Ric Webb
Chief Executive Officer

Richard Webb, AKA "Ric", is a 25-year US Veteran and commercial helicopter pilot licensed in the USA and Canada, helicopter mechanic, eVTOL test pilot, space operations badge recipient, the founder/owner of OC Helicopters and Eco Helicopters™. He is also the creator of US product development patents #7,213,749 (issued April 2007), #7,540,412 (issued June 2009) and #8,177,129 (issued May 2012). In September 2016, the world's first electric-powered full-size helicopter took flight at Los Alamitos Army Airfield. Piloted by Ric Webb, this historic flight was conceived and mathematically demonstrated by Dr. Martine Rothblatt (see bio below). The helicopter, a modified Robinson R44, weighed 2,500 pounds with its test pilot, flew for five minutes, attained 400 feet and exceeded 80 knots airspeed, all completely powered by rechargeable batteries.

The project which was sponsored by Lung Biotechnology PBC is the first phase in the development and production of an Electrically Powered Semi-Autonomous Rotorcraft for Organ Delivery (EPSAROD). The "First Out of Ground Electric Flight" was achieved by Dr. Martine Rothblatt and Tier 1 Engineering and set a world speed record for electric helicopters of 100 knots at Los Alamitos Army Airfield under an FAA Experiment permit for tail number N3115T. On December 7, 2018, Captain Webb flew the electric helicopter establishing new world records of a 30-minute duration flight and an 800-foot altitude at Los Alamitos Army Airfield. At the end of the flight, the 2,500-pound helicopter still had 8% state of charge remaining in its batteries. (LinkedIn)

Patti Taylor
Chief Operating Officer

Patti Taylor has overseen Operations at OC Helicopters since inception in 2007 and has been involved with all aspects from client relations, sales, marketing, back-end office and everything in between. She is also the owner of Frontline Ready, a company created in 2002 that specializes in the wholesale remarketing of vehicles and business consulting.

Prior to starting these companies, she was in the Mortgage and Lending business for over 18+ years working her way up to top management and overseeing upwards of 100 employees. Specializing in high end transactions crafted unique to each borrower, she harnessed her many strengths, talents and hardworking ethics to make deals happen. Her attention to detail, common sense, drive, ability to learn new things and people skills make her essential and vital asset to the business. (LinkedIn)

Dr. Martine Rothblatt
EcoMax^™  R44e & EPSAROD Development Partner

Dr. Martine Aliana Rothblatt is an American lawyer, author, entrepreneur and transgender rights advocate. Ms. Rothblatt graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with J.D. and M.B.A. degrees in 1981, then began to work in Washington, D.C., first in the field of communications satellite law and eventually in life sciences projects like the Human Genome Project.

She is the founder and chairwoman of the board of United Therapeutics (Nasdaq: UTHR). She was also the CEO of GeoStar and the creator of SiriusXM Satellite Radio. She was the top earning CEO in the biopharmaceutical industry in 2018. As a driving force in the Advanced Air Mobility market, she recently received the MBAA 2021 Meritorious Service to Aviation Award Winner! (wiki)

Erik Frankl
Advisor, Strategy & Implementation

As the former COO and SVP of Strategic Initiatives for Astro Pak Corporation, Erik provides an unsurpassed level of experience and leadership to the Eco Helicopter team. Prior to Astro Pak, Erik was a program manager for Sun Microsystems and oversaw the development and successful commercialization of several software product launches during his tenure. Subsequent to his work at Astro Pak, Erik spent two years under contract with Enlighted Inc., the world's premier Smart Sensor Technology Company in Program Management assisting with process improvements and project execution.

More recently, Erik has been supporting several early-stage startups and assisting with fundraising as well as corporate structure and process implementation. Erik has been married for nearly 30 years and has 4 beautiful daughters. He also holds advanced degrees in both Business (MBA 2000) and Clinical Psychology (MA 1996) from Pepperdine University. (LinkedIn)

Tim Angel
Advisor, Strategy & Implementation

ZUGU was founded in 2010 when Tim was looking at iPad cases and realized he was going to be faced with the same frustration he had with iPhones. At that time, cases were so difficult to prop up and none of them took this issue seriously—they all just offered the same two angle folio that was very unstable.

As a young self-proclaimed inventor & entrepreneur looking to prove himself, he decided he would do whatever it took to create the best and most innovative case in the world by achieving the perfect balance of function and aesthetics. (LinkedIn)

ZUGU CASE now does over $1 Mil in rev per month

Ace Tarakchian
Small Business Development Council of Orange County

Ace has consulted private SMEs throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, UK and UAE in multiple industries including healthcare, education, bioengineering, entertainment & media, wholesale, franchises and nonprofits.

He currently manages a tech business accelerator in Los Angeles and is the recipient of the Small Business Development Center's (SBDC's) Network Star Award 2020. (LinkedIn)

CVEP
Innovation Hub (iHub) & Accelerator Campus

CVEP serves innovators and entrepreneurs at every stage of business – from incubation to launch to daily operation. The organization manages the Palm Springs iHub, the Business Services Center and organizes a robust schedule of professional training events.

CVEP brings together the region's partners – including businesses of every size, the nine cities, unincorporated areas, the tribal governments, regional governments and the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau – to make our region a better place to prosper in a year round economy.

The Palm Springs Innovation Hub (iHub), managed by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, is a state-designated business incubator funded by the City of Palm Springs and Wells Fargo. The iHub focuses on early-stage businesses in the fields of renewable energy, health and medicine and digital technology. The Palm Springs iHub also offers the Palm Springs Accelerator Campus – designed to mitigate start-up risks and increase the probability of businesses prospering and growing into the future. (Website)

Gregory W. Preston, Esq.
Chief Outside Legal Counsel

Gregory W. Preston is the Founder and Managing Director of Corporate Law Solutions, a Professional Law Corporation. Previously he was a senior partner of the following major international law firms: McDermott, Will & Emery and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Mr. Preston practices in the areas of corporate, securities, finance, mergers and acquisitions, general business and contract law. He has represented clients in a broad range of industry segments including aviation, technology, healthcare, oil & gas, energy, manufacturing, retail, financial services, hospitality, internet/e-commerce, real estate development and REITs. During his career, he has closed corporate finance transactions valued at more than $5 billion.

Mr. Preston's areas of practice have emphasized public and private company representation, and corporate finance transactions including start-up company formations, venture capital transactions, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate partnering transactions. Mr. Preston received his LL.M. in Corporate Law from New York University School of Law in 1983; his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Southwestern Law School, in 1982, and his B.A. in History from Colgate University in 1977. He is a member of the California State Bar and he has also served as a director for numerous public and private companies, and for charitable organizations. (LinkedIn)