Management Team

DION JOANNOU
Chief Executive Officer

Dion Joannou is responsible for Advantix’s overall direction and strategy to deliver energy efficient solutions to our expanding customer base of global Fortune 1000 companies.  With extensive global operating experience in technology, consumer, and health care businesses, Mr. Joannou provides  management and operational expertise to our fast-growing company.

Previously the President of Nortel Networks, Mr. Joannou also served as an advisor to several high-growth businesses of wide-ranging size, and served in various roles at Nortel Networks for 14 years.  He currently sits on the boards of Dialogic and GoNet Systems, two leading technology solutions providers.

Joannou received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and an MBA in International Studies from the University of Miami.

DAN FORKOSH
President 

One of the founding members of the company, Mr. Forkosh is Chairman of Advantix’s board and responsible for global expansion and product development of its patented, core technology, which is based on liquid desiccant.

Using this technology, Mr. Forkosh was among those responsible for building and operating the first commercial ice rink in Israel. The business grew to 22 commercial ice rinks throughout Europe and around the world.  Mr. Forkosh has served on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Technical Committee for Desiccant Dehumidification Equipment and Components. He graduated from the Israeli Naval Academy in 1980 and studied biochemistry at Israel’s Open University of Tel Aviv.

HANNAH GRANADE
President, USA

Hannah Granade brings more than 10 years of experience in developing energy and environmental management solutions to address the most pressing challenges facing companies today. Since joining Advantix Systems as president in 2010, Ms. Granade has been instrumental in growing the company's install base by focusing on customers who understand the crucial benefits of reducing energy costs and controlling humidity.

Named by Fast Company as one of the "Most Creative People in Business" for 2012, Ms. Granade was identified as an innovator who has demonstrated extraordinary success in the quest to find creative new solutions to old problems. She currently serves on the Research Advisory Council of the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as the LEED 2012 redesign committee, and acts as an adviser to several clean tech investment firms.

Prior to joining Advantix Systems, Ms. Granade was a Partner in the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company where she served energy, industrial and aerospace and defense companies extensively on strategy, growth, regulation and climate change topics. She was the lead author of the groundbreaking McKinsey report that quantified, for the first time, the potential $1.2 trillion we could achieve globally through energy efficiency improvements.

A highly coveted speaker on the subject of the economics of energy efficiency, Ms. Granade has spoken at leading conferences worldwide, including the United Nations World Energy Forum, the World Bank, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Conference and the Energy Information Administration Conference.

Ms. Granade received an A.B. cum laude from Harvard College.

TOMMY FORKOSH
Chief Technology Officer

As CTO, Mr. Forkosh directs Advantix’s product strategy and is responsible for the development of its patented, core technology, which is based on liquid desiccant. Using this technology, he and Dan Forkosh were responsible for building and operating the first commercial ice rink in Israel. The business grew to 22 commercial ice rinks throughout Europe and around the world.

Mr. Forkosh has served in a business development role since co-founding Advantix with his brother, Dan Forkosh, in 2006.

GIL SIMÕES
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Strategy Officer

Gil Simões brings more than 20 years of key leadership experience working in strategic planning, business development, project finance, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Advantix Systems, Mr. Simões served as Business Development and Strategic Alliances prime for Avaya, a global provider of business communications and collaboration systems. He formerly worked in Corporate and Regional Strategy roles at Nortel Networks, a public company and multinational telecommunication equipment manufacturer, where he was involved in M&A and project finance. Mr. Simões also worked in business analysis for Motorola.

Mr. Simões received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and an MBA in International Finance from the University of South Carolina.

MOOKI TALBY
Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Asia & Europe

Mr. Talby has over 20 years of key leadership experience working in strategic marketing, product management and business development positions. Prior to joining Advantix, Mr. Talby was Vice President, Americas for Creo’s Print on-Demand Solutions Group, a division of Eastman Kodak. Prior to that, he served as the Vice President of Marketing at Textology, a mobile software company. Mr. Talby holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering, cum laude, and an MBA from the University of Tel Aviv.

TREVOR WENDE
Vice President of Marketing

Prior to joining Advantix Systems, Mr. Wende was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he worked primarily in the firm’s energy and sustainability practices. Mr. Wende was a member of McKinsey’s Climate Change Strategic Initiative Leadership Group, leading many of the firm’s studies of emerging energy technologies, energy commodity markets and alternative energy product markets.

Prior to McKinsey & Co., Mr. Wende developed fuel cell and alternative fuel infrastructure products with Liquidmetal Technologies and Hydrogen Burner Technologies, respectively.

Mr. Wende earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

PHIL FARESE
Vice President of Engineering

Dr. Farese holds his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied Cosmology and made observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background. After a three-year fellowship at Princeton University Dr. Farese left academics to join the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. There he served high-tech, non-profit, and energy sector clients.

After serving as the team lead and an author of the McKinsey report Unlocking Efficiency in the U.S. Economy, Dr. Farese joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He continued his study and support of the energy efficiency field by developing a tool to prioritize energy efficiency investments with findings recently published by the journal Nature and in an NREL technical report.

NIR ZIV
Chief Operating Officer

As COO, Mr. Ziv is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Advantix’s global sales, marketing and services organization. Prior to joining Advantix, he was a purchasing manager at a health maintenance organization based in Israel.

Mr. Ziv received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Haifa and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh.

NIV COUSINS
Vice President of Global Support

Niv Cousins brings 15 years of technology and leadership experience to the Advantix Systems team as Vice President of Global Support.

Most recently, Mr. Cousins served as the CEO of the Baran Group’s Telecom Division of Southeast Asia and as a member of the executive board of management. Before being promoted to CEO, Mr. Cousins held the positions of CFO and Account Manager for the Baran Group, a leading international provider of engineering, technology and construction solutions. Prior to that, he served as the Program Manager and Controller at Baran Raviv Telecom Ltd. Mr. Cousins holds a BA in Business and Administration from The College of Management, Tel-Aviv.