Sabertec’s leaders deliver diverse skills, decades of experience and a history of success.

William J. O’Brien
CEO

In addition to leading Sabertec LLC, Mr. O’Brien is a co-founder and general partner of Saber Capital. In this capacity, Mr. O’Brien oversees the selection and management of the investment firm’s portfolio companies. Mr. O’Brien served as Chairman and CEO of Octave Software, a provider of next-generation content management solutions. In addition to launching Octave’s product line, Mr. O’Brien developed its key partnerships, recruited its managers, and played an instrumental role in securing its major customers. He also led the company in a $4 million preferred round financing from Sigma Partners. Mr. O’Brien was also actively involved in the direction of Saber Capital’s Austin-based professional services firm, Neogent, Inc., which it funded in 2000 and sold to Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUN) in 2006. Mr. O’Brien also holds board seats at San Jose based, Jetalon Solutions, a maker of precision, liquid chemical sensor and control systems. Since the initiation of Mr. O’Brien’s involvement, the company has increased shareholder value nearly 17x. Before co-founding Saber Capital, Mr. O’Brien spent over 12-years in the high technology industry, most recently serving as Vice President of Sales for the Americas at Vignette Corporation (NASD: VIGN). Benefiting from Mr. O’Brien’s direction, Vignette became the fastest growing enterprise software company in industry history, with annual revenues growing from $3 million to over $500 million in a three-year period.

William L. Davenport
CFO & COO

Prior to joining Sabertec in February 2006, Mr. Davenport worked as an investment analyst at Los Angeles-based private equity fund, Lotus Fund. Prior to Lotus, Mr. Davenport served as CFO & COO of RVCA Corporation, a California based, ASR clothing brand. At RVCA Mr. Davenport was responsible for managing all financing and operational activities, growing the company from 800K to $7M in sales in less than two years. Before RVCA, Mr. Davenport worked as an equity manager for Roth Capital Partners in Newport Beach, California. At Roth, Mr. Davenport co-managed a $130M equity portfolio. Mr. Davenport earned his MBA with a specialization in finance from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Latin American Studies from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Walter “Skip” Hansen
Senior Product Specialist, BLADE

Mr. Hansen is an engine diagnostics and performance specialist with 27-years of automotive industry experience. In addition to holding A1, A2, A4, A5, A6 and A7 ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) Certifications, Mr. Hansen has been trained by GM’s Drivability Solutions Program, Honda’s Acura Performance Program, and Ford, GM, and Chrysler’s Advanced Engine Diagnostics and Automotive Leadership, Sales and Customer Satisfaction Programs. Mr. Hansen joined Sabertec in April 2007 and has been instrumental in the BLADE’s ongoing testing and development.

Steve Joyce
Director, BLADE Sales

Mr. Joyce has over 20 years of automotive aftermarket industry experience. In 1987 Mr. Joyce joined AP Exhaust Manufacturing, where he served as District Sales Manager for the territory of New England. Over the course of 10 years, he received the company's President's Circle Award five times, and increased his territory's sales volume by over 300%. In 1997 Mr. Joyce joined Grinold & O'Brien Sales, the largest automotive aftermarket rep agency in the North Eastern United States. Serving the company for over 10 years as a district sales manager, Mr. Joyce grew his territory's sales volume by over 1,100%, while representing some of the automotive aftermarket industry's premier product lines, i.e. Delphi, DuPont Refrigerant, Dorman Products, Goodyear Belts and Hoses, Grote Lighting, CRC Chemicals, IAP Roters, SK Hand Tools and Magna Flow Converters. In addition to his service at Grinold & O'Brien, Mr. Joyce was also instrumental in the growth of Auto Extra Private Label, a program of Uni-Select-MAWDI, North America's largest independent automotive aftermarket parts distributor. Mr. Joyce has been a member of AAIA since 1996.

Sergio Varkala Sangiovani
Inventor

Mr. Sangiovani is the inventor of Sabertec’s IDPF technology, its IDPF filters and the BLADE. Mr. Sangiovani’s current activities include the development and evolution of Sabertec’s products, and the customization of those products to meet the needs of specific Sabertec clients. Prior to his relationship with Sabertec, Mr. Sangiovani was an engineer for Autolatina, a Latin American automotive joint-venture between Ford and Volkswagen. Prior to Autolatina, Mr. Sangiovani worked as an engineer for Cadan Mining, during which time he assisted the company in the industrial expansion of its Amazonian operations. Mr. Sangiovani has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Universidade Paulista (UNIP), and a Master of Science in Automotive Mechanics at Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (FEI). In 2000 Mr. Sangiovani was awarded Brazil’s prestigious Novos Empreendedores Novos Projetos Award for his development of PROAR [IDPF’s predecessor technology]. This award is presented by the Brazilian Government and is sponsored in cooperation with FUNGPROGER, Sebrae, the National Bank of Economic and Social Development, Banco do Brazil and Banco Nossa Caixa. Mr. Sangiovani is also board member of CATALIZA, a Brazilian NGO whose mission is to protect the environment through education and the implementation of environmentally sound technologies and industrial and social practices.