Frederick B Sontag

Bio

Frederick "Rick" Sontag was born and raised in Long Beach, California. After graduation, Rick worked in a variety of sales and marketing positions for companies in the scientific, medical and industrial fields. At age 36 he left the safety of a permanent job and, with the help of two venture capital companies, purchased a small aviation components company in Rockford, Illinois. That company, Unison Industries, grew from 65 employees to nearly 1,500 employees over the course of the next 20 years and became a market leader in aviation engine components. In 2002, Rick sold the company to General Electric. Rick is a past Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Director of the "Be a Pilot" program. He is also a Trustee of Harvey Mudd College and the president of The Sontag Foundation, a charitable foundation to promote advancements in brain cancer research. He received a B.S. in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, a M.S. in Physics from the University of Nevada at Reno, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.