Mission

Zach Shore is the Chief Executive Officer of Hermeus. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as the company's President, Chief Revenue Officer, and Vice President of Growth, helping scale Hermeus from its early stages while leading corporate strategy, government engagement, business development, and growth initiatives.

Before joining Hermeus, Zach was Vice President of Product at Vertafore and an early employee at Anduril Industries, where he built and led the company's Command and Control business line. Earlier in his career, he worked in aerospace and defense private equity, evaluating companies across the defense technology ecosystem.
Zach began his career as a United States Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer, serving five years on active duty, including three combat deployments in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College and dual Master's degrees from Boston University.

AJ Piplica is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Hermeus, leading the company's mission to field affordable, high-speed aircraft using an iterative design-build-test approach. Previously, AJ was CEO of Generation Orbit, where he led development of the USAF X-60A hypersonic X-plane. He also led hypersonic and rocket design projects at SpaceWorks. He holds both a BS and MS degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Steve Furger is the CTO of Hermeus where he leads a cross-discipline team of engineers working to make the world’s first air-breathing hypersonic aircraft. Prior to Hermeus, Steve spent nine years at SpaceX leading a team of 30 engineers working on the dynamics of more than five vehicle programs from Falcon 9 and Dragon to Starlink and Starship. Steve has a MS in Aerospace Engineering from California Polytechnic State University.

Kim Nakamaru is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Hermeus, overseeing legal and operational functions. Previously, she was General Counsel at Relativity Space during a period of rapid scale. Kim has spent over 15 years advising regulated aerospace and technology companies, including serving as General Counsel at EagleView and Global Eagle Entertainment (Anuvu). She holds a JD from Loyola Law School and a BA from Princeton University, and serves on the board of the California Women’s Law Center.

David Klos is the Director of Flight Sciences & Vehicle Design at Hermeus where he leads a small team to design and analyze the vehicles from blank sheet through flight test. Previously he worked at SpaceX for 8 years on "anything that wiggled" on the Dragon, Falcon, and Starlink programs. David grew up in Wisconsin and got his MS degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison where he spent all of his time on the Formula of Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) team.

Emanuele (Manu) Di Stasio is the Vice President of Engineering. He leads the development of hardware and software for the aircraft vehicles from concept to build, flight, and initial operations. Prior to Hermeus, Manu was an engineer at SpaceX. Most recently he led a team of stage propulsion engineers from the initial Starship prototype test flights through the first orbital test launch. Manu has a MS in Systems Engineering and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

Daniel Budenstein is the Director of Propulsion at Hermeus, leading the development of engine systems from concept through flight. He joined the company in 2022 after working at SpaceX, where he most recently led a Raptor Responsible Engineering team developing hardware for the V2 engine. Daniel holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Jay Wagemann is the Director of Flight Operations at Hermeus, where he leads operational planning and execution for advanced flight test programs, including airspace integration, range coordination, regulatory approvals, and mission execution for next-generation high-speed aircraft. A retired United States Air Force Colonel, Jay brings more than 24 years of experience in aviation, flight operations, and test and evaluation. Jay holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and is passionate about advancing innovation while maintaining the highest standards of safety and operational excellence.

Dave Pokorski is the Director of Deployed Operations Team at Hermeus, where he leads the strategic planning, execution, and sustainment of flight and ground test programs. A proud military veteran, Dave ensures our deployed test sites operate safely and efficiently while aligning operational execution with engineering, program, and company objectives. Before joining Hermeus, Dave spent more than 20 years supporting launch, landing, and equipment recovery operations for rocket programs in the U.S. and worldwide.