Business newsmakers

Stephanie Juneau has joined the Montana West Economic Development staff as a loan officer. Juneau previously was regional director at the Small Business Dev-elopment Center, covering Northwest Montana. She also was chief financial officer with a start-up manufacturing company in California. Prior to launching and leading that company, Juneau was senior vice president and relationship manager for several community and commercial banks in Southern California.

Juneau’s commercial banking career spans over 20 years. She has expertise in financial analysis, loan structuring, credit underwriting and risk mitigation, and has been a business consultant for a broad range of companies in various stages of their business lifecycles, with experience in industries such as general contracting, professional services, technology, alternative energy, bio-medical, manufacturing and import/export.

Her expertise is assisting clients from concept through expansion, and at times, financial turnaround. She has been actively involved in community and nonprofit organizations, and is in the Leadership Flathead Class of 2018. She has a degree in international business and economics from St. Catherine University.

Stephen Bonner, who became chairman of the board of directors for ViZn Energy Systems on Jan. 1, also has assumed the role of president and interim chief executive officer following the resignation of Ron Van Dell. Bonner was a director as well as president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America for over 13 years. He is currently an adviser to four private equity firms as well as an Entrepreneur in Residence at The Harvard Business School.

He is an investor, mentor and adviser to many business and social entrepreneurs. Bonner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College and his Juris Doctor degree from Mitchell Hamline College of Law.

“The ViZn vision is compelling — a break-through battery technology that is safe, cost-effective and able to perform both power and energy services without degradation for 20 years,” Bonner said.

“It is the missing link between accelerating sources of non-dispatchable renewable electricity and efficient delivery to the energy consumer, he said in a prepared statement. “The zinc-redox flow battery is far superior to the constrained lithium-ion alternative.”