Ryan Wilson -President
Predator Motorsports, Inc. was started by Ryan twelve years ago, following in the footsteps of his forefathers by creating and developing a strong company that serves the needs of our Customers, Military Personnel, and the Hummer Community.
Ryan Wilson was born into a long lineage of Military and Government contractors and political figures. In the 18th Century, his family from his mother’s side left Berlin for South Africa. Later a distant relative Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger became the president of South Africa. Years later on the outbreak of World War 2 his grandfather Willard Carl Kruger led a key role for the war as a government contractor. Willard began work on a secret project with his close personal friend J. Robert Oppenheimer called the Manhattan Project. His father’s side immigrated from England and was part of both World Wars as well as the Vietnam War. Weeks after 9/11 Predator was contracted to develop extended range system for HMMWV’s leading the war in Baghdad. Within hours prototype systems were developed and sent out for approval resulting in thousands of units being implemented for our armed forces.
Today, Predator Motorsports, Inc. boasts locations worldwide with extensive work in both the commercial and military market segments. Ryan resides in San Diego with his wife and three children. An avid outdoorsman and thrill seeker, he is constantly chasing the next thrill, including Scuba Diving, Blue Water Spear Fishing 100 miles off shore, live fire testing with several of his special forces friends or surfing 15’ North Shore waves. Whether the challenge is to create a cost effective braking solution for the military or finding the nerve to go shark diving off the California coast, he is up for it.
Dan Wilson -Vice President, CFO
Dan Wilson went to work full time as a partner at Predator in 2001 after quitting his long run as a Test Pilot for top secret government jets. Dan began flying in the Navy during the Vietnam War. After the service, he joined McDonald Douglas’s Apache Attack Helicopter Program. At the end of the test phase, Dan was one of two pilots that walked away alive out of a group of 6 highly-skilled pilots that went into the program. He then went to work for some of the largest aviation defense contractors in the industry as a test pilot. As a graduate of Pepperdine University, he received his bachelor’s degree in Aviation and currently holds FAA licenses as an Airline Transport Pilot, and an Instructor Pilot for single and multiengine airplane rating, instrument rating, Rotorcraft Helicopter and a Mechanics license, both Airframe and Power plant. His role at Predator includes wearing many hats with an emphasis on the mechanical operations and development of Mobile Force Protection Solutions. Additionally, he is one of the lead instructors on the Predator Tac-Ops Tactical Off-road Course for SOCOM.
Nyela Wilson -Human Resources, Accountant
A.K.A.- The Angry Accountant. Nyela’s role as controller is to manage the long term financial budgeting of Predator. She has two degrees through Cal State San Marcos and is continuing her education through additional programs. In her free time, Nyela enjoys scuba diving, playing the piano, playing softball, and challenging herself to try new things.
Kathie Omundson -Accounting
Kathie is the “newbie” her at Predator, although she has been working in accounting for years. We are teaching her the ropes when it comes to Hummers. However, Kathie has been enjoying off-roading for years, in Glamis and Ocotillo. She can be found on weekends enjoying the sun, either out exploring in the desert, on the lake in Havasu, or riding bikes with her family.
Cory Purvis -Operations Manager/Sales Manager
Cory graduated Biola University with a B.S. in Organizational Leadership in 2006. He is married with three children, 2 girls, and 1 boy. He also enjoys spending time surfing, riding dirt bikes, and coaching his kid’s sports. Cory also enjoys supporting his wife’s participation in various marathons, and spending his lunches with the Predator Crew on local Mountain Bike Trails.
Jeff Orr -Tac-Ops Lead Instructor
Jeff Orr is an avid off-roader and family man. Married with 4 children, Jeff has grown up in the Southern California Off-road Industry and is typically found in some remote desert with his family, if we’re not running a Tac-Ops Off-road Course for SOCOM. Before coming to Predator, Jeff ran his family’s business called WORR Game Products, which was the industry leader in high-end Paint Ball Guns until it was bought out by K2. Jeff runs his personal Predator Duramax Conversion H1 Wagon for all of his off-roading, including for the Tac-Ops Course. He has the power turned up on his H1 to around 650hp and over 1200ft/lbs of torque.
Jaap VanRyn -Tac-Ops Instructor, Engineer
Jaap grew up on the east coast off-roading in the back-woods of South Carolina. As an Aerospace Engineer by trade, Jaap is very technically oriented. He adds a unique approach to our Tactical Off-road Course by giving specific details such as calculating payloads, breakover angles, pulling mass and navigation in an easy to understand format that non-engineers can understand. His experience as a technical off-road instructor is unmatched. We are always amazed at the technical knowledge Jaap adds to the Tac-Ops Course. Additionally, Jaap is our lead engineer at Predator Motorsports, Inc. When our SOCOM course is not running, he is typically buried in R&D Data on the latest projects. Jaap is
married with two kids and an avid shooter and gun collector. When he has an extra few hours you can find him out shooting at the range.
