Stockton Rush

Stockton Rush is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of OceanGate Inc. As CEO, Rush is responsible for OceanGate’s financial and engineering leadership, shaping the company’s strategic direction with a clear vision focused on developing the next generation of manned submersible solutions for subsea operations in the commercial and defense sectors. Rush began his career early, becoming the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world when he obtained his DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at the age of 19. He proceeded to serve as a DC-8 first officer during college summers, flying out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for Overseas National Airways under a subcontract from Saudi Arabian Airlines. Over the course of three summers, Rush flew to locations such as Cairo, Damascus, Bombay, London, Zurich, and Khartoum. In 1984, Rush joined the McDonnell Douglas Corporation as a Flight Test Engineer on the F-15 program. During this time he spent two years at Edwards Air Force Base on the APG-63 radar test program and then on the Anti-Satellite Missile Program as the sole full-time representative of McDonnell Douglas. Over the past 20 years, Rush has overseen the development of multiple successful IP ventures. He most recently served on the Board of Directors for Seattle’s BlueView Technologies, a manufacturer of small, high-frequency sonar systems. In 2012, Rush was involved in the company’s acquisition by Teledyne RD Instruments, a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies and leading provider of monitoring and distribution applications in subsea oil and gas production. He continues to lend his comprehensive business expertise to several Seattle companies, currently serving on the Board of Directors of Entomo, an enterprise software developer focused on post-sale channel management and financial reporting. Rush also serves as Chairman of Remote Control Technology, Inc. (RCT), a manufacturer of wireless remote control devices for several Fortune 500 industrial clients, including Exxon, Conoco-Philips and Boeing. Rush is a co-founder and member of the Board of Trustees of OceanGate Foundation, a STEM-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing inspirational ocean exploration activities and curriculum for students and educators. Previously, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Flight in Seattle from 2003-2007, chairing the Development Committee from 2006-2007. In 1989, Rush personally built a Glasair III experimental aircraft, which he still owns and flies today. He also completed a heavily modified Kittredge K-350 two-man submersible, in which he has conducted over 30 dives to date. He obtained his BSE in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1984, and his MBA from the U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business in 1989. Rush has written numerous engineering articles on manned submersible vehicles in subsea operations for a variety of trade publications, and has spoken on private-public investment opportunities in the new ocean economy.