About Guardian 8

Our Mission

To create effective and reliable tools, training and supporting services to the defensively minded population with the desire to reduce the severity of conflict between people everywhere.

 Our Values

  • All of us hold a duty to protect ourselves and the task should not be delegated to others.
  • We owe future generations the tools, skills and abilities to resolve conflicts in a non-lethal manner.
  • Each employer has a duty to deliver a standard of security that strongly correlates to foreseeable risks.
  • Every firearm owner benefits by having a non-lethal tool to augment their personal defense. 

Executive Team 

STEVE COCHENNET – CEO

Steve is the CEO/President, Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman of Guardian 8. Prior to joining G8, Mr. Cochennet served as the President, CEO and Chairman of EnerJex Resources, Inc., a publicly traded and SEC registered company, from August 2006 to January 2011. Before joining EnerJex, Mr. Cochennet formed and was the President of the CSC Group, LLC through which he supported a number of clients that included Fortune 500 corporations, international companies, natural gas/electric utilities, outsource service providers, as well as various start up organizations. The services provided included strategic planning, capital formation, corporate development, executive networking and transaction structuring. From 1985 to 2002, he held several executive positions with UtiliCorp United Inc. (Aquila) in Kansas City. Responsibilities included finance, administration, operations, human resources, corporate development, natural gas/energy marketing, and managing new start up operations. Prior to his experience at UtiliCorp United Inc., Mr. Cochennet served 6 years with the Federal Reserve System. Mr. Cochennet graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.A. in Finance and Economics.

PAUL HUGHES – COO

Paul Hughes is The COO of Guardian 8. Mr. Hughes is a former United States Marine and was honorably discharged in 1991 after six years of enlisted service including Operations Desert Shield/Storm. His distinguished service includes decoration for actions contributing to the liberation of Kuwait. Mr. Hughes then joined Smith & Wesson [SWHC] while the company was being returned to US ownership and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. His role as Brand & Licensing Manager allowed the company to leverage its 150 year-old brand and deliver alternative revenue streams during a critical reorganization of the company. While at Smith & Wesson, Mr. Hughes completed his MBA in Global Management & Leadership at Arizona State University. In 2006, Mr. Hughes joined TASER International [TASR] in Scottsdale, AZ as their newly established Director of New Markets. His role with the $100 million company included the discovery of expansion markets and the development of strategic and tactical plans that would deliver the forecast revenue in the Institutional Corrections and Professional Security marketplaces. In January 2010 Mr. Hughes completed the Entrepreneurship Development Program [EDP] at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Hughes joined the Guardian 8 team in September 2010 and immediately began his work in industry relations and product launch preparations.

 

Board of Directors:

JIM NOLTON – DIRECTOR

Mr. Nolton joined the GRDH board of directors in December 2011. He provides a unique blend of consumer electronics expertise and high tech leadership to the Guardian8 engineering team. Mr. Nolton currently serves as Strategic Technical Business Development Manager for Orbital Sciences Corp. (NYSE: ORB ) where he’s involved in design and manufacturing of Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and various other rocket and missile programs. Prior to ORB, Mr. Nolton Co-founded IGo Inc (NASDAQ: IGOI) computer electronics design and manufacturing firm. Prior to IGo, Mr. Nolton served as Sr. Program Manager for Unitech Industries and as Aerospace Systems Engineer for General Dynamics on the Tomahawk Cruise Missile and other classified rocket and missile programs. Along with his 28 years of experience in engineering and product development, Mr. Nolton has a Masters Degree in Business (MBA) from USC/ASU and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Arizona University.

KATHY HANRAHAN – DIRECTOR

Ms. Hanrahan Joined the GRDH board in December 2011. Ms. Hanrahan is a private management consultant and the founder of New Horizons Management Inc. NHM specializes in assisting small private companies prepare for their next phase of growth. Prior to establishing her firm in 2010, Kathy served as the Co-Chairperson for the TASER Foundation Board of Directors, as well as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to her involvement with the TASER Foundation, Ms. Hanrahan served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of TASER International. During her more than 12 year tenure with TASER International, she filled a number of key executive roles. In 2003, after two years of serving as the Company’s CFO, Kathy was asked to add the responsibilities for the Chief Operations Officer, specifically, the divisions of Manufacturing and Logistics to her areas of direct accountability. 

COREY LAMBRECHT – DIRECTOR

Mr. Lambrecht joined the GRDH board in December 2011. He currently serves as President for Earth911 lnc. where he is responsible for day business operations, management, raising capital, board communication and investor relations. Mr. Lambrecht has more than 14 years of experience as a public company executive specializing in strategic acquisitions and new business development. He was instrumental in arranging the financing for the acquisition of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) by the publicly traded Saf-T-Hammer Corp. Mr. Lambrecht served as the President of Smith & Wesson’s Licensing, Advanced Technologies and Interactive Marketing divisions. His prior experience includes serving as President of A For Effort, an interactive database marketing company, and as a pre-lPO founder of Premium Cigars International, and VP Sales/Marketing for ProductExpress.com. He also serves as a Director for Lifestyle Wireless/Text-a-Day (leading Mobile Giving and Marketing Platforms) and for CUI Global Inc. (OTCBB:CUGI).Mr. Lambrecht is a Certified Director from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management accredited Directors program.

JAMES MILLER – DIRECTOR

Mr Miller is a founder and founding Director of Guardian 8. Mr. MIller retired in 2002 as Chief Executive of Utilicorp United’s business unit which had electric and natural gas transmission and distribution assets serving 1.3 million customers. He joined Utilicorp in 1989 and served as President of Michigan Gas Utilities and as President of Utilicorp’s WestPlains Energy division. Miller currently is a member of the board of publicly traded EnerJex Resources, Inc. and has served on Boards of Corporations listed on the NYSE NASDAQ and Australian Stock Exchange.

KYLE EDWARDS – DIRECTOR

Mr. Edwards was the president and a director of Global Risk before the merger with Guardian 8. Mr. Edwards is also President of International Investigative Solutions, an investigative company specializing in employment backgrounds, gaming compliance, criminal and internal investigations. Mr .Edwards has thirty four years of  investigative experience. Mr. Edwards is a prior chief law enforcement officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, retiring after twenty six years as a Deputy Chief of Investigations.