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Corporate | Executive Staff

Executive Staff

Board of Directors

  • Paul Casner, Former Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, DRS Technologies, Inc.
  • Tuvia Barak, CEO, Crossways Consulting Group, Inc.
  • Daniel Preston, CEO and CTO, Atair Aerospace, Inc.

Board of Advisors

  • Arie Mientkavich, Former CEO, Bank of Israel
  • Jonathan Reiter, Broder and Reiter
  • Richard Kelly; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C.

Daniel Preston, CEO and CTO

Daniel Preston is a professional inventor and founder of Atair Aerospace, Inc. Mr. Preston holds more than eighty patents and pending patent applications for a diverse body of inventions. Mr. Preston's work includes extensive developments in guidance and sensing technologies, materials science, composite fabric technology, and ram-air inflated wings. These inventions have resulted in contracts with military and government agencies including the U.S. Army, Navy, NASA, DARPA on products ranging from satellite-guided parachute systems to unmanned aerial vehicles. Mr. Preston is an experienced parachutist and pilot with over 2500 test jumps. Prior to Atair, he founded Preston Glass Industries which specialized in the design and construction of high speed automation machinery for glass products, such as light bulbs and cathode ray tubes. His products and enabling technologies appear in applications ranging from medical treatments to spacecraft, and have been used on the International Space Station and NASA's Cassini spacecraft as well as displayed in the Smithsonian museum.

Daniel Preston is joined at Atair by a core team of creative, skilled, and experienced members, each of who contribute to Atair's mission to develop and produce critical life protecting technologies, from satellite-guided parachute systems to next-generation protective armor solutions.

Steve Chelminski, VP, Mechanical Engineering

Steve Chelminski is a highly skilled and accomplished ME and Machinist with 52 years of daily hands on experience.  Mr. Chelminski began building prototypes of his own mechanical inventions in 1954. At this time, he designed a controllable-thrust rocket motor for which patent Morton Thiokol asked for a license. He attended Columbia University, School of General Studies, concentrating on engineering.

Mr. Chelminski founded Bolt Technology Corporation to produce exploration equipment, and has kept it in operation for the past forty years. At Lamont, Mr. Chelminski had invented and built a propane and compressed air sound source for sub-bottom seismic studies, and also two core-taking machines that utilized the ocean bottom pressure itself to force the core pipe into sediments. One of these machines set a record for longest deep ocean core samples. These cores were important in filling in a geological information gap, as detailed in the book "The Deep and the Past" by David Erickson.

Although Bolt started with oceanographic equipment, they were soon busy with other products, including chemical plant equipment, (water) well drills, and pile drivers. Their most important product, the "air gun" sonic source, evolved from Mr. Chelminski's interest in building a rapid energy release device without using explosives. This invention is used worldwide in petroleum exploration. It not only replaced explosives, but also allowed use of precisely timed arrays in mapping studies.  Mr. Chelminski was honored with the Virgil Kaufman Gold Medal in 1975, the highest award given by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

One of Mr. Chelminski's more dramatic products of the last 20 years was one of the world's largest pile drivers, an imposing device used under license by Raymond International to drive pilings for offshore oil drilling platforms, primarily in the Indian Ocean. He also designed and engineered a “quiet” pile driver for use in difficult projects, such as those near hospitals.

Ganter Ludwig, VP, Project Management

Ganter Ludwig primarily manages product design and development for many new and existing products, including the Onyx program. He works closely with key technical resources, including software and hardware development, testing, documentation, technical support, and more.  Mr. Ludwig is a key participant in the organization’s general business planning designs; manages the day-to-day operational aspects of numerous projects and team members; and administers, designs, and implements Atair’s internet web site. Mr. Ludwig attended Brown University, where he studied electronic media, computer music, and programming.

Rick Zaccari, VP, Business Development

Rick Zaccari joined the Atair Aerospace team in 2005 to lead the development and management of the Business Development and Marketing Department.  Mr. Zaccari is an established marketing professional with over 10 years of experience in the defense, financial services and health care industries.  A veteran of the United States Navy, Mr. Zaccari served aboard the fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Lewis & Clark (SSBN-644), and the destroyer USS Moosbrugger (DD-980).  He is a recipient of the Navy Good Conduct Medal.  Mr. Zaccari earned his MBA from Louisiana State University's E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration, and his BA in Marketing from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Sue Williams, Comptroller

Sue Williams brings over fives years of administrative management experience to Atair Aerospace. Ms. Williams’ focus is overseeing Atair’s administrative and financial planning, Government contracting, personnel management and vendor relations. She also assists Atair’s Business Development Department in managing customer relationships. Prior to joining Atair, Ms. Williams was contracted by Amorphic Robot Works as Project Manager to oversee the process and delivery of international robotic sculpture exhibitions. She also worked as a Design Lecturer and Program Developer at Griffith College in Dublin, Ireland.  Ms. Williams has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Art & Design Education and Visual Communications from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, IRL.

Kathleen Graffunder, Office Administrator

Kathleen Graffunder administers office operations and assists with ad hoc business development and marketing projects.