Rich Engstrom, President & CEO

Rich has over 25 years of hands-on management experience in extremely complex  projects in aerospace, defense and the commercialization of national lab technology.  He is experienced in F50 environments and back-of-napkin startups.

 

Before acquiring RIEtech Global, Rich was a senior  manager at Honeywell Defense & Space and led a $60 MM helicopter project with domestic and international customers.  At Orion International Technologies, he led 275 engineers and negotiated technology transfer agreements between his internal clients and national laboratories. At Valles Caldera Trust, Permacharge Corp. and POD Associates, Rich spearheaded company growth from startup concept through funding and beyond; to profitability.

 

As a captain in the U.S. Air Force, Rich managed government and commercial satellite survivability programs - part of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

 

He has an AAS in Electronics Engineering from Community College of the Air Force, a BSE in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arizona and an MBA in Finance from the University of New Mexico.

 

Jacque Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer

Jacque has dedicated his career to designing, developing and delivering aerospace and defense products for customers like Northrop Grumman, Boeing and our NATO allies.

 

After college, he went to work at Los Alamos National Labs and then to the Air Force Weapons Lab.  Later he worked on vital US airborne defense platforms: B-52, C-17 & C-135 transports, F-15 & F18 Fighters and the second generation B-2.

 

Before joining RIEtech Global, Jacque was technical director at Honeywell Defense Space & Electronic Systems. There he was responsible for a $50M Integrated Helicopter Avionics Platform.  He managed a 60 person engineering team and had European as well as US Armed Forces customers.

 

Jacque’s team is where the buck stops at RIEtech.  They are responsible for initial problem solving and design to meet client customization requirements, manufacturing and quality-control and post-shipment customer support.

 

His units’ motto: “We show up, we deliver, we own it.”

 

Jacque has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico.

 

Ioana Engstrom, Vice President – Business Development

Since immigrating to the United States from Romania at 21, Ioana has built her career on entrepreneurship, service and trusted relationships worldwide.

 

Ioana is a partner in the team that acquired the company in 2009.  Prior to that, she was vice president of the Global Beverage Market at MIOX Corporation for four years.  There she grew sales 25% per year and won MIOX certification by Coca-Cola Corporation for its 900 worldwide bottlers.

 

As COO for Figaro Systems, she prduced $4M in hi-tech video system sales in venues like La Scala, Opera Colorado’s Elli Caulkins Opera House and the Oslo Opera. Ioana founded Permacharge Corporation and took the company from tech transfer startup to successful global sales.

 

Ioana has served on numerous service boards including the White House Conference on Small Business, the New Futures Foundation and the Technology Industry Association.

 

She has a B.A. in Political Science/Asian Studies MCL MBA Marketing/International Management from the University of New Mexico.

 

Dave Low: Chief Financial Officer

Dave has 26 years experience helping companies big and small manage the challenges of rapid growth, strategic alignment and profitability.

 

He became Chief Financial Officer of RIEtech in August 2009. Dave provides Financial and Administrative Management for RIEtech and its subsidiaries.  He has strategic and day-to-day responsibility for planning, implementing and managing all financial-related activities at RIEtech. Dave’s work encompasses accounting, finance, forecasting, strategic planning, job costing, deal analysis/negotiations, investor relationships and alliance partnerships. All RIEtech information technology and human resources are in his domain.

 

Previously Dave worked as a Controller for companies focused on distribution, utilities & home products. 

 

Dave has a BBA in Accounting from the University of Albuquerque and an MBA from New Mexico Highlands University. He is also a US Army veteran.