About me
Ajay Gnanasekaran joined Argonne National Lab on January 2, 2024 as Sr Program Director for Battery Workforce Challenge Program.
In his prior role Ajay served as VP of Product & Operations in the Battery R&D Institute at Vinfast, the Vietnamese EV Manufacturer, previously VinES Energy Solutions, the battery-development and -manufacturing arm of its corporate owner Vingroup. In this role he led a 57-person team supporting battery cell development of both cylindrical and prismatic cells, pilot production and equipment maintenance. One of his key projects at the company was to lead a team developing a super-fast charge prismatic battery with Store Dot.
Ajay also previously worked for Panasonic Energy of North America (PENA) as Director of Strategy and Programs where he oversaw 18 program managers, operations at PENA’s Reno gigafactory, and led PENA’s battery manufacturing expansion into DeSoto, Kansas. Among his assignments at PENA, Ajay worked closely with senior leadership to develop the company’s expansion and workforce strategy and with government and community leaders, workforce organizations and economic development groups to develop a workforce pathway to support their local manufacturing workforce needs.
Ajay graduated from Anna University (Chennai, India) with a B.E. in Aeronautical Engineering. He also graduated with his MBA in aviation finance and strategy from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he also competed in the EcoCAR 2 and 3 Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC), serving as the team’s Project Manager. Ajay brings a wealth of knowledge about battery manufacturing to the position as well as a strong appreciation for the educational value of the AVTC Program that started his professional career.