Alex Balkanski

President and CEO, Picarro

Alex Balkanski is a long-time industry leader with a demonstrated track record of delivering growth in revenue and profits, while achieving recognition for outstanding customer satisfaction. Prior to joining Picarro as President and CEO in November, 2013, Alex was a managing partner at Benchmark and served as a member of the Picarro Board of Directors. Alex led C-Cube and DiviCom, two pioneering companies that drove the MPEG standard to dominance in consumer electronics and broadcasting. Alex founded C-Cube in 1988. In 1994, he took the company public, and in 1998 he orchestrated C-Cube’s acquisition of DiviCom. Previously, he was a board member of Ambarella (AMBA), Decru (acquired by Network Appliance), Entrisphere (acquired by Ericsson), and Infinera (INFN). Alex holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from Harvard University, as well as a B.S. from Harvard College.

Howard P. Lukens

Formerly Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at QuantumScape

Howard is a senior executive with 30 years of experience at the highest levels of corporate management. His industry experience ranges from satellite communications to packet switching systems to optical telecommunications systems. Howard was formerly the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at QuantumScape. Prior to QuantumScape, he was Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Infinera Corporation where he oversaw every major win from pre-product through $400M+ annual revenue and took the company from startup to the #1 position in the North American DWDM market. Prior to Infinera, he was Vice President of Worldwide Strategic Sales at CIENA Corporation, where he was responsible for CIENA’s largest sales initiatives around the world. Howard holds a BS in Business Management from George Mason University.

John J. Cadeddu

Partner, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich

Prior to joining DAG in 1999, John was a Managing Director at Amsterdam Pacific, an investment bank specializing in media and telecommunications. While at Amsterdam Pacific Corporation, John worked with BBU Mezzanine Fund I and BBU Mezzanine Fund II, where he sourced, supported and exited mezzanine investments across a number of industries. Previously, John worked at Octel Communications (now Lucent Technologies) and Tandem Computers (now H-P) in marketing and strategic planning roles. He also worked at JP Morgan in both capital markets and corporate finance. John received a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. John led DAG II's investments into Raza Microelectronics, Agami, Tropos Networks, Qlusters, Centrata, Kovio, Pedestal Networks, Trapeze Networks, Topspin Communications and Entrisphere. He also serves on the board at Trapeze Networks, Qlusters, Pedestal Networks and Entrisphere.

Lori Staffin Traweek

COO, Retired, American Gas Association

After a 32 year career overseeing all aspects of the association’s operations, Lori recently retired as COO from the American Gas Association. Lori is a respected industry leader and spokesperson and has represented the industry before Congress, regulatory bodies and policymakers. Working collaboratively with utility executives across the country, she has been integrally involved in the identification of business strategies, policy development and helping companies achieve operational excellence in the safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible delivery of natural gas. Lori currently sits on the boards of GTI Energy and TRC and previously served on the board of the Center for Energy Workforce Development and National Energy Foundation. Prior to AGA, she worked for Arco Oil and Gas. She has a communications degree from Ithaca College and a mechanical engineering degree from Purdue University and currently resides with her husband Bill in Annapolis, Maryland.

Nick Stavropoulos

President & COO, Retired, PG&E

After seven years at San Francisco-based PG&E, Nick retired from his role as President and COO in 2018.  Prior to joining PG&E, Nick served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for National Grid, an electricity and natural gas delivery company serving nearly seven million customers.  Prior to that role, he was President of KeySpan Energy Delivery.  Nick is an internationally sought-after speaker on the topics of leadership, workplace safety, and safety culture.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Bentley College.  Nick earned his Master in Business Administration from Babson College and has completed executive education certificates from Harvard and MIT.

Paolo Gallo

CEO, Italgas

Paolo Gallo is both a veteran and a vanguard in the Energy industry. He is well-renowned for a career of strong leadership with Italian organizations including Fiat Energia, Acea S.p.A, Montedison, and he has held the position of CEO and General Manager at Italgas since 2016. He got involved in the energy sector in 1997 developing new initiatives in Italy, India and Brazil and later combined all the electricity generation activities for the Fiat Group at Fiat Energia (where he was CEO until 2002). Paolo gained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin, and an MBA from the Scuola di Amministrazione Aziendale (SAA -Università degli Studi di Torino). As a scholar, an executive, and an author, Paolo brings a wealth of knowledge and global influence to the Picarro board.

Roger Evans

General Partner, Greylock

Roger came to Greylock after a successful career as the CEO of Micom Systems, a Greylock sponsored company he and a partner started in 1976. Roger is on the board of Picarro and Silver Peak Systems. He also served on the board of and led Greylock's investment in companies such as Ascend (acquired by Lucent), Argon Networks (acquired by Siemens), Crosscomm (acquired by Olicom), Maker Communications (acquired by Conexant), Openwave, RightNow Technologies (IPO in 2004), Sahara Networks (acquired by Cascade), Sirocco Systems (acquired by Sycamore), Syndesis (acquired by Subex Azure), Whitetree (acquired by Ascend), Xircom (acquired by Intel), and Zeitnet (acquired by Cabletron). He is a graduate of Cambridge University.

Dr. Siva Sivaram

President, Western Digital

Dr. Siva Sivaram serves as President of Western Digital Corporation where he focuses on the development of corporate strategy and the technologies that fuel the company’s growth. Siva has more than 35 years of experience in semiconductor technologies and manufacturing. Siva serves on the board of directors of the Global Semiconductor Alliance and the US-India Business Council. He received his Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Materials Science from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has been nominated to its Board of Trustees. Additionally, he is a Distinguished Alumnus of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, India, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.