BURBANK : Gage to Head Group on Electric Vehicles
A Burbank-based consortium created to promote the production of electric vehicles has appointed Michael Gage, chairman of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Commission, to be the group’s first permanent president and chief executive officer.
“I’m excited as heck about it,” Gage said Monday about his appointment to lead CALSTART.
The CALSTART board of directors also announced Monday that it had appointed Glen Perry, a retired Air Force colonel, as chief operating officer.
Gage said he will step down from his volunteer post with DWP to head the consortium effective Nov. 9. Gage is a former assemblyman and aide to Mayor Tom Bradley.
Perry served as commander of Los Angeles Air Force Base from 1988 to 1992. He was also professor of aerospace studies at Loyola Marymount University from 1985 to 1988.
Gage takes over for Lon Bell, who has acted as interim president since the consortium opened its doors in June. Bell is president of Amerigon Inc., an electric vehicle component manufacturing firm based in Monrovia.
Bell will continue to serve on CALSTART’s board of directors and will manage its efforts to produce a showcase electric vehicle.
The consortium is in a 155,000-square-foot building donated by Lockheed Corp. near the Burbank Airport. It serves mostly as a research and design center to help other companies, including automobile manufacturers, produce electric vehicles and components.
