| Management | Board of Directors | Advisory Board | 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 Titan Liquid Rocket Engine 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 of most of the MBA program 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 (Oliver Wight Companies and RD Garwood) and Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma courses.

Terry D. Carlone, J. D., Chief Administrative Officer

Mr. Carlone brings to Altergy wide-ranging experience as both an attorney and senior executive. As an attorney, he has served both in private practice and as in-house counsel with a concentration on capital formation and offerings, securities law compliance, antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and licensing. In private practice, he headed the expansion of McDonough Holland & Allen's Sacramento high tech and biotechnology business; chaired Weintraub Genshlea & Sproul’s Technology and Intellectual Property Group; practiced with Pillsbury Madison & Sutro in San Francisco and established the firm’s Washington D.C. office where he focused on energy regulation; and founded Capital Law Group, specializing in representation of early stage technology-based growth companies. In addition, he has served as General Counsel to Synergex International Corporation, a California-based software company with end users in all 50 U.S. states and more than 80 nations; and Ventria Bioscience, a leading biopharmaceutical company producing plant-made pharmaceuticals for human therapeutics and nutrition. He also was senior legal counsel for Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., a publicly-traded multinational corporation involved in ocean shipping, food products, and real estate development and management.

Mr. Carlone also has broad executive and entrepreneurial experience in both public and private companies including co-founder and President of a technology licensing and consulting firm; co-founder and President of an international manufacturer and marketer of biomedically-based skin treatment products; co-founder and Chief Administrative Officer of a professional employer organization offering turnkey human resource solutions for emerging growth companies; and corporate asset manager of a real estate management and development subsidiary of a publicly traded company.

Mr. Carlone received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University. He is a member of the State Bar of California, District of Columbia Bar (inactive), and Hawaii State Bar Association (inactive). He serves on the board and Executive Committee of the Golden Capital Network, and has served on the boards of the Sacramento Valley Forum for Growth Companies, the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, and the Sacramento Region Chapter of the International Association for Corporate Growth.

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, Premium Power Sales

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.

James K. Hill, Vice President, Product Line Management

Mr. Hill has more than 27 years of product development, manufacturing operations management, corporate marketing, acquisition, company startup, business development and executive management experience, including multi-company board of director and chief executive officer experience with full P & L responsibility.  

Prior to joining Altergy, he was the President and CEO of Agile Technology/VEKTEK/ PARAGON Laser Systems, the number one provider of diversified productivity devices to automotive, heavy industry, aerospace and durable goods industries.   Prior to entrepreneurial company management, Mr. Hill served as a Detroit-based, corporate marketing manager and business development consultant for Hewlett Packard’s (HP) automotive industry business unit with sales of over $1.4 billion, directly contributing to a $38 million award from General Motors for product and services that extended to $580 million annually.  Prior to HP, he was a manager of integrated engineering and manufacturing at Caterpillar responsible for re-engineering the design and manufacture, product and process for turbines and to other core product divisions that exceeded $4 billion in annual sales; directly reducing time to market and increased profits.   He is internationally recognized by Hewlett Packard and Parametric Technology customers for transforming critical process at Caterpillar using disruptive technologies and concurrent engineering processes. 

Mr. Hill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Production, Operations, and Systems Management from California State University-Sacramento. He is also a commissioned Officer in the United States Navy holding rank of Commander.  His post-graduate work includes most of the New Venture Management, MBA program at the University of North Alabama, and Executive Management Program, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame. Military education includes Joint Forces Staff College, and Strike Attack Lead Training Syllabus.  In addition, he has completed professional education and development programs at Caterpillar and HP in Management, Sales and Marketing, and Quality and Operations Management.  Mr. Hill has extensive technology & business collaboration experience with the Peter Kiewit Institute, Scott Technology Center, and Center for Automotive Research and Association of Manufacturing Technology.

Christopher J. Radley, Vice President of Product and Process Engineering

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’s 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.

Bernard C. Stapor, Vice President, Field Operations

Mr. Stapor oversees Altergy’s accelerating product deployments, provides field operational support and serves as the voice of the customer to incorporate evolving customer needs into Altergy’s next generation of products.  He brings to Altergy more than 30 years of telecommunications technical management experience.     

