Management
Rick Weidinger
Chief Executive Officer & Chairman
Rick Weidinger is the Chief Executive Officer and majority stockholder of Braintech Inc.. Previous to his appointment at Braintech, Mr. Weidinger created a legacy of innovation and technology success stories, serving as a chief architect behind the emergence and growth of such highly regarded fiber-optic telecommunications companies as the Institutional Communications Company (ICC), MFS Communications Company (MFS), and Pontio Communications. At Pontio, he was Chairman, CEO, and majority shareholder of the local fiber-optic company which he sold to a Fortune 50 company in 2001. Prior to Pontio, Mr. Weidinger served as a founding member and VP Corporate Development for MFS, where he was responsible for over 25 transactions totaling more than $18 Billion including the acquisition of UUNET Technologies, the world's leading internet service provider, in 1995. He presently sits on the Board of Directors of several North American private corporations.
Mr. Weidinger has also been actively involved in open-wheel racing as owner and co-owner of several Indy cars since 2004, and currently owns A1 TEAM USA Holdings, which represents the United States of America in the global A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. He holds both Juris Doctor and MBA degrees from Creighton University and a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Nebraska. Mr. Weidinger resides in Great Falls, Virginia, and Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
Adil Shafi
Chief Operating Officer, Braintech Inc.
Adil Shafi joined the Braintech August 2008. Mr. Shafi spearheads overall company sales and revenue efforts, daily operations and technology development from Michigan, focusing on providing solutions development. He is also responsible for the training and support of all enhanced solutions and technology as well as growing the company's USA engineering force. Mr. Shafi is also President of SHAFI Inc and SHAFI Innovation Inc., which were acquired by Braintech in 2008. During his 20+ years in the Vision Guided Robotics industry, he has helped pioneer many innovations beneficial and practical in the commercial marketplace. Mr. Shafi holds Computer Science and Electrical Engineering degrees from Michigan Technological University.
Thomas McCabe
President, Braintech Government & Defense Systems, Inc.
General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Braintech, Inc.
A seasoned executive with more than 25 years of legal and business experience, Mr. McCabe joined Braintech in November 2008. As President of Braintech Government & Defense, Inc., he is responsible for the growth and management of Braintech in the government and defense sector. He also serves as Braintech's General Counsel and as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development.
Prior to joining Braintech, Mr. McCabe served as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel of XM Satellite Radio from 2005 to 2008 through its merger with Sirius Satellite Radio. In 2008, XM's Law Department won the prestigious "Outstanding Small Law Department" award from the Washington, DC area chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. McCabe was President & CEO of COBIS Corporation and MicroBanx Systems, software providers to the financial services sector. He was a senior executive at GRC International from 1992 through its successful sale to AT&T in 2000. In his early career he spent 10 years was an attorney in private practice in Washington, DC after a judicial clerkship in the U.S. District Court there.
Mr. McCabe received a law degree and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and a Bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.
Babak Habibi
Chief Technology Officer, Braintech Inc.
President, Braintech Canada
Mr. Habibi has been the Chief Technology Officer of Braintech since October 23, 2007 and President of Braintech Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary ofBraintech Inc, since June 19, 2001. Mr. Habibi was previously a Director and Chief Operating Officer for Braintech Inc., from June 19, 2001 to October 23, 2007.
Mr. Habibi supervises the design, development, and deployment of our products including the eVisionFactoryTM product for Vision Guided Robotics in industrial settings and the Volts-IQTM family of products for service and consumer robotics. Together with the Braintech development team, Babak received the prestigious Henry Ford Technology Award in 2003 for the development and deployment of the innovative Single Camera 3D (SC3DTM) technology. Mr. Habibi holds both a B.A.Sc and an M.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo.
Jim Dara
Chief Sales Officer
Mr. Dara has been in his current position since January 1, 2004 and is responsible for Braintech's global sales efforts as well as managing the company's affairs as they pertain to Braintech's exclusive partnership with ABB Robotics.
