Board of Directors

Mr. Peng is one of the pioneers and leading entrepreneurs in the renewable energy industry over the past 20 years. He has served as Chairman of Phoenix since 2020 and is currently CEO and Chairman of SPI Energy, Phoenix’s controlling shareholder. Mr. Peng has founded and led several companies including LDK Solar and Suzhou Liouxin. Mr. Peng graduated from Jiangxi Foreign Trade School with a diploma in international business and from Beijing University Guanghua School of Management with an executive MBA degree.

With more than 30 years in the auto industry, Dr. Zhou has served as our CEO and Board Member since March 2022. Most recently, Dr. Zhou was CEO of Karma Automotive and previously was CEO and President of Beijing Foton-Daimler Automotive, while serving as Level 1 Vice President of Daimler AG Global and Senior Director of Daimler Greater China Ltd., the Chinese operating division of Mercedes-Benz Group. Prior to joining Daimler, Dr. Zhou was General Manager of NAVECO Co. and was VP and General Manager of the International Business Unit of Beijing Foton Motor Co. and was previously General Manager of the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Company of Foton and General Manager of the Marketing and Commercial Company of Foton. Dr. Zhou earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, and a PhD from Nanjing University of Science and Technology.

Mr. Cheong has more than 20 years of engineering and operation experience in the solar and electronics industries and has served as chief operating officer of SPI Energy Co., Ltd. since May 2014. He previously served in various management positions at LDK Solar and was previously chairman of the management board and chief executive officer of Sunways AG, a publicly-listed company in Germany. Prior to joining the solar industry, Mr. Cheong spent 16 years in the electronics industry. Mr. Cheong holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Louisiana and earned his MS in computer integrated manufacturing from Nanyang Technology University, Singapore.

Dr. Fu is currently the CTO of Yudo Auto and previously held a the same position at Faraday Future China and was General Manager of Faraday (Shanghai) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. Prior to that, Dr. Fu served as Director of Power Systems at Shanghai E-Propulsion Auto Tech Co., Ltd. of SAIC Motor and was a chief engineer at Roewe. He previously worked for DaimlerChrysler, Visteon, Ford Motor Co, Prestolite Electric and Buehler Motors. Dr. Fu was a PostDoc in EE at the University of Kentucky and is currently a member of the United States National Research Council and Society of Automotive Engineers, and a Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Mr. Perkowski is the founder and managing partner of JFP Holdings, a merchant bank focused primarily on transactions in China. Previously, he was founder and CEO of ASIMCO Technologies, a supplier and manufacturer of automotive components headquartered in Beijing, China. Prior to that, Mr. Perkowski had a 20+ year career at PaineWebber. He serves on several boards of directors, including the China Advisory Council of Magna International, Inc. and Green4U Technologies, Inc. Mr. Perkowski earned a BS from Yale University, and an M BA from Harvard Business School.

Former Congressman Steve Stivers is a highly accomplished executive and leader in both the public and private sectors. He currently serves as the President & CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce where he manages a large team and budget dedicated to building economic growth for Ohio’s future. Mr. Stivers was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio’s 15th district from January 2011 to May 2021, where he served on several committees and subcommittees including the House Financial Services Committee. Mr. Stivers was also Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Mr. Stivers was a Member of the Ohio Senate from the 15th district from January 2003 to December 2008. He has been a member of the Ohio National Guard for over 30 years attaining the rank of Major General. Mr. Stivers previously spent a decade in the financial services industry at BancOne and The Ohio Company. He earned a BA and MBA in business from The Ohio State University and a MA from the U.S. Army War College.

Mr. Van currently serves as a managing director and head of Deltec Investment Advisers, where he leads the effort in the exchange-listed advisory practice. In 2019, Mr. Van was entrusted by the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to serve as co-chair and trustee member to oversee the liquidation of an investment project. Previously, Mr. Van served as an associate principal for FINRA. Prior to that, Mr. Van’ was director at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where he was responsible for new business development, specializing in the emerging capital markets throughout Asia. Mr. Van earned his BS in Finance from St. John’s University and his MBA from Cornell University.