ABOUT ARETERA
WE MAKE BETTER PLAYERS
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Our passion for golf is intrinsic.
Our purpose is in service to the great game of golf,
dovetailing a relentless craving for improvement with our decades-in-the-making ability to innovate game-changing, head-turning products that make better players, from the muni's to the tour.
Our goal is to meet players where they are and unlock outcomes they’ve never seen.
Our curiosity - piqued. Knowledge - deep. Capabilities - vast.
We are pushing the boundaries of engineering to deliver unseen, unfelt, and unexpected product performance in premium, aftermarket shafts... and we're really excited about it.
The Co-Founders
ALEX
DEE
FOCUS | PRODUCT DESIGN
Alex has designed the most iconic and most played shafts in golf history.
Where science intersects with art, Alex combines advanced materials engineering, creative design concepts, and innovative manufacturing techniques to develop the highest performing shafts currently on tour. He is now unleashing his own visionary product line with the goal of, once again, advancing high-performance golf shaft technology.
MICHEL
de FONTAINE
FOCUS | OPERATIONS
Michel is a senior executive with over 20 years of technology and operations leadership
He’s led teams globally across a variety of industries including consumer products and sports. From his experience at multiple start-up and high growth companies, Michel has deep knowledge of the processes, organization, and technologies needed to launch and scale new businesses.
CHRIS
ELSON
FOCUS | SALES
Chris is a senior golf industry executive with component and composite expertise.
For over 25 years, Chris and his global footprint has led and grown multiple shaft and grip companies in both OEM and Aftermarket business segments while facilitating and building collaborative partnerships and innovative solutions.
BILL
STILES
FOCUS | CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Bill has worked with virtually every major OEM and Aftermarket-shaft company as a key supplier.
Having cooperated in hundreds of golf shaft product launches, he has experience in all aspects of design collaboration: initial product concepts, prototyping & testing, and facilitating production across the global supply chain.
HOW IT STARTED
Passion Meets Purpose
ARETERA started as an idea among four friends with a desire to weave their golf expertise and business acumen into something they could proudly call their own after decades in the industry.
Alex Dee had recently closed out his 25 year tenure at Fujikura as the VP of Engineering and was considering the next steps for his future path. Alex then reached out to Michel de Fontaine, a close friend from their college days at the University of California San Diego who was also at a transition point in his career, and together discussed the idea of building a performative, innovation-based shaft company.
They knew building a shaft brand from the ground up would require a team that complimented Alex’s product design experience and Michel’s history in scaling sports-related start up companies into sustainable, successful enterprises. Bill Stiles, a 30+ year golf manufacturing veteran and Chris Elson, an experienced executive who’s worked with some of the most iconic golf manufacturers in the world, both joined the Co-Founder group to round out a 360º leadership team — among them — over 90 years of experience in the premium golf shaft space.