James M. Phillips has been elected chairman of the board of directors of NanoMech, a Fayetteville, Ark.-based designer and manufacturer of application-specific nanoparticle additives, coatings and coating deposition systems. He previously held executive and ownership positions with Motorola, SkyTel, Mobilecomm, Luminetx, FedEx Institute of Technology, iPIX, Telular and Morgan Keegan.