Vernon Essi, Jr.
Senior Analyst, Energy Efficiency and Analog & Mixed Semiconductors

Telephone: (617) 457-0948
Email: vessi@needhamco.com

Vern Essi joined Needham & Company in 2007. Prior to joining Needham & Co., LLC in 2007, he was a senior analyst at MS Howells and also served as a senior analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott covering the consumer and power verticals of the semiconductor industry. He was a principal in technology equity research at Adams, Harkness & Hill from 1994 to 2003, where he covered companies in the semiconductor capital equipment, electronics manufacturing services and electronic components industries. He received a BS in Finance and Investments at Babson College.

Sean Hannan
Senior Analyst, Energy Efficiency and Smart Grid

Telephone: (617) 457-0906
Email: shannan@needhamco.com

Sean Hannan joined Needham & Company in 2005. His research focus addresses the IT Supply Chain (EMS, Components & Sensors), Clean Technology (Smart Grid, Environmental Services) and Industrial. In prior roles at Needham, Sean assisted in the coverage of HDDs, PCs, IT Distributors, and IT Software. Before joining Needham, he held multiple management responsibilities at Manulife Financial (John Hancock) following strategic consulting roles with KPMG Consulting. Sean ranked fifth in the Wall Street Journal's Best on the Street in 2010 for the electronic and electrical equipment sector and was also named to the Top 100 EMS industry influencers (at #51) by Venture Outsource during 2012. He received a B.S. in Finance from Fairfield University and an MBA from Boston College.

Michael Lew
Senior Analyst, Energy Creation and Energy Efficiency

Telephone: (212) 705-0383
Email: mlew@needhamco.com

Michael Lew joined Needham & Company in 2010. Previously, he was a senior analyst at ThinkEquity focused on energy storage and advanced material applications. He began his career on Wall Street at UBS focusing on IT hardware. Prior to that, Michael was a credit analyst and engineer at IBM. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University, an MS in Materials Science from Columbia University, and an MBA from New York University.

Edwin Mok
Senior Analyst, Energy Creation and Solar/Photovoltaics

Telephone: (415) 262-4896
Email: emok@needhamco.com

Edwin Mok joined Needham & Company in 2005. He covers companies in the clean technology/solar photovoltaic, semiconductor capital equipment and specialty memory sectors. Prior to Needham, he worked at Applied Materials for over ten years in various management roles, including marketing, business development and engineering. He has three degrees from the University of California, Berkeley: a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Finance.

James Ricchiuti
Senior Analyst, Energy Creation, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Services & Sciences

Telephone: (212) 705-0381
Email: jricchiuti@needhamco.com

Jim Ricchiuti joined Needham & Company in 1999. Prior to joining Needham & Company, Jim was with Lehman Brothers for over five years, where he focused on technology companies in the imaging and electronics businesses. His previous experience includes Bear Stearns from 1986 to 1993 covering a number of small-cap and mid-cap companies. He also worked at Argus Research in the mid-1980s. Jim, a graduate of St. John's University, was second in Earnings Estimator in Electrical Equipment and Instruments, Starmine/Financial Times in 2008.