Mike brings more than 30 years of experience commercializing breakthrough clean energy and environmental technologies, including a decade at Ballard Power Systems, one of the world’s leading fuel cell companies, and CEO roles at Novinda and OPX Biotechnologies, where he led the company through an acquisition by Cargill. He joined Prieto in 2020 with a clear conviction that sodium-ion batteries represent the next major shift in American energy.
Jim Justinich is a technology executive and investor whose career spans automotive, entertainment, and startups. He spent more than two decades in the automotive industry, where he led a large, multi-location team at Dealer.com, a Cox Automotive company, managed one of the largest software and hardware deployments for a major automotive retail group at Reynolds & Reynolds, and launched a data startup within J.D. Power. He also played a key role in the growth and successful exit of two automotive technology startups. Earlier in his career, he managed operations for Hanna-Barbera, a Turner Broadcasting company, and logistics and distribution for The Disney Store and ESPN. Today, he helps early-stage technology companies launch their businesses and raise capital, drawing on a deep network of industry relationships to make introductions that accelerate growth and visibility.
Arthur Valdez is a global supply chain and logistics executive who has held senior leadership roles at Amazon, Target and Starbucks, overseeing some of the world’s largest and most complex operating networks. He served as Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon, Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain and Logistics Officer at Target, and Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain and Customer Solutions at Starbucks.
Across these roles, Valdez has led and scaled global supply chain, logistics and fulfillment operations supporting some of the world’s largest companies. His experience building the physical infrastructure, operational capacity and systems required to perform reliably at massive scale brings Prieto deep operator-level expertise in the demands facing data centers and other high-growth, infrastructure-intensive industries.
Dennis Weinman is a Baltimore-based real estate executive and attorney who serves as president of Weinman Company, a fourth-generation, family-owned real estate business established in 1907. The company’s portfolio focuses on value-oriented commercial, retail and multifamily properties. He has also served as president of DHW Development Company since 2000 and previously held the role of vice president at The Morris Weinman Company. In addition to his work in real estate, Weinman serves on the boards of LifeBridge Health and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.
Dr. Ahmad Pesaran is a globally recognized energy storage expert with more than 40 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he pioneered advances in battery thermal management, lithium-ion safety, and EV battery second-life applications, leading major initiatives including the $50M+ DOE Computer-Aided Engineering for Batteries program. An elected SAE Fellow and three-time R&D 100 Award recipient, he has served as a trusted advisor to DOE, DOD, and NHTSA throughout his career. In February 2026, he joined Prieto Battery as Head of Safety, providing strategic leadership on sodium-ion battery safety for stationary energy storage applications.
Mike leads the development and industrialization of the company’s breakthrough sodium-ion battery technology, including oversight of its pilot manufacturing facility in Maryland. He brings more than three decades of experience leading manufacturing transformations, commercializing advanced technologies, and driving operational excellence across the energy sector.
Josh is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney with more than 20 years of experience, he brings deep expertise in technology commercialization, deal structuring, and corporate development to Prieto’s government relations and business development efforts. Before joining Prieto in 2022, he was a Shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, one of the nation’s leading policy and business law firms, and at White + Case, he helped lead business reorganization, restructuring, and distressed acquisition.
Dr. Amy Prieto is a Presidential Award-winning electrochemist and the inventor of the patented battery architecture that drives Prieto Battery. A professor at Colorado State University, she has dedicated her career to advancing battery science, with a focus on practical manufacturing and domestic production.
