Akridge Appointed CEO at Valence

Advanced Battery Technology, Sep 2005

Valence Technology Inc. of Austin, Texas, has appointed Dr. James Akridge as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. He succeeds Stephan Godevais who will remain chairman of the board later he will become an advisor to the company.

"We're very fortunate to have attracted to Valence someone of Jim's caliber," said Godevais. "His extensive experience in management, R&D and operations will be of tremendous benefit to the company as it progresses to the next stage of growth."

Akridge has more than 25 years of experience in the battery industry and most recently served as the chief technology officer at Sion Power Corp., makers of rechargeable lithium sulfur batteries. Previously, he worked for 20 years at Energizer Holdings.

He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from California State University-Fresno and a Ph.D. in electrochemistry from University of California-Santa Barbara. He also did postdoctoral research in x-ray crystallography at the University of Colorado-Boulder.