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Synthetic human manufacturer SynDaver Labs crossed over to the dark side earlier this week when the Tampa-based company promoted William Wright with a new official title: Darth Vader.
“It started as a joke, obviously,” SynDaver founder and Chief Technology Officer Christopher Sakezles tells Coffee Talk. Sakezles says he has not seen the new Star Wars movie yet, but the idea came to him because he has been watching the prequels with his wife over the past couple weeks. “I don't know why, but it just popped into my head that Bill would be a good Darth Vader.”
Wright joined SynDaver Labs in July 2015 as the director of operations. He previously worked in operations for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which is headquartered in Maryland. In his six months with SynDaver, he has helped double the company's production rate, Sakezles says.
Along with the title of Darth Vader, Wright has gained an external title as the company's vice president of operations. He is in charge of the whole manufacturing facility except sales and engineering, Sakezles says. Sakezles overlooks engineering and has another vice president of sales, he says.
SynDaver Labs manufactures synthetic humans for training in schools, hospitals and military installations. The company has nearly 100 employees and reported about $10 million in sales in 2015, according to Sakezles. He is projecting sales between $35 million and $40 million for 2016.
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