Swift Tram hires Gayl as chief executive

BOULDER —Swift Tram Inc. has hired Ilse Gayl as its chief executive, succeeding company founder, Carl Lawrence, who remains as chairman and chief technology officer.

Boulder-based Swift Tram wants to build automated transit networks powered by electricity to carry people and things in lightweight coaches suspended from elevated guideways.

Swift Tram intends to design and manufacture the systems in Colorado.

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The company is in discussions with the University of Colorado’s Anschutz medical campus to build a system there, and also plans to make a pitch to the Colorado Department of Transportation to have the systems included in future I-25 and I-70 improvement projects, said Becky English, director of business development and sustainability.

Gayl became involved with Swift Tram when she was assigned to the company as a volunteer mentor during the 2012 Cleantech Open, in which Swift Tram was a regional semifinalist. After that she led the company’s advisory board and was elected a company director in March.

Gayl previously cofounded OneRain Inc. in 1992, a company that provides solutions for agencies to manage water, including flood warning, dam safety and operations, stormwater and wastewater operations. Gayl served as OneRain’s CEO and continues as OneRain’s board chairwoman.

Previously, Gayl worked in software development and marketing at Longmont-based Intrado Inc., which provides public safety information systems and 911 services.

Swift Tram’s executive team includes chief strategy officer Elaine Thorndike, former CEO of the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology, now called Manufacturer’s Edge, who leads the company’s strategic priorities, and chief executive John Murino, who has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Storage Technology Corp., which since was purchased by Oracle Corp. Graham Hill of 21Wheels serves as marketing director.