THE VENTURE
ARCHITECTURE

Founder and CEO of Qu4tro Labs Forge, a pioneering platform that integrates a venture studio, accelerator, and athlete ecosystem to revolutionize the athlete economy. Forge develops and scales innovative technologies to enhance how athletes train, compete, and perform, positioned at the forefront of the sports tech industry.

An experienced executive with demonstrated success in financial management, organizational leadership, strategic planning, cash management, banking and credit facility covenant compliance, cost accounting, budgeting, capital management, and competitive cost benchmarking. Strong network with private equity groups, high net worth individuals and foreign investors.

Several decades of experience in aviation and related industries, with a strong focus on the adaptive reuse of technologies. Has held executive leadership and consulting roles across EMEA, North and South America, and ASEAN countries, with expertise in the adaptive reuse of certified and experimental aircraft and IP acquisition for non-commercial applications including surveillance, fire-fighting, interdiction, and cargo transportation.

Founder and CEO of MERKAIR, an advanced aviation company developing a new generation of intelligent amphibious aircraft under the mission to Simplify Aviation. MERKAIR combines modern aircraft design, digital engineering, advanced manufacturing, and autonomous-ready technologies to reduce the complexity and cost of aircraft ownership and operation.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with more than 30 years of industrial experience in aerospace flight control system design, aircraft parameter identification, and nonlinear system modeling. Developed control laws for the VISTA (X-62A) and numerous research aircraft programs, and PI/co-PI on over 15 SBIR/STTR Phase I and II awards.

Associate Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Software Engineering and Global Cybersecurity Institute. Director of the Autonomy, WARfare, and Engineering (AWARE) Lab and NSF CAREER Award recipient (2022). Has advised high level DOD programs in AI and strategic reasoning and secured over $6M in federally funded projects from AFRL, ONR, NSF, and NSA.