Marcus Hays
CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER
Hays’ mission is to create technology that is practical and can be patented and licensed. As a leader, he is a player/coach, inspiring the team to deliver its best.
Vehicle background: Hays’ electric vehicle industry experience dates to his 1996 founding participation in Calstart, the State of California’s Zero Emission Vehicle incubator which at its zenith included GM, Michelin, Pirelli, AC Propulsion, AeroVironment, PIVCO (acquired by Ford Motor Co) and 200 others.
Innovation: Between 1996 and 2015, Hays collaborated with former Chrysler Chairman, Lee Iacocca, Dr. Paul MacCready, former Chairman of AeroVironment, Bob Boucher (“Father of Electric Flight”) and Schiller Waterbikes, contributing innovation to seven electric vehicle development efforts, each requiring unique drivetrains that Hays also wrote patents for.
Recognition: Hays has been a guest lecturer at the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley; Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University; was named “Inventor of the Month” by Autodesk, was recently recognized by the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry for the PiCycle electric bicycle which is currently on display in the museum’s Art of the Bicycle permanent collection. Hays coauthored 9 currently pending ORBIS patents while he’s currently authoring another 20.
Of interest: Hays also owns two land-speed records for electric motorcycles set at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in 2006 and 2007, was a Transportation Studies Major at the prestigious Art Center College of Design Pasadena before dropping out in his junior year to join the Calstart incubator and prior to that, was an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy.
Brad Knop
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Knop comes to ORBIS as he logs his fifth year with Propeller Industries. Knop has performed all aspects of the Chief Financial Officer function for over 50 early-stage companies in sectors ranging from technology and business services to food/beverage and consumer goods/apparel. Knop’s leadership at Propeller draws on a combination of deep experience in finance/operations with his stewardship of efficient and scalable accounting teams, all managed using the latest in technologies. Knop’s strategic thinking and financial acumen is essential to supporting Orbis’ efforts to secure funding and to plan for and support exponential growth.
Scott Streeter
GENERAL MANAGER & CO-FOUNDER
Background: Streeter brings a wealth of expertise from 15 years as a tooling and prototyping engineer. Streeter has developed innovative tooling and manufacturing methods to create an efficient USA and offshore manufacturing process that is cost competitive with global manufacturing competition. He also has worked as an independent consultant, mechanical engineer and fabricator for many successful companies.
Abilities: Streeter’s expertise encompasses mechanical design, Computer Aided Design and Drafting, additive manufacturing (3D printing) and manufacturing processes.
Peter Imlay
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTOR RELATIONS
Background: As Executive Vice President, Investor Relations at ORBIS, Imlay contributes more than 22 years of financial experience which includes running his own firm, Peter Imlay Associates, LLC (since 2003) and prior positions in corporate finance, retail and institutional sales as well as investor relations at Dean Witter Reynolds and Prudential Securities. Imlay received his B.A. in Latin American Studies from UCLA in 1991.
Personal: Imlay resides in Mill Valley with his wife and three children. He is an avid golfer, fisherman and world traveler.
Jennifer Buzick
VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS
Buzick has served in numerous operational capacities, including as a Security Analyst for the Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts focused on streamlining security policy throughout California’s trial courts. Most recently, she has served as an investor relations consultant to publicly traded companies, facilitating corporate access and strategic outreach.
Board + Advisors
Brandon Bert
BOARD MEMBER CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT OF AMAZING GRASS
Amazing Grass is the nation’s leading brand of grower-direct organic green superfoods. Premium drink powders are the most convenient and affordable way to help achieve a daily quota of fruits and veggies. Amazing Grass products include organic wheat grass, a complete line of Green SuperFoods, Amazing Meals, Kidz SuperFoods and Energy Bars.
David Shore
BOARD MEMBER FOUNDING PARTNER OF MARIN FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC
Northwestern Mutual Insurance (1981-84): Advanced underwriting, tax and estate planning. Advanced tax planning using private placement investments (1985-1986).
