Management Team

Said Al-Hallaj, Co-Founder and CEO
Said Al-Hallaj is the co-inventor of AllCell’s PCCTM technology and a world-renowned expert in thermal management of lithium-ion batteries.  He possesses 20 years of experience in renewable energy research and development (with a focus on thermal management and electrochemical engineering of lithium-ion batteries) and is an adjunct professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). 

Said’s research ranges from the design and optimization of renewable energy systems to the use of advanced battery and fuel cell systems in electric vehicles and has been published 32 times in peer reviewed journals.  Additionally, he has been a featured speaker at over 25 alternative energy and battery conferences and has three registered patents.

Said holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the Jordan University of Science and Technology.

Phil Shaw, President/Board Member
Phil joins us from Clarios where he was Product Line Director for lithium ion batteries. Prior to this Phil was Chief Engineer in AVL Powertrain where he was responsible for a broad range of business activities including benchmarking, vehicle and system simulation and advanced methodology development, working with a wide range of customers from the military to major automotive OEMs. Phil joined AVL from Ford Motor Co. Where he had a wide range of positions over 14 years.

Phil will strengthen the leadership team, focusing on improving the operational efficiency within the engineering functions and operations, and will also take a leadership role in the development of new business.

 

Tom Nation, Chief Operating Officer
Prior to joining AllCell, Tom Nation led manufacturing and product development of electrical, electronics, and cooling products in the automotive industry for over 30 years. Tom began his career at Ford Motor Company in their electronics division as the auto industry began the rapid and massive incorporation of electronics into cars. He progressed through a variety of roles with Ford—and its spin-off Visteon—for 32 years, including several years in Europe where he was responsible for operations at over a dozen manufacturing plants. He is well versed in lean, six sigma, and TPS manufacturing processes and practices and has managed the full range of small to very large manufacturing sites. Tom is also an accomplished photographer and fine art printing specialist. He has a BS in electrical engineering from the Ohio State University and post graduate studies in digital imaging and signal processing.

Richard Ott, Controller
Richard Ott has over 40 years of experience as a CFO, controller, financial officer, and accountant. Richard began his career as an audit supervisor with Grant Thornton, where his clients included a variety of private and publicly traded companies. He then went on to hold a number of different financial management roles, primarily focused on manufacturing firms, including Driv-Lok Inc., RB&W Corporation, Winward Roofing, and MBL Corporation.

His experience includes consulting, process redesign, and implementing accounting and financial reporting systems. Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois Chicago, and he was certified as a CPA by the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Steve Wolff, Chief Financial Officer
Steve has served as CFO, controller and general manager across multiple industries. Steve attained his first CFO role while still in his 20s with a subsidiary of one of the largest global industrial gas manufacturers, Linde AG. He thereafter followed a controller and FP&A-leadership development track through roles with top U.S. brands Allstate, Hewitt and Trimble and has since served as CFO for high-growth firms in the healthcare and human services, retail and renewable energy industries.

Steve completed his undergraduate degree at Emory University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He holds sitting board positions with The CFO Leadership Council’s Chicago Chapter, The Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago, where he serves as Treasurer, and the Illinois Math and Science Academy’s Parent Advisory Council, where he also serves as Treasurer.

 

Monica Cook, Director of Technology and Business Development
Monica Cook joins All Cell following a career in industrial film sales with DuPont-Teijin films. In her tenure there, she negotiated contracts with several strategic customers. She also served on a marketing team to develop custom sealant films for unit packaging applications. Prior to her time at DuPont, she worked for National Starch and Chemical (Henkel) in their industrial adhesives group. She served as a Technical Service Engineer for the largest district in the business, and also helped found their Process Solutions Group. In this endeavor, custom Six Sigma projects were developed for strategic business partners.

Ms. Cook recently completed a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois - Chicago. The dissertation area of focus was the development of optical films for use in bifacial photovoltaic applications for glass-based, building-integrated applications. She also completed a Master's degree in Environmental Project Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois - Champaign/Urbana.