Meet the Family.

The people behind the kayaks.

David AvRutick, President and CEO

David AvRutick is not your average kayak company owner—he is a one-time lawyer, was a senior executive in the book publishing industry and even founded a college. David practiced law after graduating from Boston College Law School, but quickly realized that was not for him. Next, he joined HarperCollins Publishers in New York City, rising to Senior Vice President and becoming a member of its international executive committee. He later founded a company to improve the publishing industry's forecasting and supply chain management. After relocating to Charleston, South Carolina, David was the founding President of the American College of the Building Arts. A varsity athlete at Brown University and an active outdoorsman, David was long intrigued by Folbot - which was owned and run by his neighbor, Phil Cotton - and its acquisition is clearly the obvious career path following founding a college. David is excited to help grow Folbot and introduce folding kayaks to the next generations of paddlers. You can reach David at david@folbot.com

Tony Mark, Chairman

Tony never thought he would be an owner of a kayak company. Originally from Charleston, after graduating from North Carolina State University (coincidentally in the same year as Phil Cotton) Tony embarked on a path within the computer industry. Beginning as a software engineer and ending with helping take two companies public, this path has taken Tony to Washington, DC, Germany and Boston. While in Boston, with Avid Technologies and Centra Software, Tony was able to help turn small privately held companies into multi-million dollar publicly traded entities. After returning to Charleston, the next logical step was to acquire a folding kayak manufacturer. Fortunately, he discovered the opportunity to fulfill his dreams with Folbot. Tony's favorite Folbot is the Yukon. You can reach Tony at tony@folbot.com

Bill Turner, Partner

Bill Turner's career path took him on a sharp turn when he joined the Folbot family. Since graduating from The University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, he has worked in both insurance and spent his more recent years in commercial banking at NBSC. With a family background in the manufacturing business, Bill has long been interested in acquiring a manufacturing company of his own. On the advice of a friend, Bill met with David to get some tips and pointers on doing so in the Charleston area. Months later David asked Bill if he would be interested in partnering with him and Tony to help take Folbot to new heights. Bill was thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Folbot team and offer his ideas and perspectives to help bring Folbot to a new level. When not at Folbot, you can usually find Bill enjoying one of his many outdoor passions such as boating, golfing, hunting and more recently, kayaking! Bill is still deciding which Folbot is his favorite. You can reach Bill at bill@folbot.com