Our Team

Christian Okonsky

For over 20 years, Okonsky has successfully brought leading-edge products to market through his mechanical and electrical engineering expertise. His experience includes serving as a key team member on the development and launch of Dell's first computer notebook, a stealth technology F-22 missile launcher for EDO Corporation, a hand-held bar-code scanning terminal for FedEx Ground Delivery Services and the SweepEZE Vacuum for Westinghouse and the Salton Group. Okonsky has managed numerous design ventures and has extensive experience creating manufacturing environments for technologically advanced products.

Prior to launching KLD Energy Technologies, Okonsky formed Okonsky Diversified, a global product design and sourcing enterprise in Austin, Texas. In 2007, Okonsky Diversified was nominated in the First Annual Austin Business Journal Innovation Awards for their work with KLD Energy Technologies.

Okonsky holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University.

Tom Carothers

Tom Carothers has 30+ years of IT industry leadership experience which includes manufacturing, sales, service, engineering and quality.  As VP and GM for DEC, Dell, Compaq, and other multinational corporations, he specialized in business management and development in Europe and Asia where he managed manufacturing, engineering and service organizations.  Carothers also has been the CEO of 5 startups in the US and Europe.

Prior to joining KLD, he ran service operations for Vintage IT Services, an Austin based Managed Services company and was the VP of Field Operations for Essentia Services, a web browser compatibility company based in India.  Mr. Carothers has a diploma in Advanced International Management from Harvard Business School/INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.

Rob Ferber

Julian Partridge, Ph.D., P.E.

Andres Carvallo

Prior to Austin Energy, Carvallo held executive positions at several start-up and large companies. He received a Bachelors of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas. He is also a graduate of several executive management programs at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Tommy Hodinh

Lei Chen, Ph.D.

Dennis Chuah

Richard L. “Dick” Hunter

Previously, Mr. Hunter served as vice president of Dell Americas Operations. In this role, he managed the day-to-day operations of Dell’s 5 manufacturing and distribution operations in North and South America. He also led the Remanufacturing and Returns Center Operations, Worldwide Fulfillment, Engineering and Quality, Demand-Supply management, and the Environmental Health and Safety groups. Before that, Mr. Hunter held leadership roles in Portables manufacturing, supply chain management, and the Austin manufacturing operations organizations.

Prior to joining Dell in February 1998, Mr. Hunter worked for General Electric, Texas Instruments and Ericcson. He has more than 32 years of experience in high tech, manufacturing operations and supply chain management.

Mr. Hunter graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He serves on the Georgia Tech College of Computing Advisory Board and on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology China Leaders for Manufacturing Governing Board. Mr. Hunter also serves on the boards of i2 Technologies, Super Circuits, DataInfoCom and is a general partner of Daylight Partners.

John Constantine

Regardless of the industry, John has consistently identified compelling market opportunities, assembled high-quality teams, and developed and executed entrepreneurial business plans focused on the identified opportunities. He then supports the ventures with investment capital and as a board member or executive officer with a long-term perspective, thus enabling the businesses to generate substantial profits for investors. As a recent example, John was an early investor and director of Advocate, MD, Texas’ fourth-largest medical professional liability insurance company through the successful sale of the company in November 2009.

John serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, one of which is Small Business United, an organization that promotes the interests of small businesses on a national scale.

John graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a minor in Real Estate Development. He grew up in Midland and now resides in Austin.

Mark Adams

Adams honed his sales management and business development through leadership roles at several leading companies. He began his career with Xerox in 1985, establishing himself as a top sales producer before leaving to join Johnson & Johnson to specialize in surgical sales to physicians.

In 1988, Adams joined Bostik-Findley, Inc., a $1.1 billion global manufacturing company. Over the next 12 years, he served in a variety of executive positions, including senior sales management and strategic business management roles. In 1997, Adams was appointed global sales director and served as general manager for Nitta-Findley Company based in Osaka, Japan.

Adams was recognized with the prestigious Central Texas Ernst & Young 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his leadership on behalf of Advocate, MD.

Adams holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from Texas State University. He currently serves on seven boards of directors with various public, private and non-profit organizations.

Michael Winn

Winn is well-known as the author and co-author of several Taoist books and articles. He also serves as the founder and director of the Healing Tao University summer retreat program and as the chairman of Healing Tao Instructors Association of the Americas.

A Dartmouth College graduate, Winn lives in Asheville, North Carolina.