Our Management Team – Proven Leadership & Innovation

Les Lyster

Les Lyster is the CEO of Eclipsall Energy, a company established in 2009 and solidly on target to become a leader in the manufacturing and distribution of high-performance PV modules. In his capacity as CEO, Les is responsible for overseeing the establishment of Eclipsall’s 120,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Toronto.

He has also put the Eclipsall management team in place and played a pivotal role in securing Eclipsall’s initial working capital of $12 million.

Before his entrance into the renewable energy industry, Les accumulated over 10 years of experience in the construction industry as a VP Operations responsible for managing large-scale, multi-million dollar projects for companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, Shiseido, Home Depot and many more.

Les’s take-charge, no-nonsense approach to business was shaped from his earlier career as a Level Two Paramedic for the City of Toronto. Les is married with two children. He is a graduate of Humber College.

Leonid Mednik

As Eclipsall’s Chief Operating Officer and Financial Officer, Leonid Mednik is responsible for the strategic, operational and financial leadership of Eclipsall’s organization. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities as COO and CFO of the company, Leonid is responsible for overseeing Eclipsall Financial Services and will be leading the company’s business development efforts in international markets. Leonid is also a Managing Partner at Floresti Capital LLC, a NYC-based private investment firm.

Prior to joining Eclipsall, Leonid worked for five years in the Leverage Finance and Financial Sponsors Group at VRC, a NYC-based financial advisory firm. While at VRC, Leonid worked closely with large multinational corporations and private equity firms having advised on almost $30 billion of leveraged transactions and mergers and acquisitions for companies such as Tribune, HMA, Emmis Communications, Pizza Hut, Advantage Sales and Marketing, Cooper-Standard Automotive, US Oncology, IPC, Rincon and others. Furthermore, Leonid also helped establish VRC’s due diligence practice.

In addition to his experience at VRC, Leonid worked nearly six years on Wall Street for investment banking institutions such as BNP Paribas, Houlihan Lokey and Morgen Evan & Company, where he advised Fortune 500 and multi-billion dollar companies on cross-border mergers and acquisitions as well as capital-raising activities. Leonid graduated from the Stern School of Business at NYU with a Bachelors of Science in International Business and Finance.

Ronald Lange

Ronald Lange is the Chief Technology Officer at Eclipsall and his responsibilities include overseeing the company’s manufacturing operations. In addition, Ronald is also spearheading Eclipsall’s research and development efforts related to production efficiencies as well as PV module efficiencies and power outputs.

Ronald is also co-founder of 9-om, a consulting firm focused on providing technical consulting services to manufacturing companies in the photovoltaic industry. Prior to joining Eclipsall and founding 9-om, Ronald was the Chief Innovation Officer at 3S Swiss Solar Systems (Meyer Burger) where his responsibilities included the development of new manufacturing processes aimed at manufacturing efficiencies. Before joining 3S Swiss Solar Systems, Ronald held various senior research and executive positions for over 10 years at DSM and BASF in the Netherlands, U.K. and Germany.

Ronald Lange studied organic chemistry and obtained his PhD working on Supramolecular Polymer Chemistry with Professor Dr. E.W. (Bert) Meijer at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Ronald has published over 25 research papers for peer-reviewed journals including Science, has given over 30 international lectures and co-authored more than 30 patents related to PV technology.

A selection of Dr. Lange’s white papers

Mikael Niskanen

Mikael Niskanen is Vice President of Operations and is responsible for the day-to-day production and administrative operations of the company.

Prior to joining Eclipsall, Mikael spent 16 years at Canadian Tire as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives & SCMP PMO. During his tenure at Canadian Tire, Mikael’s responsibilities included working to develop and implement process and technology enhancements that improve productivity and increase efficiency leading to greater throughput. Mikael was a key member in the design, build and implementation of one of Canada’s largest distribution centres bringing an extensive amount of operational experience and project management skills to the team.

Mikael also serves on the board of Eclipsall Energy.

Chris Darbyshire

Chris Darbyshire serves as Vice President of Global Procurement and Supply at Eclipsall where he is responsible for global supply chain and procurement for the company.

Prior to joining Eclipsall, Chris accumulated over 20 years of experience in global supply chain, procurement, operations, program management, marketing, and merger and acquisition while working for companies such as Celestica Inc., IBM Canada and Psion PLC.

Throughout his tenure at these companies, Chris held senior leadership positions in supply chain and operations teams in North America, Asia, Mexico and Europe. He was responsible for customer and operational facing business development, manufacturing operations as well as supply chain optimization, cost reduction management and optimizing cost of ownership.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ryerson University School of Business.

Jason Niskanen

Jason Niskanen is the Director of Operations at Eclipsall responsible for the company’s manufacturing operations. In addition to manufacturing, Jason is also co-leading Eclipsall’s research and development efforts in relation to production efficiencies.

Prior to joining Eclipsall, Jason spent almost 10 years at Magna International where he advanced to the position of Senior Engineer. During his tenure at Magna International, Jason was responsible for research and development and the testing of new and innovative mechanical and electronic closure systems. Jason also managed and implemented product launches into full production on new and existing assembly equipment through the 5 phase program management guideline. He also led the manufacturing business centre and was responsible for continuous improvement opportunities, production downtime, equipment safety and production floor support including supervision, troubleshooting, analysis, mistake proofing, inspection and approval.

In addition to his time at Magna International, Jason also worked at Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM) where he held the position of Product/Quality Engineer. During his tenure at HCM, Jason’s responsibilities included new model design maturation, warranty prevention and investigation, and mass production support.

Jason graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.

Michael Howe

Michael Howe serves as Director of Sales for Eclipsall Energy where he is responsible for co-ordinating and directing the company’s sales efforts.

Prior to joining Eclipsall, Michael held various sales positions within the construction, retail, information technology and financial services industries and is also a Licensed Electrician 309A. Michael has accumulated over a decade of senior executive experience in the accounts receivable management industry where he represented one of the largest agencies in North America.