Málama Composites

David Saltman is Chairman and CEO.  Saltman is an advocate of environmental innovation who has pioneered sustainable business development for two decades.  He was a founder of Flexform Technologies, the first natural fiber composites company in America. These materials enabled Ford, GM and Chrysler to produce automotive interiors that were stronger, lighter, safer and more easily recycled than glass reinforced plastics.  Subsequently he worked as CEO of Open Energy Corporation, manufacturers of photovoltaic roofing tiles and solar glass products. 

He served on President Clinton’s task force that developed green procurement guidelines for the federal government, and has received awards from the American Marketing Association and the National Recycling Coalition.  He was a founding member of CleanTECH San Diego, and former executive director of Surfrider Foundation.

Edward “Ned” McMahon is the co-founder and Vice President of Business Development.  He developed the original formulas that produce our bio-based foams and has been a tireless promoter of its adoption by major manufacturers, including Knight & Carver for wind turbine blades, Ebert Composites for marine and aviation applications, and Omni-Pacific for ultra-light, super green furniture.  Prior to Málama, Ned was Senior Vice President of Sole Survivor Corporation, a lifestyle company that owned Gramicci (natural apparel for hiking), with licensees that included Duke Kahanamoku, Teva and Mysterioso.  Ned supervised seven company stores and wholesale distribution to REI.  He is also a renowned shaper and boat builder, having studied Marine Engineering at Texas A&M and attended Sloan Graduate School of Business at Rice University. 

Jorge Engel serves as Chief Operating Officer of Málama Composites, a position he has previously held with Gridcore Systems International, manufacturers of a revolutionary honeycomb panel product made from recycled fiber, and at Formtex Inc., which produced custom thermoforming equipment for specialized packaging applications.  An architect by training, Jorge led a construction management company and a real estate development firm, both of which specialized in sustainable building design and renewable energy generation. He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and served as Director of Marketing and Sales, Latin America for a Fortune 1000 packaging manufacturer where he set up and managed sales and distribution facilities in Mexico and Brazil.  Jorge is currently developing a housing system utilizing structural insulated panels made of AinaCore® materials.

Cheryl Bostater will serve as Chief Financial Officer.  She is an operationally oriented executive who has held C-level positions in both public and private companies.  Her experience includes IPOs, private placements, debt structuring, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, key vendor and distributor negotiations, demand/supply forecasting, as well as financial projections and analysis.  Together with David Saltman, Bostater was the co-founder of Open Energy, a publicly traded corporation listed on the OTC Bulletin Board.  She spent three years as an investment banker, but began her career as a digital circuit designer for Xerox.  Bostater earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell and an MBA in Finance from Loyola Marymount.  She is an Accredited Senior Appraiser and Chartered Financial Analyst.

Cynthia “Kinikia” Coburn is our Office Manager who provides adult supervision.  Prior to joining Málama, she served as office manager and executive assistant to the president of Hardisty Construction Management, where she handled all legal, administrative, accounting and human resource functions for the company.  Prior to this she worked at West Coast Property Consultants as their operations director, creating all of their procedures manuals, coordinating quarterly reviews, maintaining corporate records, implementing information software systems, and tracking all contracts.  Hawaiian by descent, she keeps our trains running and tries to keep us out of trouble,  a daunting task under any circumstance.