Leadership Team

Debbie Gustafson

CEO

Debbie joined Energetiq in 2005 as VP of Sales & Service. She became CEO in 2016 after serving as the company’s COO. Debbie’s strategic vision, operations skillset and commitment to building strong customer relationships has led the company to rapid global growth. Debbie works tirelessly to change the face of the technology industry and is committed to building diverse teams, especially opening doors for other women in tech and mentoring them through their experiences. She has served as a member of the SPIE Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Executive Advisory Group (EAG) and is also a member of the SEMI Foundation Board of Trustees.

Karen Tichenor

VP of Quality and Environmental Compliance

Karen has led quality and EHS programs for advanced manufacturers over the last 18 years. She is skilled at QC/QA, quality engineering, global supply chain management, enterprise risk management, failure analysis, and more. She holds a PhD in mechanical and aerospace engineering and combines her education and depth of experience to lead Energetiq’s customer-focused quality program.

Peter Vandermeulen

VP of Sales and Marketing

With an education in physics, c-level expertise, and a technical background in semiconductors, motion control, energy, and automation, Peter helps customers unpack complex challenges and find right-fit solutions. His innovative mindset and passion for product development and collaboration has resulted in 95 patents in motion systems and haptics, electronics, energy systems, and semiconductor fabrication processes.

Don McDaniel

VP of Research and Development

Don leads Energetiq's product strategy and development initiatives supported by collaborative engineering, research, and technology teams. He holds a PhD in electrical engineering, eight patents, and brings a wealth of experience in analytical instrumentation, spectroscopy, laser systems, semiconductor materials and devices, and electro-optics.

Paul Meroski

VP of Operations

Paul leads our Operations team. He is the driving force behind the Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Service areas of our business. His expertise in Global Manufacturing, Sourcing and Customer Service combined with an in-depth knowledge of Quality, help us deliver industry-leading products to our customers without compromise.

Smith Utubor

VP of Finance

Smith leads the Finance, Accounting, HR and IT functions. He is a Certified Public Accountant, holds a master’s in accounting and has over 15 years of experience. Prior to Energetiq Smith worked at KPMG LLP performing financial audits for some of the largest companies in the world. He uses his experience to drive positive change at Energetiq.  

Matt Briscoe

VP of Engineering

Matt has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is PMP certified. He has 15 years of program management and engineering leadership experience, including product development, product commercialization, and product sustaining for analytical lab equipment and laboratory automation.  

Matt joined Energetiq in April 2022 where he focuses on the execution and continuous improvement of the New Product Development & Introduction process (NPDI), implementing scalable processes for Sustaining Engineering, and accelerating engineering timelines.