Our Team
Darren Bianchi
Founder and CEO
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Mr. Bianchi started working with fluorescents as an undergraduate student in chemistry. During his studies, he worked at Nalco Chemical, when it was the parent company to DayGlo. During this period, he worked on the development, scale-up and analysis of fluorescent emulsions. After finishing his undergraduate degree in chemistry, he joined Radiant Color in California in 1990. Starting as a chemist, he quickly progressed through roles of Environmental Manager, Technical Director, VP-Technology, Sr. VP and later became President of Radiant. During this period, he oversaw numerous successful product launches, from initial experimental design through manufacturing and on to commercialization.
Following the sale of Radiant, Mr. Bianchi joined the Dane Group UK (SWADA, Sterling, Novaglo, Glowbug brands) in 2005 and ran sales in North America. Following the sale of Dane's color business, he founded Brilliant in early 2007.
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Darren has a BS in Chemistry from Illinois State University, a MS in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
Ray Peria
Technical Manager
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Mr. Peria has been working with fluorescents since he joined Radiant Color in 1982. The bulk of his early work focused on the development of lithographic printing ink bases for conventional printing. Over time, his work branched into fluorescents for other areas of printing, including flexo (water and solvent), gravure, and UV systems, as well as other pigment dispersions. Ray has been instrumental since the launch of Brilliant. He works tirelessly to support our customers and ensure that their needs are met for product quality and performance and provides technical support to our customers in the printing inks market.
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Ray has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Adamson University.
Julia Folk
Operations Manager
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Julia Folk joined Brilliant in 2021 to coordinate our operational activities and support our management team. She brings a wealth of process and people management experience to Brilliant Group, multiplying our capacity and effectiveness. Previously, Julia worked in the retail industry, leading stores in the top 10% of the company and mentoring her peers. At Brilliant Group, Julia coordinates the day-to-day operations of the business, oversees the customer service department and the manufacturing plant.
Julia has a BS degree in Retailing and Consumer Sciences from the University of Arizona.
Chrysa Soulantoni
Customer Service - Europe, Middle East and Africa
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Ms. Soulantoni joined Brilliant in 2020 while she was finishing her MBA in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chrysa's organizational skills and customer service background, gained while helping to manage her family's small business, proved tremendously valuable. Armed with the experience of working at our headquarters for 9 months, she is now back in the EU managing our inventory in the Netherlands and supporting our European, Middle Eastern, and African customers and distributors.
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Chrysa has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Applied Science of Thessaly, Greece and a Masters in Business Administration from California State University, East Bay.
Shaun Mihalick
Technical Service Manager
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Mr. Mihalick joined Brilliant in 2015 following the move to our new manufacturing facility. He brings a host of experience in research & development, quality control, and technical service in the industrial finishes market. Previous to joining Brilliant, Shaun spent the previous seven years at Akzo Coatings. Shaun acts as the initial point of technical contact for our customers and provides support for applications including paints, coatings, dispersions and plastics.
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Shaun has a BA degree in Chemistry from the University of Willamette.
Mike Oberski
Technical Sales Manager
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Mr. Oberski joined Brilliant in 2023 bringing a solid background and more than twenty-eight years of experience in pigments and printing inks. Mike has held positions of Chemist and Sr. Chemist at Flint Ink, their digital ink division Jetrion/EFI, and Dart Container. He also worked at BASF/Sun Chemical as Technical Industry Manager, Pigments for Inks
Mike holds a BS degree in Polymers & Coating Technology from Eastern Michigan University, has eight patents in printing ink technology and has an additional nine patents pending. He is the 2022 recipient of the NAPIM Technical Associate Member (TAM) Service Award for contributions to success and support of the Printing Ink Industry.
Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mike is focused on supporting and managing our US and Canadian distribution network.