Robert T. Loyd, P.E.

President and CEO

Robert T. Loyd joined Clipper Windpower in January of 2006 and assumed responsibility for the initial set-up and operation of the 2.5 MW Liberty wind turbine production facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

With over 35 years of heavy industry experience directing manufacturing and engineering operations, he served as Plant Manager and Vice President of Operations at companies including Rockwell International, Raytheon, and Terex.  Mr. Loyd has lead heavy machining, fabrication, and assembly activities at various facilities located in Iowa, Missouri, and Idaho.  Mr. Loyd also owned and operated his own engineering consulting firm providing service to heavy industries in North America in the areas of cycle time reduction, process management, plant layout, and manufacturing leadership mentoring.

Mr. Loyd attended Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology, a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Masters degree in Business Administration. He currently holds Professional Mechanical Engineering licenses in the states of Iowa and Wisconsin and is also a Certified Quality Engineer with the American Society for Quality. He serves as an industrial advisory board member to the University of Iowa Mechanical and Industrial Engineering departments, Iowa State University Department of Agricultural Engineering and Bioscience, Iowa Lakes Community College, and the Iowa Quality Center. Mr. Loyd also served on the Iowa Governor's Climate Change Advisory Council and the Energy Sector Infrastructure Committee.

Robert Skeers

Manufacuring ERP Manager

Robert R. Skeers joined Clipper Windpower in February of 2006 and assumed responsibility for the implementation of all production planning and inventory control systems and processes.  This included transition from Excel spreadsheets to MAS500, and from MAS500 to SAP fully integrated ERP systems.

Mr. Skeers’ 25 years of heavy industry experience includes machining, fabrication, discrete and repetitive assembly, with companies such as John Deere, Raytheon, and Terex.  Mr. Skeers has held leadership positions in such functional areas as master planning, forecast and budgeting, inventory control, capacity management, and shop floor execution.

Mr. Skeers received his BA from the University of Northern Iowa, and his MS from Troy University.  He has been certified by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) and has taught classes on occasion.

Jason DeGroot

Director, Sales and Supply Chain

Jason DeGroot joined Clipper in October 2007 as Supply Chain Manager, tasked with supporting the procurement and sourcing needs of the Cedar Rapids manufacturing operation. In July 2010, Jason was promoted to Supply Chain Director, Investments & Services.  In February 2013,  he assumed the role of Director, Sales and Supply Chain, with responsibility for all sales and supply chain functions.

Prior to joining Clipper, Jason had 10 years of procurement experience working in the mining, agriculture, and appliance industries.   At Terex, Jason had sourcing and fulfillment responsibilities, as well as supporting Terex’s corporate wide initiative to drive down costs by leveraging corporate spend.  As Materials Manager for Highway Equipment Co, he improved availability by implementing key consignment inventory programs for high dollar commodities.  He established SOP's for procurement and led initiatives such as vendor consolidation and cost reduction tracking.  At Maytag, Jason was a Steel Commodity Sourcing Leader.  He led several lean manufacturing events, and implemented a $20M Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) program.

Jason earned an associate of liberal arts degree from Kirkwood Community College in 1998.  He graduated from  Windsor University in 2003 with a degree in business administration.

Jason is married with three children.  In his free time, he enjoys watching his kids participate in sports, coaching baseball,  exercising, and anything automotive.

Matt Shaffer

Corporate Controller

Matt Shaffer joined Clipper Windpower in January 2007 as the Plant Controller for the Cedar Rapids operations and has since transitioned to the Corporate Controller role for the company.  Matt came to Clipper from PMX Industries in Cedar Rapids where he was the Accounting Manager for that large non-ferrous metal foundry and rolling mill operation.

Matt received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from The University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.  Matt has previously attained both CPA and CMA certificates.  Matt’s favorite activities outside of work are spending time with family, running and enjoying time outdoors.

Jodi Zahner

Chief Human Resource Officer

Jodi Zahner joined Clipper in August 2005 as the first employee at the Cedar Rapids location.  Jodi oversees the office management, human resources and community outreach initiatives at Clipper.  With almost 20 years of corporate management skills, Jodi was the perfect fit for the facility’s initial support structure.

Jodi takes pride in the fact that Clipper gives back to the community with programs like, “Toys for Tots,” and “High School Career Days.”  Jodi said, “There are a lot of close nit communities in Iowa that go out of their way to help others.  Clipper has many of the same values, so I wanted to be a part of that.”

Her motto:  “Live life to the fullest.”

She attended Kirkwood Community College and the University of Northern Iowa.  In her free time Jodi enjoys spending time at the Ozarks with her family, reading and cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes!

Marty Stimson

Engineering Manager

Marty Stimson joined Clipper Windpower in 2007 as the Production Engineering Manager, tasked with transitioning new wind turbine designs into production as well as leading the manufacturing engineering operations.   With Clipper’s transition in 2013 into OEM gearbox and major component refurbishment services, Mr. Stimson retained his role of leading manufacturing engineering in addition to now leading all Quality and Environmental Compliance activities.

Mr. Stimson has over 35 years of new product design and manufacturing engineering experience in various heavy industry equipment products.   Prior to joining Clipper, Mr. Stimson has held various technical management and leadership positions at companies such as FMC, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, Terex, Siemens and Goss Graphics.   He has a strong technical background in mechanical systems design and manufacturing.   His project experiences extend from the development of a state of the art human centrifuge for training high g-force military pilots to large cranes and excavators to asphalt and crushing equipment including waste recycling facilities.

Mr. Stimson earned his Associate of Applied Science Degree from Kirkwood Community College before returning to Iowa State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.    Mr. Stimson also served on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Commission for 6 years.