at Kingsdale Capital Markets. He received his BComm (honours) degree from the IH Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba and holds the chartered financial analyst designation.
Chris Chung
Independent Director
Mr. Chris Chung received his honors bachelor’s degree with a double major in statistics and economics at the University of Toronto and has been a registrant with Canadian securities commissions since 2005. In addition, he has fulfilled numerous curricula, including, among others, Derivatives Fundamentals Course (DFC), Options Licensing Course (OLC), Professional Financial Planner (PFP) and Life License Qualification Program (LLQP).
Mr. Chung has been a licensed equity and derivative trader at Merrill Lynch Securities in Toronto, an investment representative of HSBC Securities (Canada), a regional manager (Western Canada) of Walton Capital Management in Calgary, vice-president of corporate sales for Triview Capital Ltd. for both British Columbia and Ontario, and vice-president, finance, for Ascenta Finance Ltd. (an independent Canadian institutional investment bank headquartered in Vancouver).
Mr. Chung has over 12 years of banking and wealth management experience specializing in both the private and public equities sector. During his career, Mr. Chung has raised more than $100-million in private equity.
