USCG Risk Mitigation Conference: Series 4 - Staying Current with Electrification

Having over 25 years of Marine Industry experience, Chris has been with VETUS Maxwell America for over 16 of those years. He was hired as a Sales Manager and created lasting relationships with his customers. He was then promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing leading a team that covered all the Americas and Caribbean. Taking over the role as President in 2020, he has led the organization to its most successful year in 2022. He credits his success to building a great team for his organization and having great customers, both OEM and Aftermarket.
Chris was born and raised around the Chesapeake Bay into a boating family. Even though he received his degree in IT from the University of Maryland system and started his professional career in IT, his passion for boating brought him to the Marine Industry. Chris worked as a Yacht Broker for several years before being offered a position with VETUS Maxwell America to join their team.
With VETUS Maxwell Americas headquarters based in Maryland, this has allowed Chris to stay close to the Chesapeake Bay. Most weekends, when the Maryland weather permits, you can find Chris boating with his family and friends somewhere on the Chesapeake. When the weather doesn’t permit, you can find him dreaming of boating or traveling to someplace the weather cooperates.

As the Technical Director at the American Boat and Yacht Council, Brian is responsible for the managing the review and publication of over 70 standards. He also insures the execution of numerous grants awarded to the ABYC Technical Department.  Brian is also actively liaisons with other groups including NMMA, NASBLA, SAMS, NAMS, NFPA, and SAE.   Prior to assuming role as the Technical Director in 2012, he was the Technical Standards Manager at ABYC.

Emily Klein is a Materials Scientist and Engineer at Element. After working at the Naval Research Lab she received her graduated degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and has research experience with lithium-ion, lithium-metal, solid-state, liquid metal, and alloy anode batteries. At Energy Assurance she uses failure analysis techniques to determine the root cause of a battery failure, completes in-depth safety reviews, verifies cell authenticity, and creates customized test plans. 

Menno Ligterink has been a marine industry power conversion and storage specialist for 25 years. He has worked in various domestic as well as international sales management and application engineering positions, designing and selling advanced electrical systems in both 230V-50Hz and 120/240V-60Hz. For the last three years he has been also involved in power storage systems in the specialty vehicle and RV industry. Menno serves a position on the ABYC technical board and is closely involved with RVIA standards development subcommittees. Menno has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Zadkine Technology school in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 

Jeff Ludwig has worked for the Coast Guard since 2006, and currently serves as the Chief of the Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch in the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety. He is responsible for implementing the Recreational Boat Testing & Compliance Program (RBTCP), which ensures that recreational boat manufacturers comply with USCG safety standards. Prior to his current position, he was the Boating Safety Division’s Regulatory Development Manager, where he was responsible for the development of all boating safety-related regulations at Coast Guard headquarters. Before working for the Coast Guard, he was the Regulatory Affairs Manager for a major recreational boating trade association for five years.

Mr. Ludwig grew up boating in Florida and holds a USCG Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) license. He served eight years in the United States Army Infantry, stationed in the U.S. and Germany, and earned a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Denis Phares leads with a passion for making the planet more sustainable. As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dragonfly Energy Corp., he focuses on developing revolutionary technologies that will change the way we store and harness renewable energy. As a visionary leader, Phares has helped grow Dragonfly Energy and its consumer brand, Battle Born Batteries, into one of the leading Li-Ion products on the market while also leading a world class R&D team in the advancement of groundbreaking technologies and manufacturing processes. After establishing himself as a tenured professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California, Phares left academia to found Dragonfly Energy in 2012. With three decades of extensive experience in the fields of Energy, Nanotechnology, Fluid Mechanics, and Powder Processing, Phares has positioned himself as a leading expert in Green Energy Storage and has spent the last 15 years focused on advancing lithium-ion battery technology. He holds a number of patents, some of which are key in fundamental battery cell manufacturing. Phares received a B.S. in Physics from Villanova University, an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Science from California Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Maciej Rynkiewicz has been a Standards Developer for ABYC since 2019. An integral member of the ABYC Technical Department, Maciej works directly with the Project Technical Committees (PTCs) responsible for creating and updating the ABYC standards, specifically the new E-13, Lithium Ion Batteries standard published in 2022. Maciej is also a member of ISO/TC 188/JWG 1 where he is working on electric propulsion standard. He also manages hands-on testing to see what can go right, and wrong, with boat electrical systems. A long-time boater, Maciej is a Certified Marine Technician with credentials from ABYC, NMEA, and Abaris as well as a skipper and certified sailing instructor.

Maciej can be reached at:

• mrynkiewicz@abycinc.org
• (410) 990-4460 x114

Craig W. Scholten has been actively involved in the recreational craft industry for more than 38 years.  His hands-on knowledge of small craft design, engineering, manufacturing, standards, and product certification provides a great resource of experiences.  Craig holds a Master Compliance Specialist Certification for small craft from Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and a Master Technician Certification from the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC).  He has personally assessed and certified over 500 new boat models for the global marketplace. 

For over three decades Craig has served industry in multiple roles, including Director, Chairperson, Convener, Expert and Member of executive committees, technical committees, and boards of ABYC, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Marine Certification Institute (IMCI), and the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA). 

Skilled in working group leadership and collaboration in both domestic and international committees, Craig demonstrates a thorough understanding of how the standards and certification processes work and have evolved over time. Extensive success in guiding the understanding of standards compliance, product testing, risk assessments, and product certifications in both the domestic and international arenas. Strong networking and leadership skills, detailed, organized, and ability to find the win-win, Craig’s leadership results in effective teams that produce valuable product.

Craig regularly shares his expertise with industry at seminars and professional conferences including ABYC, NMMA, IBEX, and METSTRADE.

Craig can be reached at:

• cscholten@abycinc.org
• (410) 990-4460 x120