Jeff Aguire -Shop Foreman-Master Technician
At a young age, Jeff grew up with a wrench in his hand since both grandfathers and father handed down their skills to him. He has been a Professional Technician for over 14 years and is certified by just about every agency out there. He is an extreme perfectionist by nature and will not start a project unless it can be done 100% to his and Predator’s specs. You are guaranteed not to see a finer Hummer technician than Jeff. Jeff is married with two children who will no doubt be handed down the technical gift that runs in his family. In the little spare time he has, you will typically see him riding his Enduro bike, playing basketball or rooting on the San Diego Chargers.
Francisco “Chito” Bernal -Technician
Chito is the life of the party here at Predator. He is actively involved in all aspects of Hummer Service, Conversions and Off-roading. His claim to fame is he can remove a Hummer body in 2.5 hours and will out eat anyone when it comes to Pizza! Chito recently got married and has a daughter on the way. We at Predator can’t wait for the new addition to the Predator Family! When weekends come, Chito is usually found in the mountains riding his street bike or out in the desert off-roading one of the Hummers or his dirt bike. Chito is often quiet, but is highly-skilled when it comes to off-roading. Never underestimate his abilities when running a Hummer through a tight pass!
Sen Saefong -Technician
Sen is a huge asset here at Predator. He came from the Marine Corps as a Certified HMMWV Technician. Sen spent several deployments in Iraq where he learned the operations of the HMMWV platform. When a new project, idea, or truck comes in that hasn’t been done before, Sen has his nose right in the middle of the project. He is actively learning and furthering his abilities as a technician and is an integral part of Predator. Sen is also the shop entertainment with his Karaoke skills! His favorite songs to “sing” are 60’s era rock-n-roll.
Randy “Frisky” Herman -Technician
Frisky has done just about everything in his career and done it well. He is extremely reliable and we consider him to be Predator’s “go-to-guy”. He always has an answer and will surprise you with his talents. When we get backed up in Manufacturing, we can call on Frisky to run the CNC Mill or fabricate a run of Turret Gear Boxes. When weekends come, Frisky is off racing boats, cars, desert race trucks or his dirt bike.
Josh Leger -Research and Development Fabricator
As the Research and Development Fabricator, Josh’s skill and expertise are invaluable to Predator. He is always looking to better improve designs and create new products to give our customers the custom design they desire. Josh became part of the Predator family shortly after graduating from Wyotech. He continues to improve his skills and knowledge through continuing education. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding and drifting. Josh feels that he was “born to work here” and we are glad to have him.
Eric Caltagirone -Lead Production Fabricator
Eric runs our Fabrication and Manufacturing department. Eric’s attention to detail is unmatched. Every weld leaving Predator is scrutinized by Eric to ensure a perfect “scalloped” bead every time. If you’re a perfectionist, like we are, then you want Eric building your Hummer parts. Eric is a dedicated off-roader. He is typically off-roading the back roads and deserts of Southern California in his Jeep. He doesn’t get much sympathy from us for driving a jeep, but at least he is out off-roading. Eric is currently working on a “King of the Hammers” race Hummer idea, in which he is trying to convince Predator to enter and race a Hummer in one of the world’s most grueling off-road races. Sponsorship is always welcome!
Brendon Teague -Production Fabricator
Brendon’s love of welding began in high school and has continued today. In fact, he enjoys it so much that welding is his hobby on the weekends as well. Brendon enjoys working at Predator which is also why he is so highly motivated and dedicated to a job well done. His hobbies include playing foootball, driving his car, and spending time with his fiance and their rottweiler.
Ken Torres -Production Fabricator
Ken is a certified welder and is proficient in Autocad and 3D solidworks. With is fabrication skills, Ken is certainly an asset to Predator. If he is not operating the CNC Plasma Table, he is fabricating a production run of Predator Hummer parts. Ken just joined the Predator Crew in late 2010 and we look forward to many years ahead with him.
Garrett Juhler-Robbins -Purchasing/Shipping Lead
Garrett handles our purchasing as well as overseas our Shipping and Receiving. He knows whats coming in and out of Predator on a daily basis and is an asset to us by keeping the parts and supplies that we need coming. He is into riding his dirt bikes out in the California Desert. We just need to find a big enough helmet to keep him from hurting himself!
Joe Balesteri -Shipping/Receiving Assistant
Joe handles all of our shipping and receiving here. He is the guy who spends hours crating up some of these monster Hummer parts! He also takes care of most of our receiving making sure that we know where all the parts are at. Joe just came aboard in early 2011 and we are looking forward to many more years to come!
