Alexey Postnov

Head of Business Development - Sicona Battery Technologies

Portugal

About

I’m a mining engineer by background with an MBA and 13+ years of experience across mining & oilfield services, HVAC/R and battery technologies. Most recently, I’ve been focused on commercializing next-generation battery materials - working between product, customers, engineering and business development. In practice, that means helping new technologies move from pilot stage and technical discussions into something customers are willing to qualify, scale and buy. The industries have changed, but the core of the work has stayed surprisingly consistent: industrial products, complex operations, long sales cycles and a lot of coordination across functions. I’ve worked across product industrialization, project execution, business development and customer engagement, usually in environments where things move fast and not everything is figured out yet. What I enjoy most is connecting the technical and commercial sides. Good technology alone is rarely enough. Execution matters. Timing matters. And the ability to align product, process and people often makes the difference between a promising idea and real market traction. Outside of work, I’ve run eight marathons in eight countries. Maybe that says something about me: I tend to like long-term challenges that require endurance, consistency and keeping your head clear when things get messy.

Experience

  • Head of Business Development at Sicona Battery Technologies
    Feb 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    Focused on commercialising scalable SiCx® anode materials that deliver higher energy density than conventional graphite. Working across customers, partners, and markets to accelerate adoption in the battery industry.

  • Founder at Postnoff Investment Strategies
    Jul 2015 - Present · 11 yrs

    I founded Postnoff Investment Strategies to analyze global market trends and catalysts, providing strategic, value-focused investment solutions.

  • Umicore (Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium · Hybrid)
    • Head of Customer Engagement & Pre-Sales
      Feb 2025 - Jan 2026 · 1 yr

      • Responsible for global business development, technical sales and account management for next-generation battery anode materials.

    • Applied Technology Manager - New Business Incubation
      Jul 2022 - Feb 2025 · 2 yrs 8 mos

  • Manager Product Planning - HVAC/R Solutions at Emerson
    Feb 2018 - Jul 2022 · 4 yrs 6 mos

    • Selected for Emerson MBA Talent Program • Led cross-functional resource planning, budget management and execution of new product developments with teams in Belgium, Romania, Czechia, Italy and Northern Ireland. • Orchestrated the end-to-end transfer of an electronics portfolio from German to Italian manufacturing, aligning sales, engineering, supply chain, and marketing to optimize operations. Delivered €1M in annual cost savings while enhancing efficiency and scalability. • Led portfolio optimizations, including phase-out & replacement planning and vertical integration strategies, that resulted in 23% decrease in COGS in the solutions business segment.

  • MHWirth (Full-time · 3 yrs 7 mos)
    • Project Manager - Technology & Innovation, Operations
      Feb 2015 - May 2016 · 1 yr 4 mos

      • Led turnaround of a struggling R&D project with a 10M EUR budget and a 20-member team, initiating re-planning and restructuring efforts to bring the project back on track. Launched PMP based project management framework in the Technology & Innovation department.

    • Junior Project Manager - Operations
      Jul 2014 - Feb 2015 · 8 mos

      • Managed serial production projects, overseeing €0,5M budgets and ensuring alignment between manufacturing and customer requirements.

    • Development Engineer - Technology & Innovation
      Nov 2012 - Jul 2014 · 1 yr 9 mos

      • Led research projects with universities and industry partners, focusing on development of novel deep-sea mining methods.