Prior to joining Braintech, Mr. Dara spent several years in sales management with global diversified manufacturer Illinois Tool Works, Inc. (ITW), a Fortune 200 company. In addition to his twenty years of automotive and manufacturing experience, Mr. Dara holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Master of Finance from Walsh College. He is married with two children and resides in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Pete Manias
SVP of Business Development and Marketing
Mr. Manias joined the Braintech team in the fall of 2007. He is an innovative business strategist and results-oriented leader experienced in all facets of corporate management, new venture development and growth, sales, marketing, and operations.
Mr. Manias was Founder, President and Chairman of the Board of an international marketing technology company called, Vialuna Group. It is a full service direct and interactive marketing agency, which has offices in Dallas, London, Zurich and Dresden. He is on the Board of Directors for LTS-an international wholesale travel portal focused on destinations in Central and Eastern Europe, and finally was Founder of Vialuna Technology-an eighteen-person software development shop focused on web applications. Pete has also held senior positions at several other communication-focused businesses including El Paso Global Networks and AT&T.
Mr. Manias holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in Industrial Distribution (Industrial Engineering and Business). At Texas A&M he also was in the Corps of Cadets (Military Organization) and was selected to an elite group of the Sull Ross Volunteers, the Honor Guard of the Governor of the State of Texas. He is married with two children.
Dr. Remus Boca, Ph.D., M.Sc.,B.Sc.
Chief Scientist
Remus Boca joined Braintech in January 2002, bringing tremendous expertise with more than a decade of applied experience in advanced computer programming, robotics, vision and mechatronics. As one of our senior scientists, he played a critical role in modeling, development and implementation of robotic vision technologies such as single and multi camera 3D (SC3D. SR3D. DD3D), auto calibration and algorithms allowing our robots to intelligently overcome the problems posed by irregularly-featured parts. In 1996, Dr. Boca graduated from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. a year later with a thesis on “Off-line programming techniques of industrial robots.” In 2001 he completed his Ph.D., and a dissertation on “Automated computation of industrial robot characteristics.” Dr. Boca has worked with companies such as Automatica S.A. (Romania), Technorob S.A. (Romania), ICG EuroTopo (Romania), Radix Controls (Windsor, ON), and Microsoft.NET.
Jeffrey J. Milton
Special Counsel and Director Acquisitions & Business Development
Mr. Milton joined Braintech Inc. in November 2008, and leads the company's acquisition process and business development. He also provides legal counsel and advice on strategic planning and growth.
Mr. Milton was previously the President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Communications, Inc., from 2002-2008. He was also the President and CEO of Synecom Communications Corporation, an integrated communications provider, where he developed a business plan, raised the first two rounds of seed capital, and recruited a seasoned management team for this start-up communications company. In 1992, Mr. Milton became President of Optel Communications, Inc., a co-owner of an international submarine cable system sold to Teleglobe, Inc. in 1998. He was also President and Chief Executive Officer of Institutional Communications Company, Inc., one of the first competitive access providers in the United States. Through Mr. Milton's efforts, ICC made a dramatic turnaround and demonstrated the early profit potential of competitive access providers. ICC was subsequently sold to MFS Communications Company, Inc. in 1991. Mr. Milton has also served as Chief Executive Officer of two real estate development companies, President of Sanctuary Golf Club, and was a partner with a national law firm in Washington. Mr. Milton is a graduate of Georgetown University (LL.M.), Washington College of Law at American University (J.D.), and Michigan State University (B.A.). He resides in Potomac, Maryland.
Ted White
Senior Vice President, Administration
Mr. White was appointed Senior Vice-President, Administration on October 23, 2007, Treasurer since November 1, 2000 and Secretary since August 28, 2002. Mr. White was previously a Director and Chief Financial Officer from November 1, 2000 to October 23, 2007. Mr. White has been a member of the British Columbia Institute of Chartered Accountants for 33 years and, for 23 of those years, Mr. White practiced as a self-employed chartered accountant serving clients in both the public and private sectors. Mr. White is not a director of any other public companies.
