World Class Caliber Team
Makai’s highly-qualified team of engineers are on the cutting edge of subsea technology development, and are pushing the limits of what is possible.
Employees
With Advanced Degrees M.S. or greater
With Ph.D.
Licensed Professional Engineers
Senior Staff
Greg Rocheleau, M.S.
President & CEO
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Mr. Rocheleau has over 15 years’ experience in ocean engineering at Makai, and has led numerous programs as Vice President and Director since 2014.
Jose Andres, Ph.D., P.E.
Director / Advisor
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Dr. Andres has over 35 years’ experience in ocean engineering at Makai. He led the company as President from 2006 – 2023.
Leah Ablen, MBA, FCPA (Aust.)
CFO
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Ms. Ablen is an accountant with over 35 years’ experience. She has been Makai’s CFO since 2012.
Michael Nedbal, Ph.D.
VP of Operations / FSO
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Dr. Nedbal is Makai’s Vice President of Operations and Facility Security Officer. He has been with Makai since 2011.
Hermann Kugeler
Vice President of Business Development
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Mr. Kugeler has led Makai’s business development efforts for both commercial and federal projects, since 2018.
Subsea Cable Software
Venkata Jasti, Ph.D.
Director, Engineering Software
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Dr. Jasti is responsible for the maintenance and development of Makai’s proprietary cable model that is the key underlying model of the MakaiPlan Pro and MakaiLay products.
Adrian Jelffs
Cable Group Manager
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Mr. Jelffs has over 28 years of software development, electrical system design, and R&D experience.
Kayo Fujiwara, M.S.
Senior Software Engineer
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Ms. Fujiwara is an experienced software engineer with over 20 years’ experience working in Makai’s cable modeling group.
Florian Hillenhagen, M.S.
Product Manager
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Mr. Hillenhagen is Makai’s Product Manager for Submarine Cable Software. Experienced in submarine cable installation, marine engineering projects, and software testing and development, he enjoys helping our clients to achieve their goals, no matter how big or small.
Ocean Engineering
Richard Argall, M.S., P.E.
Director, Ocean Engineering
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Mr. Argall is an expert in ocean energy and marine renewables, with over 20-years’ experience.
Mike Eldred
Director, Heat Exchanger Development
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Mr. Eldred is a mechanical engineer with over 20 years of relevant experience, and has led Makai’s heat exchanger development and testing since 2009.
Alex Le Bon, M.S., P.E.
Group Manager: Marine Pipelines
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Mr. Le Bon has over 15 years’ experience as a mechanical engineeer at Makai. He is licensed as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of Hawaii.
Subsea Technologies
Kevin Veenstra, M.S.
Director, Subsea Technology
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Mr. Veenstra has over 15 years of broad ocean engineering experience. He has successfully managed the development of both software and hardware systems.
Kevin Shimotsu, M.S., P.E.
Project Manager / Sr. Mechanical Engineer
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Mr. Shimotsu has over 15 years’ experience in developing mechanical hardware systems. He is licensed as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of Hawaii.
W. Reeve Hicks, M.S.
Project Manager / Sr. Engineer
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Reeve joined Makai in 2016 as a mechanical engineer in the Subsea Technologies group. He attended Boston University, where he received his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since joining Makai he has made an immediate impact analyzing, designing and testing innovative mechanical, electrical and control systems for Makai’s customers.
Allan Carmichael
Sr. Ocean Engineer
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Mr. Carmichael has over 15 years of ocean engineering experience. He has served as lead test engineer and subject matter expert for projects related to autonomous underwater vehicle docking and sub-sea fiber optic sensing systems.
Offshore Support Services
Mike Harrison, MBA
Senior Program Manager & Ocean Engineer
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Mr. Harrison has over 30 years ocean engineering experience including the design and installation of ocean engineering systems, marine cable installations and engineering studies and analysis.
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