| Management | Board of Directors | Contact Us |

Altergy Management

Altergy has built a seasoned management team of second- and third-generation entrepreneurs and senior level executives from aerospace, power equipment and financial companies. Our management team represents some of the most experienced professionals in the industry and perfectly complements Altergy’s needs as a rapidly growing technology based company that will change the way the world gets its power. Key members include:

Eric S. Mettler, President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mettler has more than 28 years of engineering, manufacturing and executive management experience leading cost effective business operations, including general management with P & L responsibility, project management, contracts management, financial management, business development, research & development, engineering, product development, high and low volume manufacturing, supply chain management, and quality assurance.

He brings a consistent record of dynamic leadership, hands-on, results oriented management, and on-time and on-budget performance. He has been successful in two prior start-up experiences: Power Technologies Inc., an integrator of advanced power and water desalination equipment solutions, and Manufacturing Technologies Corporation (MTC), a water desalination equipment company. Prior to MTC, Mr. Mettler built a 20-year record of achievement with GenCorp Aerojet which included a division turn-around, and management of the Liquid Rocket Division ($600M annual sales, 600 employees and the largest and most successful division within Aerojet), where as General Manager he led the development, production, sales and market launch of products for the Division while significantly reducing product and overhead costs. He is an inventor of issued and pending patents on fuel cell technology and the architect of Altergy’s manufacturing technology breakthroughs and high volume production processes.

Mr. Mettler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Production, Operations, and Systems Management from California State University-Sacramento. His post-graduate work includes completion MBA program coursework at California State University-Sacramento, and completion of the Advanced Management Program, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA, and the Executive Management Program at the UC-Davis Graduate School of Management. In addition, he has completed professional education and development programs such as Frontline Leadership, American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) CIRM, the JCIT Demand Flow College, Sales and Operations Planning, Master Scheduling, Enterprise Resource Planning, Material Requirements Planning, Capacity Requirements Planning Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma.

Jerrold E. Franklin, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Franklin has been leading engineering activities for over 26 years. His engineering experience spans advanced materials and processes, rocket engine technology, high temperature environments, and design for manufacturing and assembly for fuel cells and other products. His efforts focus on simultaneous design of product and related processes to assure cost effective designs for high volume, low cost manufacturing. He holds three issued and eleven pending patents on fuel cell technology and applications and an issued patent on jet engine technology.

Dr. Franklin and Mr. Mettler have worked together successfully for more than a decade. Prior to joining Altergy, Dr. Franklin served as Director of Technology for Power Technologies Inc., an integrator of advanced power and water desalination equipment solutions, and served as Director, Engineering for Manufacturing Technologies Corporation, a water desalination equipment company, and engineering project manager and project engineer for GenCorp Aerojet where he was awarded a Technical Achievement Award for the development of a high temperature rocket engine. He also led projects as diverse as developing laminated ceramic fluid devices such as heat exchangers and rocket engine propellant injectors, investigated the application of ceramic rocket nozzles and was technical lead for fuel cell development using advanced rocket technology.

Dr. Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Engineering/Materials Science, a Master of Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Davis, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University-Sacramento.

James “Mickey” Oros, Senior Vice President, Business Development

Mr. Oros has 31 years of business development experience, the last 13 years in the alternative energy field. As a pioneer in this field, he has developed extensive relationships throughout the automotive and electric utility industries. His business relationships also include state and federal agencies, environmental interest groups, and other entities associated with this burgeoning industry. Among his duties, Mr. Oros sits on several key committees such as the Industry Advisory Panel to the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative, a public-private partnership promoting stationary fuel cell applications; organizations implementing code and safety standards; and other significant industry groups.

Mr. Oros draws his experience from several startup companies: he founded Fuel Cell Infrastructure, Inc., an innovative company focused on hydrogen storage and fueling systems; and Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, Inc. (EVI), the leader in conductive charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). During his tenure at EVI, he successfully developed and marketed the primary technology standard for EV charging systems worldwide.

Mr. Oros’ academic background is in electrical and mechanical engineering. He is the co-inventor of a pending fuel cell patent application.

Richard J. Burant, Vice President, Americas

Mr. Burant serves as Altergy’s primary sales executive for the telecommunications industry in the United States and abroad.  Mr. Burant brings to Altergy 10 years of telecommunications sales and engineering management experience, including development and implementation of nationally-distributed power generating and backup power solutions for major organizations.     

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Burant served as Managing Director, Wireless Technologies, for eLutions, Inc. of Tampa, Florida through its affiliation with Engage Networks, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  With eLutions/Engage Networks, he managed sales and engineering teams developing and installing wireless telemetry products and services for Fortune 100 customers.  Highlights of his tenure there include developing hardware and software products for government and utility data acquisition applications; developing a full service, 24/7 warranty and technical service center; establishing original equipment manufacturer agreements with four leading telecommunications equipment providers; and, developing and implementing a national cell tower hardening campaign for two major national wireless carriers.   

Before joining eLutions/Engage Networks, Mr. Burant spent several years in executive and sales management roles in the automotive and motorsports industries.

Christopher J. Radley, Vice President, Product Line Management

Mr. Radley leads Altergy’s product and process engineering function, bringing to the position 10 years experience in engineering program management, product design and integration, and technical and sales support. 

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Radley served as Program Manager for Aerojet’s Ground-based Missile Defense EKV DACS propulsion system, where he was responsible for managing a $100M+ contract with ~$30M in annual sales and coordinating the efforts of a 150+ person cross-functional team. Also while at Aerojet he performed as chief project engineer overseeing the work performed by the engineering design team, provided technical and sales support, and delivered system integration capability to various DACS systems and programs.

Mr. Radley also brings to Altergy prior experience in the design and integration of a fuel cell system, obtained during tenure as a product and process engineer for PowerTek.

Mr. Radley earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California-Davis, where he qualified for membership in the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, and his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University-Sacramento. He attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.  Mr. Radley holds a Six Sigma Greenbelt and is a candidate for a Design for Six Sigma Blackbelt.

Edward Fox, Vice President, Supply Chain Management and Planning

Mr. Fox leads Altergy's supply chain and planning organizations, as well as is very active in our investor, financial audit and advisory committee, and strategic planning and collaboration. Mr. Fox brings 18 years experience in engineering design, manufacturing, program management, sales, marketing, and overall business management to this position.

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Fox served as Program Manager for several key Missile Defense programs at Aerojet, including EKV DACS and THAAD Propulsion Systems. Also while at Aerojet he lead several R&D teams focused on green propellant for liquid propulsion and was assigned as the capture lead for new project opportunities. Mr. Fox has also lead the proposal and business development teams at Goodrich Aerospace focused on Missile Programs and was the chief engineer on several system development programs that subsequently became profitable production projects.

Mr. Fox brings a well rounded professional experience that includes Design for Cost, Taguchi Methodology, Root Cause Analysis, and Lean Practices, combined with experience that touched every aspect of the product lifecycle from whiteboard concepts development to volume production.

Mr. Fox earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis and has successfully completed several professional programs in Program Management, Value Stream Mapping, Earned Value Management, and Cost Accounting.