Leadership Team
Meet the Xponential Battery Materials (XBM) Leadership Team: Driving Innovation in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.
Guiding Our Vision for the Future of Clean Energy and Advanced Battery Technology.
Pioneering Sustainable Battery Solutions for Global Impact
The XBM leadership team is at the forefront of innovation, steering the company’s mission to revolutionize energy storage with advanced lithium-sulfur battery technology. With decades of combined experience in technology, sustainability, and industrial development, our team is committed to delivering superior performance, sustainable materials, and secure supply chains.
Executive Leadership Team
Phillip Roberts
Co-founder and CEO
Philip is a cleantech executive with 30 years of experience, who started his career with ARCO in the U.S. petroleum industry.
With 15 years of experience in commercializing advanced lithium battery materials and battery energy storage systems, he has successfully founded multiple companies, including Extengine, Ecologic Test Labs, California Lithium Battery, and XBM USA.
He has extensive relationships in the cleantech sector and was recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Green Entrepreneurs in 2006. In 2017, CV Magazine named him the quintessential American cleantech entrepreneur.
Junbing Yang, PhD
Co-founder and CTO
Junbing is the inventor of the CarbonX lithium-sulfur cathode material. He is an experienced scientist with 25 years of expertise in advanced materials research and development and prototype system development.
He holds multiple patents in battery materials and related intellectual property and has authored numerous scientific publications. Junbing earned his PhD in materials chemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University. He was formerly a top materials staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab.
Matthew Fragner
Partner, Advisor, and Attorney
Matthew is the founding partner of the law firm Fragner Seifert Pace & Mintz.
He has founded three cleantech companies in the solar, battery, and electric vehicle industries. As an experienced corporate lawyer, philanthropist, and business owner, Matthew serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations worldwide.
Neil Martin
Business Development
Neil has 30 years of experience in B2B sales, marketing, and business development with companies like HP, Agilent Technologies, and Keysight Technologies.
He is skilled in platform development and go-to-market execution. Neil is also a business owner and board member of several nonprofit organizations.
Dr. Summer DeRuyter
Advisor, Funding Strategist
Dr. DeRuyter has 30 years of experience in research, teaching, and grant writing. She has helped raise over $500 million in grant funding, with a focus on green energy technologies.
Dr. DeRuyter is the lead grant writer for XBM and serves as the government, environmental, and investor group liaison. She holds a PhD in Ecology.
Michal Mackowiak
Vice President, Europe
Michal brings 15 years of experience in the European commercial energy sector. He is the co-founder of the first European electric vehicle bus company and is a member of the European Battery Alliance.
He also serves as Executive Director of Harmony Energy and is a board member of several EU green tech energy companies.
Neil Sahota
Advisor, Communications
Neil is a United Nations Artificial Intelligence Advisor and IBM Master Inventor.
He is a business development leader for IBM Watson and a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies.