Maria Thompson

Maria Thompson is a Venture Partner at Arsenal and a retired CEO with more than 30 years of experience in business leadership, strategic planning, marketing, finance, government relations, and the commercialization of advanced technologies.

Prior to her role in venture capital, Ms. Thompson was President and CEO of T/J Technologies, Inc., a nationally recognized Michigan company for proprietary alternative energy technologies that she and her husband, Dr. Levi Thompson founded in 1991. While consistently growing revenues, she led T/J Technologies’ acquisition by A123Systems in 2006. Combined, the organizations represented the largest lithium-ion R&D team in North America, with global manufacturing operations. In preparation for A123Systems successful IPO (2009), she and her team worked with the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), and federal, state and county officials to secure over $249M in DOE grants, a $9M Army contract, and $139M from the state of Michigan to build lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in Michigan.

Under Ms. Thompson’s leadership, T/J Technologies attracted national and regional recognition. Her company received awards from the Department of Defense, NASA, the state of Michigan, the Small Business Association of Michigan, Black Enterprise, and other local organizations. In 2008, she was honored by the Washington DC based Minority Enterprise Executive Council as one of 25 Powerful Minority Women in Business. Ms. Thompson was invited to speak to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business as part of the Small Business Administration’s 50th Anniversary.

Ms. Thompson became a Director of the Reko International Group, a Canadian public company in 2016. She is a member of the University of Michigan Technology Transfer National Advisory Board, the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Zell Lurie Institute Advisory Board and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Ms. Thompson chaired NextEnergy’s Board of Directors for five years. She previously served on Old National Bank’s Michigan Market Board. She served for 6 years on the Advanced Technology Advisory Board for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and is a former member of several non-profit organization boards. Ms. Thompson earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Business School in 1988. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan in Industrial Design. Prior to starting T/J Technologies, Ms. Thompson worked at Steelcase and IBM, where she earned numerous company awards.