The Michigan SBDC’s multifaceted support was instrumental in guiding Akervall Technologies through the intricacies of SEO, product development, market entry, pricing, growth development, and exporting.
For the full article and video, click here https://michigansbdc.org/growing-companies/akervall-technologies/
John is a serial entrepreneur, having started two successful boutique investment banks focused on mergers and acquisitions and capital raises. He is currently the founder and managing partner of Two Roads Advisors, a M&A focused investment bank that advises consumer, technology, healthcare, and business service companies. He began his career at Merrill Lynch and has served as a senior banker at other Wall Street firms including Sonenshine Partners and Canaccord Genuity. He graduated with an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an AB from Harvard University.
John Fang
Managing Partner
Two Roads Advisors
New York, NY
Dr Jan Akervall, MD, PhD, graduated from Lund Medical School in 1990, became ENT specialist and PhD in Head and Neck Cancer biology in 1998. He completed a two year fellowship in Head and Neck Oncologic surgery and microvascular reconstructions at University of Michigan 2000-2001, after which he became Associate Professor and Director for Head an Neck Cancer care in southern Sweden. He and his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2004 when he became Medical Director for The Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer program at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. He then continued on to become the founding Director of the Beaumont Biobank in 2006 and founded Great Lakes Biorepository Research Network in 2012. Dr Akervall became Professor in Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in 2012 and Medical Director for The Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Program at St. Joseph Mercy in 2013. Dr Akervall invented the SISU Mouthguard for sports and the SOVA Night Guard in 2008 and founded Akervall Technologies Inc. the year after. Dr. Akervall has 5 patents and was the recipient of the prestigious Edison Award in 2018.
“The team is fantastic and extremely dynamic. We have a great scientific approach to dental protection and every day we see new possibilities for our mouthguards and for the cutting edge materials we are developing.”
Wayne has been an active leader in global commerce for many decades. He was Vice President of GM Overseas Development Corporation & Director of New Business Development for Africa and the Middle East during the early nineties, and later led Strategic Planning and Marketing Planning for GM do Brasil in Sao Paulo. Wayne was appointed to the Global Chevrolet Brand Board in 1998 and served in that forum for the balance of his time with General Motors, becoming the senior voice of the Chevrolet brand globally for many years. Wayne also served as Regional Director, Sales & Marketing for GM’s South America, Africa & Middle East region and was an executive member of the Regional Strategy Board. In 2006, Wayne was appointed President & Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe to re-launch the brand across 37 countries and turn-around a struggling business. During this time, Wayne also held the titles of Vice President GM Europe, VP of GM International Operations, CEO of Cadillac Europe, and in 2010/11, CEO of GM Europe.
Today, Wayne is the Founder and CEO of Gr8Road Partners based in Naples, Florida, which is focused on global business strategy, management consulting, executive coaching and new business development. In addition, he has advised and supported multiple automotive marketing companies which provide services ranging from digital, direct & probability-based marketing solutions for automotive retailers, to social media and showroom selling tools for the automotive market in the US. In 2013, Wayne served as Chief Marketing Officer of VW of America, and is currently on the executive team and advisory board for Akervall Technologies Inc., a world-class producer of SISU mouthguards & SOVA night-grinding mouth guards. When possible, Wayne donates his time as a mentor and advisor to individuals, start-up companies and organizations in North America, South America and Europe.
Kathy Capelli has a passion for people, creating a positive work environment and establishing processes to enable companies to gain a foothold in organizational structure, processes and systems to sustain future growth. She has several years of experience in bringing stability and organization to companies going through growth and internal change. Areas of focus include accounting and operations with solid experience in the manufacturing environment and system integrations.
Kathy’s golden rule to success: Genuinely care for and serve the people that work for you. They are vital to the company’s success.
“When a person feels cared about, they care back – it’s as simple as that”, says Kathy Capelli. “…this translates to quality products and happy customers and all other things being equal, a bottom line that you can feel good about!”
Mark Ish is an accomplished sales veteran with leadership experience in business development, strategic planning, and marketing both internationally and domestically in the consumer product industry specializing in sporting goods. Before joining Akervall Technologies in February of 2017, Ish worked in Senior Executive roles with several of the most recognized marquee brands in the world, including Wham-O, Trigger Point Performance, and Black & Decker. In April of 2013, Ish was named to the Sporting Goods Business Journal as one of the “Top 40 Sporting Goods Executives Under 40” by SportsOneSource, a prestigious honor that recognizes trailblazers within the sporting goods industry. Mark attended San Diego State University on a NCAA Division 1 soccer scholarship where he played in the premier college soccer league in the country. Ish graduated from SDSU with a BS in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing. When away from work, Ish enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with his wife Amanda, and two children, Avery and Asher.
Johannes Schwank, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Akervall Technologies, Inc., holds the James and Judith Street Endowed Chair Professorship in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. He has served for several years as director of EMAL, the University’s materials characterization facility. He oversees a large research program exploring structure-performance relationships in catalysts, sensors, nanomaterials, and polymers. The results of his research have been published in over 200 peer-reviewed articles.
“Working on the SISU Mouthguard has been one of my most exciting scientific endeavors, as we are creating a paradigm changing technology based on deep scientific understanding of materials properties and the physics of impact energy absorption and dissipation.”
Sassa Akervall has a BA in communication from the University of Lund, Sweden. Before becoming CEO and the majority owner of Akervall technologies Inc. (ATI) she worked as a copywriter, TV host for her own shows, TV producer, writer/reporter and children’s books author. She has taken ATI from the kitchen table with $5k in revenues 2009 to 24 employees in 2017, a consistent 50% annual growth rate, owning her own plant, and with global partners like Reebok/CCM and a Swedish subsidiary. She has won several awards for the company, e.g. 50 Companies to Watch in Michigan 2014, Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition – Advanced Materials in 2014 and 2015, Enterprising Women of the Year nominee 2015 and STEP Ahead Award 2016. In 2017 Sassa, and her husband Jan were both finalists in the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year competition. She is a member of SBAM’s Board of Directors, Saline Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and on the Advisory Board of Enterprising Women Foundation for the second year in a row.
In her spare time, Sassa enjoys spending time with her husband, Jan, the co-founder, president and inventor of ATI’s products, and their two adult children. She also enjoys entertaining guests for dinner, and of course hanging out with her two large dogs, Stella and Artie, both are Black Russian Terriers.