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Stapor served as National Director, Field Operations for Sprint Communications where he was responsible for developing and managing a national Field Operations organization in the merged Sprint Nextel Corporation.  His primary responsibilities included integrating the merged company’s field operations workforces and developing strategies and standards for managing Sprint Nextel wire line and wireless networks. 

Preceding his assignment with Sprint Nextel, Mr. Stapor held several technical management positions with Nextel Communications including Director, National RF Operations; Director, Program Management Office; Senior Manager, Operations; and Senior Manager, Network Integration.  Additional professional experience includes wireless network design, build-out and optimization activities and Master Antenna (MATV) operations for television broadcast. 

Mr. Stapor holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University.

Al L. Stevens, Vice President, Supply Chain Management

Mr. Stevens’ extensive experience spans more than 35 years in executive management, manufacturing operations, supply chain management, continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, sales and operations planning, profit and loss accountability, sales, and consulting.

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Stevens was Director of Supply Chain Strategy for Sun Microsystems, Inc.; CEO of Oliver Wight LLC; CEO of Data 3 Systems; President of A.L. Stevens Inc.; Vice President of Operations for The North Face; and Director of Materials and Plant Manager at Prescolite.

Mr. Stevens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Golden Gate University and completed the Harvard Business School Executive Program.

Stephen P. Tourigny, Vice President, Manufacturing

Mr. Tourigny brings to Altergy more than 20 years of success in manufacturing operations and engineering, continuous capacity scaling, quality assurance, customer support and service, strategic planning and executive management.

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Tourigny spent 15 years with Ebara Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebara Corporation of Japan producing precision vacuum systems for the semiconductor industry, as Vice President-Operations, Director of Operations/Director of Tactical Support and Service and Operations Manager/Plant Manager. Additional operations experience was obtained at Plasma Technology (acquired by the Oxford Group, UK and now doing business as Oxford-Plasma Technology), a developer and manufacturer of semi-custom vacuum process systems and at Norton High Performance Ceramics.

Mr. Tourigny received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Materials Science and Processing from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His post-graduate work includes courses in Business, Finance, Organizational and Operations Management, MIT-Lean Manufacturing, JCIT Demand Flow Technology, 5-S Methods and Gallup StrengthFinder™ Managers’ exercise.

Nancy B. Frank, Director of Marketing

Ms. Frank leverages 25+ years experience in marketing and communications, primarily with technology companies national in scope.   

Prior to joining Altergy, Ms. Frank served as Executive Director of the AeA (American Electronics Association) Sacramento Council, where she firmly established AeA as a leading tech organization in the Sacramento area.  Prior to AeA, Ms. Frank provided strategic communication and marketing services to clients through her own firms – as a founder and partner in GoldRush Communications and as sole proprietor of Frank Communications.  Clients included several Fortune 500 corporations as well as numerous startups and smaller firms.  Ms. Frank spent 20 years in various corporate management positions, most notably with AT&T Wireless Services/McCaw Cellular Communications and CableData/U.S. Computer Services, Inc., a customer management solutions and billing company serving 56% of the U.S. cable television industry.  As a member of AT&T’s national planning task force for new PCS market development, she led the marketing effort for the launch of AT&T’s first PCS market, Phoenix.  As Vice President of Marketing for CableData/U.S. Computer Services, Inc., her responsibilities included nationwide marketing communications and public relations, industry relations, market development/product management, new business development, and employee communications.  She was a member of CableData’s Executive Committee and served as a founder and Director on the board of a joint venture subsidiary, Satellite Video Center.   

Ms. Frank holds a Master’s Degree from the California School of Professional Psychology (now Alliant University), with emphasis in organizational and community psychology.  She has a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with dual majors in psychology and sociology.

Mark L. Mahlmann, Controller

Mr. Mahlmann has more than 20 years’ experience in accounting and cash management, forecasting, and preparation of financial reports for public and private companies, both for internal reporting for company management and presentation of financial information to the outside investment community.

Prior to joining Altergy, Mr. Mahlmann was Controller at Sierra Office Systems and Products, Inc. in Sacramento, California, and Controller of Synergex International Corporation, a software company with end users in all 50 states and more than 80 nations, where he oversaw all financial accounting functions and supervised the companies’ outside accountants. Prior to Synergex, he served as Senior Accountant with Willis & Walsh, a Northern California-based public accounting firm, where he focused on information technology companies, and as a partner in a financial and tax consulting firm serving small and medium-sized companies.

Mr. Mahlmann earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from National University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.