Our Team

Dr. John P. de Neufville, Ph.D., co-founded Eutectix, LLC and serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer. He co-founded Voltaix, LLC in 1986 (acquired by Air Liquide in 2013) and served as its Chief Scientist. Prior to Voltaix, Dr. de Neufville was Chief Executive Officer of the Ovonic Battery Company in Troy, Michigan. He is the author or co-author of more than 35 papers and has been granted eight U.S. patents. Dr. de Neufville holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and Materials Science from Harvard University and an M.S. in Geology from Harvard University and a B.S. in Geology from Yale University.

Dave Smith is our Director of Development and co-founder of Eutectix, LLC. Dave evaluates ongoing melting activities as well as develops new alloy projects for both our Tolleson, AZ and Troy, MI facilities. Over the past forty years, Dave has been producing and developing alloys in the aerospace, magnet, battery, and hydrogen storage markets. He worked with Howmet Turbine Components and the Ovonic Battery Company before joining Eutectix in 2014. Dave holds a BS from Michigan State University.

Dave Murphy – Senior Advisor – Dave was responsible for the sale of Great Western Technologies Inc to form the basis of Eutectix in 2014. As part of the transaction, since he had been responsible for the business development of the Troy site prior to the sale, he was retained as Senior Advisor to Eutectix covering all aspects of the operations of the company.

Trained as a metallurgical chemist at Nottingham University (UK), he transitioned to a commercial technical role after gaining considerable production experience in chemical and metallurgical processing along with alloy and applications development.

In addition to his Eutectix role, Dave also acts as an industrial consultant/advisor to several other companies at senior management and board levels.

Mike Hernandez – Vice President & General Manager. Mike joined Eutectix in the spring of 2019 as the Deputy Director of Manufacturing at the Troy, MI facility. He previously held roles in R&D and as a Project Manager with Materion in Elmore, OH. Mike studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toledo and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

In addition to those mentioned above, additional Eutectix team members are listed here. Why not get to know us better?

  • John O’Brien, Business Development Manager
  • Scott Kemp, Tolleson, AZ Site Leader
  • Kristie Mantei, Troy, MI Site Leader
  • Josesph May, Staff Metallurgist
  • Sarah Malicke, Senior Administrative Manager
  • Chip Solis, Production Supervisor
  • Joe Tribu, Logistics and Quality
  • Mike Valdivia, Production Specialist
  • Jack Gardunio, Production Specialist
  • Shannon Taylor, Production Specialist
  • Manny Rodriguez, Production Specialist
  • Ernie Hermosillo, Production Specialist
  • Michael Beck, Production Specialist