Gary Starr

With an entrepreneurial background extending more than three decades, Gary Starr serves as chief operations officer of Make A Stand, Inc. This beverage company markets certified organic lemonade and takes its inspiration from an eight-year-old girl’s local lemonade stand, which raised more than $100,000 against child slavery. Gary Starr and his team have developed a fair trade product that empowers suppliers and farmers; it operates on a “giveness” principle, as a business focused on giving. In addition to his lemonade venture, Gary Starr is a partner with The Ship's Store in Sausalito, is a favorite tourist attraction which offers visitors and Sausalito residents a full range of nautical-themed gifts antiques as well as one day sailing trips on the San Francisco Bay.

A visionary in the electric car (EV) sector, Mr. Starr led Enova Systems, Inc., as Chairman and CEO from 1980 to 1994. Initially a solar energy firm, the Torrence, California, company transitioned into America’s leading electric car conversion enterprise. Mr. Starr’s diverse activities in the EV sphere included converting trucks to electricity for Ford and General Motors. He also founded the company ZAP and developed it into one of the world’s most respected EV providers. An innovator in EV scooters, ATVs, and electrical motorcycles, ZAP was one of the fist company's to sell electric bikes to China. ZAP has sold in excess of 125,000 vehicles to customers in more than 75 countries worldwide.