Charles Gassenheimer

Charles Gassenheimer serves as CEO and Chairman of Ener1, Inc., a leading energy storage systems company and manufacturer of large- and small-format lithium-ion batteries for automotive, electrical utility grid and consumer electronic applications. Mr. Gassenheimer was appointed in 2006. Since then Ener1 has listed on the NASDAQ (HEV), grown from approximately 100 to 700 full-time employees and expanded operations from the U.S. to a global platform including Europe and Asia. (The company was fifth in Deloitte’s 2010 Technology Fast 500 Program ranking the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in the U.S. and Canada.) As transportation electrification became a top U.S. federal policy goal, Ener1 was first to mount commercial-scale production of automotive-grade lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. in 2009 and received a $118.5 million grant under the Recovery Act. Since 2006, Ener1 has raised more than $250 million in equity capital. Previously, Mr. Gassenheimer held a number of leadership positions in Wall Street financial institutions and was responsible for sourcing, structuring and managing hundreds of debt and equity investments in both the private and public marketplaces. He served as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Satellite Asset Management with $6 billion under management; Portfolio Manager and Head of the Distressed Securities Investment Group of Tribeca Investments, the hedge fund division of Citigroup Global Investments; and Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston. In 2010 Mr. Gassenheimer became chairman of the electric car maker THINK, which currently has more electric vehicles on the road than any other manufacturer in the world. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.