Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbartsch/

Eric is CEO and Co-Founder of VerdeGo and is the architect of the company’s business model. His background includes executive general management experience at $250M+ businesses along with extensive expertise commercializing new innovations both within and outside the aerospace industry. He led development, flight testing, and marketing of one of the early battery-electric aircraft programs, and he was responsible for the first electric-aircraft formation demonstration team at AirVenture 2013. Eric holds more than 20 US Patents, and is rated as a commercial, instrument, airplane, and glider pilot with flight experience piloting electric aircraft. Eric earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado and his MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Anderson has spent decades creating the technologies that now enable the future of Advanced Air Mobility and electrification. As the leader of the Eco-Eagle program that developed the world’s first hybrid-electric aircraft in 2011 for the NASA Green Flight Challenge, he is recognized as the father of hybrid-electric flight. He is also one of the most senior faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he led the Eagle Flight Research Center specializing in new vehicle concepts, advanced flight controls, and novel certification strategies. Dr. Anderson is the aerospace engineering visionary behind the technologies being developed at VerdeGo Aero. Dr. Anderson holds an airline transport pilot rating (ATP), is a flight Instructor (CFI) for fixed-wing, rotorcraft, and gliders. He is also rated as an airframe and powerplant mechanic. He can design, build, fly, and maintain new aviation technologies.

Co-Founder & Executive Chairman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriklindbergh/

Erik’s MTP (Massively Transformative Purpose) in life is to escape from gravity. In 2002, Erik retraced his grandfather’s epic 1927 New York-to-Paris flight with a mission to help jumpstart the private spaceflight industry. Mission accomplished, he refocused on electric propulsion to make general aviation clean and quiet. VerdeGo Aero’s hybrid powerplants are the culmination of his decades of work. Erik serves on the board of the XPRIZE Foundation and is the Chairman of the Board for the Lindbergh Foundation. Erik holds a commercial pilot certificate, is a flight instructor, and holds a glider rating.

VP of Product Development

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davespitzer/

Dave has a long history with high-performance powerplants through a distinguished career in auto racing as well as leading roles in aviation powerplant R&D. He has led development of winning engines for Indy Car racing and Le Mans endurance racing. After moving into aerospace technologies, he was project manager for the Embry-Riddle Advanced Aerodynamics Laboratory and Wind Tunnel, taking the project from concept through completion. He also worked on advanced powerplant development at the Eagle Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. While at VerdeGo Aero, Dave has led the product development team to execute hybrid powerplant programs, lithium-ion battery pack development, research into noise reduction, and sustainable fuels. Dave holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from Walsh College in Troy, MI.

Director of Operations

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kollar-ms-lssgb-lbb-ba464a25/

Matt has a long history of engineering with a diverse background in aviation, healthcare, paralegal studies, and continuous improvement. Matt’s career began as a quality and process engineer for Perkin-Elmer Belfab and EG&G, where he oversaw all quality and process functions in the areas of aerospace, medical and ultra-high vacuum. At VerdeGo, Matt serves as the Senior Staff person leading all operations and risk management objectives regarding facilities, human resources, finance, information technology, cybersecurity, and safety. Matt is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Certified Lean Black Belt from The Institute of Industrial Systems and Engineers (IISE). Matt holds a BS in Business Administration and MS in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

VP of Product Management

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-eichstedt-580bb590/

David has a long history of aerospace business development and engineering leadership. At the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, David led engineering teams as well as business development for programs in new markets. David was involved with multiple early UAV programs including the Desert Hawk, and he also played a key role in the Hybrid Airship program. At Horizon Hobby, as VP of Air Category Product Development, David led a team of 17 product developers and engineers to deliver 50-70 new small-scale aircraft, helicopter, and drone designs per year to the hobby aviation market, requiring rapid development of complex projects. He was also responsible for global vendor relationships and had P&L responsibility for a portfolio of brands. At VerdeGo Aero, David leads the regulatory and certification processes for VerdeGo’s powertrain systems and leads its business development activities. David holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an MBA from UCLA.

Chief Financial Officer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmichaelthomas/

Matt joined VerdeGo in 2023 to lead the financial strategy of this growing business in an emerging market. Matt brings 13 years of finance and management-consulting experience helping organizations build resilient, innovative, and agile systems. Since 2010, Matt has held director- and executive-level finance roles, beginning in nonprofit and moving to small business. In the nonprofit world, Matt worked as the Director of Finance for an endowment-funded entity for eight years, helping them recover from the 2008 financial crisis and build long-term fiscal health while exercising care with their restricted funds. Parallel to that, Matt was a partner in a management-consulting firm and later owned his own firm, holding COO and interim CFO positions for several clients. At VerdeGo, Matt leads the efforts to build the internal systems to support the growth of the company while also leading the strategy for financing the step changes that will occur as VerdeGo’s powerplants enter the marketplace.