The Power Cordz Team
Tony DuPont is a member of the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and was raised on the side of Moscow Mountain in Idaho. He sold soda pop at University of Idaho football games as a kid, bought the most expensive bike in town and promptly disassembled it on the floor of the garage. Tony has always been drawn to science, mechanical systems, creating and building. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Idaho and then worked as a lead engineer in manufacturing and mining technology, and managed a Superfund cleanup site.
Tony started iO DuPont, LLC in 2004 to pursue his own research and development full time. The first product his new company introduced was a synthetic fiber cable system for bicycles called Power Cordz. The cables are used by professional racers in every major cycling discipline—even (unofficially) racing in the Beijing Olympics. His current project, an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) that uses positively engaged forces to be incredibly efficient and fully scalable, achieved proof of concept in the spring of 2010 and is moving quickly through the final stages of development.
Rich Rayhill » CEO » E-mail
Rich has been biking to work for 42 years (if you count his paper route). After a stint as a shrimp taste tester in Alaska, Rich earned his JD at the University of Idaho. Go Vandals! During his stint as staff attorney for Judge Edward J. Lodge, Rich had the opportunity to clerk the Randy Weaver trial and spend 42 fun-filled days sequestered with the jury at a local hotel! A college friend then lured Rich into the entrepreneurial world of wind power and, following a series of thrilling ups and downs, a number of wind farms are now generating clean energy for Idaho and a new and steady cash crop for a number of Idaho’s farmers and ranchers. Rich joined iO DuPont in 2011, after serving as an early mentor to the company.
Ben Donahue » Operations Manager » E-mail
Ben studied International Relations at the University of Idaho, between rides on Moscow Mountain. He speaks Spanish and is Power Cordz’ chief mechanic, working with many top riders who discover the competitive advantage that Power Cordz provide. Ben also works globally, providing our network of distributors in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America with Cordz and with the latest information on working with Power Cordz and the latest high-end components.
Thierry Floch » Sales Manager » E-mail
Thierry grew up in French Guiana and Martinique and attended the Aix Marseille II and Lille I universities in France where he studied economics. Thierry mostly rides his mountain bike these days and enjoys trails in New Mexico and the Boise Foothills. He also spent time riding in the French Alps. Thierry also plays soccer and tennis. After a decade at Micron Technologies in Boise, Thierry joined the Power Cordz team, developing our expanding global market for high-tech bicycle control cables.
Nathaniel Hoffman » Social Media Wrangler » E-mail
Nate’s parents lugged him up and down the Eastern Seaboard in the first commercially available Burley kid trailer until he was old enough for his first Schwinn. These early bike adventures, including a two month, unsupported tour of Spain and Portugal, led to a career in journalism. Nate worked at the Contra Costa Times in Northern California and the Boise Weekly and took several international assignments. Nate is currently writing his first book and helping iO DuPont tell its story through the iO blog and social media channels.
Yi Xie » Engineering » E-mail
Born in Chongching, China, Yi studied mechanical engineering before coming to Idaho for graduate work in civil engineering at the University of Idaho. That’s where he met Tony DuPont and began to collaborate on transmission technology. Yi rode bikes for transportation as a kid in Chongching—his first bike was a women’s bike that his aunt gave him. Yi helped establish Power Cordz’ presence in China and is now deeply involved in iO DuPont’s development of the Infinity Drive IVT.
Russell Case » Chief Guidance Officer » E-mail
Russell is a corporate and securities lawyer with a decade in law and decade "in the trenches" at multi-national and publicly-traded corporations. He has served as in-house counsel, director of international business development, vice president of mergers & acquisitions and as a board member of private and public companies. Russell has traveled the world helping great companies like Scientific Atlanta, BellSouth and Concert expand their businesses, and recently worked at Virgin Mobile Latin America, helping to launch a regional, eight-country mobile business. Russell now lives happily in Boise, Idaho, instead of that airline seat 12A, where he helps build and expand businesses, evaluating business models and creating strategic plans and structuring complex, multi-party ventures and partnerships in many arenas.
Mark Fackrell » CFO » E-mail
Mark Fackrell has a diversity of experience in the manufacturing, construction and high-tech industries. He has extensive experience establishing financial systems for companies seeking investment capital. He has provided guidance establishing strategic plans for these businesses and assisting with execution of these plans from a strategic and operational perspective.
Mark has previously served as a Controller and CFO and has held senior positions managing finance, sales and operations. His areas of expertise include servicing external stakeholder relationships, managing risk, treasury management, creation of accounting and control systems and the integration of finance and operation strategy. He holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting and an MBA, both from Boise State University.