Sunlight Direct’s senior management team has demonstrated its ability to execute while being responsive to markets and building successful companies. Sunlight Direct was founded by Dr. Duncan Earl and is managed by the following personnel.
Duncan Earl, Ph.D.—Founder, Co-inventor and Chief Technology Officer
As founder and Chairman, Dr. Earl will continue to lead the company’s vision as an enabler of renewable energy technologies, including hybrid solar lighting and concentrated PV. As CTO, Dr. Earl will leverage his experience in optical and electrical engineering to increase collection and concentration of sunlight, thereby dramatically improving the efficiency and decreasing the cost of the company’s lighting and power generation systems. Dr. Earl is one of the co-inventors of the solar concentrator platform and hybrid solar lighting technologies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, a master’s degree in physics, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Earl worked for Oak Ridge National Laboratory for 10 years as an optical researcher, where he served as the lead researcher overseeing the development of the hybrid solar lighting technology.
John D. Morris—President & CEO
As Sunlight Direct’s president and CEO, Mr. Morris currently is responsible for building the organization to ramp sales of the HSL product and seed the initial markets for the CPV product. Mr. Morris also is responsible for operations and production, enabling the company to meet its ramping product sales. In addition, Mr. Morris ultimately is responsible for financial controls and raising capital. Mr. Morris, an entrepreneur who has been working with technology and technology businesses for more than 25 years, holds degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He has been instrumental in the formation of five technology commercialization ventures, merging technology from five different disciplines. Most recently, Mr. Morris was the founder and CEO of NetLearning, Inc., an Internet-based e-Learning company focused on the healthcare market. The company was acquired by the Thomson Corporation in 2004.
Mark Muskatevc—Director of Client Services
As Vice President of Technical Services, Mr. Muskatevc is responsible for overseeing the installation and customer service component for all HSL system deployments. Having been a technology business leader, Mr. Muskatevc understands the competitive advantage of customer service as well as the need to capture and synthesize field data. Turning field data into system improvements as well as turning beta customers into testimonials are critical to the success of Sunlight Direct’s new products. Mr. Muskatevc has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of customer service and field service management. He previously served as the president of BioTronics, Inc., a medical services company specializing in contract servicing of various medical equipment technologies. Mr. Muskatevc also has more than 25 years of business and personnel management experience related to customer service and technical hardware support.
Chris Van Beke—Vice President of Corporate and Business Development
Mr. Van Beke’s primary responsibilities are to identify and secure strategic partners and investment capital critical to achieving the projected growth of the company. Mr. Van Beke also is responsible for key customer accounts that will lead to compelling customer references, innovative product enhancements and innovations, and industry leadership. Mr. Van Beke has nearly 10 years of experience in strategy, operations, business development and financing within growth-stage technology companies. As VP of business development for a venture-backed software and logistics company, Mr. Van Beke helped increase company sales from nothing to $25 million over two years. Mr. Van Beke has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Directors and Advisors
John Morris, Director
Mr. Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of Sunlight Direct and serves on its board of directors.
Duncan Earl, Director
Dr. Earl is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Sunlight Direct and serves as the Chairman of the board of directors.
Michael Conway, Director
Michael Conway was a lead investor of Sunlight Direct's Series A Preferred financing in 2007. Mr. Conway has a BSME from Princeton University and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Stephen Sheridan, Director
Stephen Sheridan is an investor in and serves on the board of directors. Mr. Sheridan is a founding member and CEO of Bridge Strategy Group. Mr. Sheridan was divisional president for Renaissance Worldwide and a senior manager for McKinsey & Company. Mr. Sheridan has more than 20 years experience consulting Fortune 1000 clients in the financial services, computers and communications and energy sectors. He has developed intellectual capital and expertise on sales and marketing effectiveness and customer management strategies, particularly related to clients shifting from a product-centric business model to a customer-centric model. His work has been published in The Journal of Business Strategy and the Handbook of Business Strategy, and he has contributed to articles in Fortune and Business Week.
Jeff Muhs, Strategic Advisor
Jeff Muhs assists the company in seeking public and private research and development grants and contracts in order to continue the company’s development efforts. Mr. Muhs also assists the company in communicating with public officials about the benefits of solar technologies. Mr. Muhs is the co-inventor of the hybrid solar lighting technology and was an electro-optical research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for approximately 20 years. Currently, Mr. Muhs is the executive director of Utah State University’s biofuels program, where programs are using photo bioreactor technology to produce biofuels. Mr. Muhs was science advisor and legislative fellow for Senator Lamar Alexander and was instrumental in crafting the Energy Policy Act of 2005’s solar provisions.