August 3, 2015, San Diego, CA – Grandura™ Golf, makers of Grandura Golf Shafts powered by BST Nano Carbon®, introduces key members of the new Grandura Golf team. Grandura Golf is located at the company’s 65,000 square-foot facility in San Diego, California, where the innovative new Grandura Golf Shafts are manufactured.
“We are pleased to introduce the key members of our Grandura Golf team,” said Gary Beck, COO, BST Nano Carbon. “The people that make up our organization are named inventors on over 170 golf patents and have more than 220 years of combined experience in the golf industry. Their various levels of experience and expertise have contributed to the development of the finest composite golf shafts ever made. FINALLY, SOMETHING DIFFERENT.”
Tom Preece, Senior Vice President, R & D
Tom has over 20 years of golf industry experience in R & D and product management with both Cobra-PUMA Golf and Callaway Golf and five years of experience in composites research and structural analysis in the aerospace industry with Rohr Industries and Lockheed Martin. Prior to joining the company, he held the position of Vice President, Cobra Research and Development at Cobra-PUMA Golf, where among many accomplishments, he worked with Ferrari engineers to analyze driver aerodynamics and created the first Ferrari/Cobra driver which sold at a retail price of $2000. During his time at Callaway Golf, he was an integral part of the R&D development teams for the Big Bertha Warbird Drivers and Fairways, Big Bertha Irons (X10 – X16), Great Big Bertha Drivers and Fairways, Biggest Big Bertha Drivers, Great Big Bertha Irons, Hawkeye Irons, and C4 Composite Drivers. Tom holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UC San Diego.
Rob Lang, Product Manager
Rob has been involved in golf product design, testing and fitting for over 20 years and has multiple patents in the golf and sporting goods industries. Being an elite player in College and having an uncanny understanding of players needs at all skill levels allowed him to lead design, development and testing teams to create industry leading products. Most recently, he was the Senior Sales and Marketing Manager at True Temper Sports and prior to that, he was in Product Design at Callaway Golf. Rob holds a B.S. in Psychology from Texas Wesleyan University and an A.A. in Psychology from Palomar College. He also studied Golf Complex and Management at San Diego Golf Academy.
Tim Gillis, Business Development Manager
Tim’s 34 years of experience in the golf industry includes involvement in many aspects of the industry. He spent time as a PGA Tour Representative for Mizuno and Wood Brothers in the early part of his career and in sales and business development positions as his career has developed. The majority of his experience has been working with shaft companies. He has been the VP of Sales for True Temper, Executive VP of Sales for Graphite Design, VP of Sales and Business Unit Leader for Miyazaki, and most recently Business Development Manager for KBS Shafts. Tim holds a B.B.A. in General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations from Niagara University in Lewiston, NY.
Arjun Shanker, Shaft Design Engineer
Arjun is an aerospace engineer with 3+ years of experience in vibration/mechanical analysis and testing, composite fabrication/machining, FEA analysis, D.O.E, numerical simulations and designing flapping wing MAVs. Prior to joining the company, Arjun was an intern at Hindustan Aeronautics, where he was instrumental in the design of helicopters minimizing vibration in the rotors. He also played a key role in helping the material vendors manufacture improved carbon epoxies for the aerospace industry. He holds two engineering degrees: a B.A. in Aeronautical Engineering from Anna University in India, and an M.S. in Science of Aerospace from Mississippi State University.
Christian Cervantes, Sports Marketing Manager
Christian is a 15-year veteran in the golf industry with experience working with professionals on the PGA and LPGA Tours and in sales and business development capacities with various equipment manufacturers. Most recently, he was the Sports Marketing PGA/LPGA Tour Representative at Adams Golf Equipment. Prior to this, he also held sales management positions with Nicklaus Golf Equipment, Tommy Armour Golf/Ram Golf and Never Compromise. He graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona with a B.S. in Recreation and Leisure Services and a minor in Business Management.
Toneiille “Toni” Staples, Marketing Analyst
Toni is an organized, driven and experienced marketing, public relations and event planning professional. She specializes in managing marketing details including social media and email marketing campaigns, product development, web development and site management. She has held marketing positions with companies including HOLDRITE®, Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., Nth Generation Computing, UnionBanc Investment Services, and Cassidy Turley. She holds two A.A.S. Degrees from Antonelli College in Jackson, MS: Graphic Design with Emphasis in Web Design, Magna cum Laude; and Graphic Design, Magna cum Laude.
Melissa Owens, Sales Coordinator
Melissa is a recent graduate of Concordia University Irvine with a B.A. in Communication Studies. She also studied abroad in London and Amsterdam for two years. She started working in sporting goods sales at Jacks Surfboards in Orange County, CA at the age of 16 and has also worked at NBCUniversal. She is from Huntington Beach, California.
“Our new Grandura Golf Shafts have been in development for over a year,” added Beck. “The DIFFERENT design of these shafts benefit from both BST Nano Carbon’s unique understanding of carbon fiber and nano materials, and the collective input from the talented team we have put in place.”
Grandura Golf Shafts are made in the U.S.A. and are geared towards launch and spin and offered in five design models. The series is color coded, Green is low launch low spin, Red is mid launch with three spin options and Blue is higher launch with mid spin.
The Hacker’s Paradise TV recently caught up with the people behind the new Grandura Golf brand of shafts for a series of videos. To view the most recent videos, visit http://www.thehackersparadise.com/.
Learn more at GranduraGolf.com, follow us on Twitter at @GranduraGolf, or like us on Facebook at Grandura Golf.
About Grandura Golf
Grandura Golf, a division of BST Nano Carbon, is located in San Diego, California. The company manufactures a line of Grandura Golf Shafts that feature a heritage unlike any other shafts in golf. The people at the company have over 170 golf industry patents and more than 220 years of combined experience in the golf industry. These factors have contributed to the finest composite golf shafts ever made.
BST Nano Carbon is the recognized leader in the advanced resins, polymers and carbon fiber industry, and has evolved to focus on nano carbon composites for use in the latest era in advanced design and manufacturing opportunities, including expertise in carbon nanotubes and graphene. The company’s founders have a history of producing high performance carbon fiber products for a variety of applications (including Golf, Sporting Goods, Aerospace, Automotive and Commercial Vehicles). BST Nano Carbon is headquartered in San Diego, California with east coast operations located in the Boston, MA area.
