Management Team

Dr. Carl Kukkonen: CEO, Chairman, Co-Founder – From its founding in 1998, Dr. Carl Kukkonen has led the VIASPACE team, serving as CEO of ViaSpace Technologies LLC, the predecessor of VIASPACE Inc., and serving as CEO and Chairman today.  ViaSpace Technologies incubated several companies based on technologies developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and patents and software licensed from Caltech.

Prior to founding VIASPACE, Dr. Kukkonen was a Caltech employee serving as Director of the Center for Space Microelectronics Technology (CSMT) and Manager of Supercomputing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  At JPL from 1984 to 1998, he managed several technologies and technical subsidiaries.  Dr. Kukkonen established and grew the CSMT into a 250-person operation with a $70M annual budget.

Stephen J. Muzi: CFO and Treasurer – Prior to joining ViaSpace Technologies LLC as Controller in 2000, Mr. Muzi was a Corporate Controller at Southwest Water Company from 1988 to 2000, a NASDAQ company with revenues in excess of $100 million.  In this position, he was responsible for all SEC reporting requirements as well as Board of Director Reporting.  He managed the company’s line of credit banking relationships, risk management program, internal audit program, and income tax requirements.  He also made presentations to investment brokers and analysts.

From 1985 to 1987 Mr. Muzi was a senior auditor with BDO Seidman, a national CPA firm. Mr. Muzi received his BS degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  He is a Certified Public Accountant.