Pinnacle Engines Appoints its First Chief Financial Officer

Silicon Valley-based designer of ultra-efficient internal combustion engines names Jonathan Michael as CFO

SAN CARLOS, CA--Aug. 15, 2013: Pinnacle Engines, developer of ultra-efficient engine designs, today announced a key addition to the leadership of the company naming Jonathan Michael as its first Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Jonathan will lead the finance and accounting operations for Pinnacle Engines and will be based in San Carlos.

"Jonathan comes at a pivotal time for Pinnacle Engines as we reach the commercialization stages of our first significant partnership and have others set to commence in coming months," said Ron Hoge, Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Engines. "His extensive financial management expertise and deep experience navigating significant growth for early stage companies in energy technology sectors is exactly what we need at this time."

In additional to finance, Jonathan has international operations, manufacturing and M&A experience. He joins Pinnacle Engines from Solexel, a developer of advanced crystalline silicon solar cells where he served as CFO. Prior to Solexel, Jonathan was CFO at mobile phone innovator Sonim Technologies, where he handled the company's expansion into global markets. Previously he held CFO positions at Solyndra, Tak Imaging, and IXI Mobile. He got his start in operations and finance positions at Fairchild Semiconductors and National Semiconductor. Jonathan earned his MBA at San Jose State University.

By 2016, there will be 200 million motorcycles, cars and trucks sold each year globally – leading to great opportunities for improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. Recent testing by FEV has verified that the innovative Pinnacle Engine automotive concept layout not only successfully addresses engineering challenges but presents significant performance potential for applications in the US and abroad.

"Growth of the automotive market globally – especially in Asia and outside the U.S. – means that the need for low cost CO2 emissions reduction, with significant improvements in fuel economy, is more pressing than people think," said Monty Cleeves, Founder, President and CTO for Pinnacle Engines. "We are continually testing our clean combustion engine design and are extremely pleased with recent third party verification of dramatic efficiency and readiness for market deployment."