Michael O’Kronley was named CEO of Ascend Elements in March 2020 and has served on the company's board since 2017. Beforen joining Ascend Elements, he was head of corporate strategy at A123 Systems.

He has worked in the automotive and EV battery industries for more than 25 years with previous business development, operations and engineering roles at Metaldyne Corp. and Robert Bosch.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan.