Stephen S. Williams, Ph.D., President and CTO (co-founder)

Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1983. He has more than 20 years of experience in development and commercialization of chemical instrumentation and sensor products for Varian, Gas Tech, Inc. and Nanomaterials Research. His broad-based knowledge related to the analytical sciences helps drive the cutting-edge approaches embodied in Synkera's products. Dr. Williams has a particularly strong knowledge of practical instrumentation principles, spanning the usually separate disciplines of chemistry, advanced electronics, chemometrics, and software engineering. In addition to his central role in general management of Synkera’s short and long-term operations, he provides guidance in ensuring that Synkera’s product development teams provide the optimal value proposition for both the company and its business allies.

Brian Sperry, VP and CFO (co-founder)

Mr. Sperry has significant business experience with technology companies, and he is an expert in government contracting and accounting. Prior to founding Synkera Technologies with Dr. Williams, Brian founded Tech Biz Solutions, a services company for small business government technology contractors in 2000. He was cofounder of PBC, Inc, also a consulting company for small business government contractors from 1990 to 2000. He was a contracts manager for Ball Aerospace Systems from 1985 to 2000 and he worked for Beech Aircraft Corp from 1975 to 1985 as the Boulder Division’s Finance and Contracts Manager. Mr. Sperry earned a B.S. degree in engineering from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Debra J. Deininger, Strategic Business Manager
Sensors & Instrumentation

Ms. Deininger has expertise in electrochemical methods, materials, and the design, development, and testing of chemical sensors. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. degree in Analytical Chemistry from Colorado State University. She has 16 years of experience in the gas detection industry, having worked for Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), a leading manufacturer of gas detection products, Nanomaterials Research and Synkera Technologies. Ms. Deininger has designed, developed and commercialized a wide range of innovative gas and liquid sensors based upon chemiresistive, catalytic, amperometric, potentiometric and acoustic designs. Ms. Deininger holds four patents related to sensor technologies, and has authored numerous additional provisional patents and invention disclosures. She has served as the Principal Investigator for many successful SBIR projects and manages Synkera’s research, manufacturing and commercialization efforts on sensors and related products.

Clayton Kostelecky, Operations Manager

Mr. Kostelecky holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University. Throughout his 13 year career he has been involved in the execution and management of many successful research and development efforts, primarily in the area of gas sensors. Since the inception of Synkera Technologies in 2003 Mr. Kostelecky has also focused significant effort on the commercialization of Synkera’s technologies. In recent years, he has helped cultivate several strategic partnerships to transition high-risk R&D programs into commercial products. This has led him to a focus on the scale-up of Synkera’s sensor production capabilities, as demand continues to grow. Through his internal and external efforts he has helped to establish Synkera as a customer-focused supplier. In May of 2010 Mr. Kostelecky was promoted to Operations Manager at Synkera. This position builds on his experience of successfully managing multiple R&D efforts and his ability to lead diverse teams. His primary duties as Operations Manager include overseeing management of company resources and facilities, assisting in project management, and overseeing manufacturing.