Founding partner of Marin Financial Advisors, an SEC Registered Advisor (1988-present).
Appointed as Trustee, Marin County Employees Retirement Association by Marin County Board of Supervisors (2012-present). Elected Chairman of the Board in 2015.
Kal Majmundar
ADVISOR VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY OF LENDING CLUB
Accomplished executive with over 20 years of IT experience delivering solutions to global Fortune 500 companies. Extensive experience in aligning business and IT strategies including developing strategic roadmaps, financial and operational plans, developing, mentoring and leading high performing teams, executive business engagement. Talent development. Vendor engagement and overall service management.
Greg Altmann
ADVISOR (AERODYNAMICS) STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS ENGINEER, THE BOEING COMPANY
Altmann works in the Loads and Dynamics group, which precisely determines loading on aircraft structure. Including conducting wind tunnel tests and analyzing pressure data. Performed Navier-Stokes CFD analysis and developed methods to predict lift loads. In Mercedes-Benz aerodynamics and aeroacoustics department Greg developed tools for post-processing wind tunnel data. And determined feasibility of ignition electronics in the heat transfer department.
Gary Leo
BATTER/ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DIRECTOR
Gary Leo is our Wizard.
Electronic background: Leo has spent many years working for Apple investigating problems and improving reliability in portable computers. Leo was involved in the early efforts in using lithium-ion batteries in portable computers and built an Apple II 16 channel motion control system to animate a dragon in the movie Dragonslayer. Leo co-founded UltraSound, the sound company that provided sound for the Grateful Dead for 25 years. At ILM (Industrial Light + Magic) Gary invented the famous Leo Loop.
Electromechanical background: Leo modernized Sealand container ship propulsion systems including a 10,000-HP electrical drive with SCR power supply that provided up to 2000Amps @ 200Volts to the fields coils of an AC generator/motor set. Leo led the commissioning of a 500 HP ship loading crane in El Salvador and constructed and installed 600 HP dynamometer system for the EPA in Ann Arbor MI. He was also responsible for the design and installation of a computer and PLC control for Siltor, a 15-feet-tall 200-pound lifting robot.
Bill Dawson
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Technical background: Dawson was on the Macintosh development team at Apple, where he produced the world’s first CD-ROMs, DVDs and dozens of products including scientific journals and video games. He was technical director of Xoom.com (NASDQ:XMCM) and president of Manex Interactive (The Matrix; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). He has programmed a number of AI machines.
Publishing background: Dawson has been published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry and Methods in Enzymology and is now developing the future of EV fleet management.
Dawson often says, “82 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.” (The percentage changes depending on the point he is trying to make.)
Beth Inadomi
Inadomi brings a two-decade history of expert counsel on emerging, disruptive technologies in highly regulated industries in areas such as clean technology, information technology, biotechnology, and aerospace. She served on Capitol Hill as staff counsel for the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and was appointed to the science, space and technology cluster of the 1992 Clinton presidential transition team. Inadomi led the external relations organization for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center, NASA’s aeronautical and computational research laboratory in Mountain View, CA. Inadomi provides strategic and political guidance.
Josh Holly
Holly helps tell the Orbis story to Federal policymakers. With close ties to Republican leadership, he brings legislative expertise on national security, defense and transportation opportunities.
Serving as a top communicator for the House Armed Services Committee from 2005 through 2011, Holly worked directly with then-Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), as well as John M. McHugh, former Secretary of the Army, and assisted with six successive National Defense Authorization Acts. He also played a role in enacting the Military Commissions Act and laws reforming the acquisition process for major weapons systems. As chief spokesman for the committee, Josh developed and managed a the strategic communications plan, as well as created and managed social media strategy.
Legal
- Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati
Mario Rosati and Mark Reinstra (Business Affairs). WSGR is the premier Silicon Valley legal firm. Based in Palo Alto, CA, WSGR principals are also investors in Orbis. - Maschoff Brennan (Intellectual Property)
R. Burns Israelsen (Lead Counsel)