Why Orbis. Why Now.
Nearly 30 years after the introduction of the first modern electric vehicle, EVs represent just 1% of the automobiles on the road. Even with the most favorable EV projections, the world still faces a transportation emissions gap that will add gigatons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year. Orbis Electric is positioned to rapidly transform markets that depend on permanent magnet motors with a modular tunable axial flux motor that delivers unrivaled performance with extraordinary cost savings, weight, torque, and CO2 advantages.
Speeding the Transition to Low Carbon Mobility
Orbis Electric is the designer and creator of lightweight axial flux motors engineered to radically accelerate the global transition to low carbon mobility solutions. Our guiding principle is hyper-efficiency, resulting in affordable solutions that bring both immediate and lasting benefits to consumers, OEMs, and the planet itself.
The OE Team
Orbis Electric got here by design. With a collaborative team of electric vehicle, aerospace, motor sports, fabrication, and environmental experts, we spent years developing and perfecting the in-wheel motor option for global EV adoption.
TEAM
Orbis Electric was founded by people with extensive experience and obsessive interest in design innovation, energy efficiency, and real-world solutions.
Marcus Hays Founder, CTO
Marcus is an electric vehicle veteran, dating back to the early days of the influential CALSTART Advanced Transportation Hatchery in Burbank, CA. His pursuit of innovative partnerships resulted in collaborations with Lee Iacocca, Dr. Paul MacCready, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Argonne National Labs, and most recently with NASA. He holds multiple patents in electric vehicle powertrains, related automotive components, and clean-power technologies. Marcus designed and built the first electric motorcycle to set two land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats (2006 & 2007) and races electric cars in his spare time. He was educated as a Transportation Design Major at the Pasadena Art Center and is a veteran of the US Navy.
Chance Claxton Co-Founder, CEO
An experienced Founder and entrepreneurial professional, Chance helped lead home furnishing innovator Design Within Reach from startup to publicly traded company, and served as Founder and President of waste-free food packaging pioneer, U-Konserve. Skilled in marketing, brand management, product development, international sourcing, business planning, advertising, and e-commerce.
Tim Reeser President
Tim has a distinguished career advancing clean energy and electric vehicle solutions, serving as the CEO of Fleet EForce, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightning eMotors, and as a Board member of Colorado Clean Fleet Enterprise. Tim has been involved with alternative transportation technology since 1990, when he helped design the first dedicated CNG truck for General Motors while at Colorado State University.
Brad Knop Chief Operating Officer
Brad has more than 35 years of financial and operations experience specializing in start-ups, including CEO, COO, and CFO positions at a variety of companies. As the founding partner of Propeller Industries, Brad performed all aspects of the CFO function for over 75 early-stage companies in sectors ranging from technology to business services to consumer goods. Prior leadership roles include COO/EVP of website builder liveBooks, CEO of electric bike pioneer Xtracycle, and General Manager of Starmedia Broadband.
Allen Parrott Chief Financial Officer
Allen’s career in global finance and operations has produced extensive experience in technology, logistics, industrial manufacturing, and government contracting across both public and private equity owned organizations, including leadership positions at Hewlett Packard, Precision Castparts Corp, CEVA, and Crane Worldwide Logistics. In addition to his skills in restructuring, debt management, and capital raise, Allen excels as a team builder and culture leader, bringing the optimization mindset of logistics to the mission-driven goals of Orbis Electric.
Scott Streeter Co-Founder, Manufacturing Manager
Scott provides exacting manufacturing experience to Orbis Electric as owner of TrueForm Design & Manufacturing in Santa Rosa, CA. His education forged a combination of graphic design, welding, and machining apprenticeship, and Scott went on to develop extensive expertise in precision CNC machine shop services, overseeing the complete design, fabrication, machining and manufacturing process utilizing a variety of materials across multiple industries. A company co-Founder, Scott’s work with Orbis Electric returns him to his lifelong fascination with all things automotive.
Ethan Daniel Co-Director of Engineering
Ethan is a mechanical engineer and automotive enthusiast with a passion for real-world solutions. He graduated from Northeastern University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Industrial Engineering, and has compiled significant experience with SolidWorks, Creo and AutoCAD, as well as building, testing and repairing cars and their components. Ethan honed his engineering and leadership skills as president of Northeastern Electric Racing, including leading development of the automotive brake system with a focus on reliability, low cost, and rules compliance.
Scott Carr Co-Director of Engineering
A seasoned project engineer and validation expertise in the areas of electrical farm machinery, industrial refrigeration and software engineering. Co-author to Orbis patents.
ADVISORY BOARD
Larry Brilliant
Larry is a renowned epidemiologist, technologist, and philanthropist, credited for leading the global eradication of smallpox and polio with the World Health Organization. He co-founded the Seva foundation treating blindness, led Google’s worldwide philanthropy efforts, serves as a CNN Medical Analyst, and was named to TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People 2008. Larry is currently Senior Counselor for The Skoll Foundation, which catalyzes transformational change by investing in, connecting, and championing social innovators to advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
Mark Cunningham
Mark is an active investor, operator, and developer of major U.S. real estate properties, including ground-up renovation and build-to-suit projects for clients including Jiffy Lube, Camping World, Rite Aid, and Planet Fitness. Mark brokered more than $2 billion worth of transactions in his career as real-estate broker and has been an active investor in early-stage bio science and technology companies. An avid philanthropist, Mark has served as an advisor or board member for several non-profit organizations.
Susan Gladwin
Susan is a business executive and entrepreneur with unique collective expertise in technology, market strategy, and climatetech. Her work spans leadership roles at large brands, including Apple and Autodesk, and advising early stage climatetech companies including renewable energy financer 10Power, and electric vehicle incentivizer EVLife. A frequent speaker, published author, and former faculty member at the CCA MBA in Design Strategy, Susan is currently a Senior Consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office.
Dr. Detlev Mohr
Detlev brings international experience and professional expertise from the automotive industry, developing strategies and designing broad transformation and performance improvement programs for leading OEMs . A resident of Stuttgart, Germany, Detlev is the former Global Leader of McKinsey’s Transportation, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice, and previously led McKinsey’s European Automotive & Assembly Practice. He is currently a c-level executive advisor and has published several thought leadership pieces on future mobility and transportation trends.
Clifford Samuel
Clifford Samuel, Principal at PCMS1 Consulting, advises large caps, start-ups, and NGOs on issues surrounding the access and distribution of life-saving medicines in emerging markets and low- and middle-income countries. He offers 30+ years of commercial leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with more than two decades at Gilead Sciences in leadership roles across sales, managed markets, and global commercial operations. Clifford brings a deep understanding of the global regulatory, distribution, and licensing landscape to his role with Orbis Electric.