Augmented Reality Motorcycle Helmet Startup Skully Hires Former HTC, Ducati Execs

New leadership is coming to the augmented reality startup Skully whose strikingly cool $1,499 AR-1 motorcycle helmet is continuing to ship to early backers. Today, the company officially announced that they have brought Martin Fichter on as COO and Andrew Williams on as VP of Finance.

Fichter joins as COO after a couple years at DxO Labs where he was SVP of Product and Operations. Before that Fichter spent almost four years on the executive team at HTC America, including a stint as Interim President. “[Fichter’s] extensive experience within the consumer electronics industry will be invaluable to SKULLY as it broadens its product portfolio and focuses on supply chain optimization,” a release from the company details.

SkullyCOO

COO Martin Fichter

SkullyCFO

VP of Finance Andrew Williams

Skully’s appointment of Andrew Williams as VP of Finance was also announced, though according to Williams’s LinkedIn page he has been with the company since this past September. Previous to joining Skully, Williams was CFO at a place that knows motorcycles pretty well, Ducati North America.

Skully’s AR-1 helmet gives riders a variety of hands-free services, allowing them to utilize GPS navigation, make calls, listen to tunes, and check their blind spots via a wide-angle rear-view camera display all through the helmet screen.

The company gathered attention in August 2014 when its crowdfunding efforts on Indiegogo became the platform’s most successful technology campaign to date, raising nearly $2.5 million from just under 2,000 backers.

The San Francisco-based company has also raised $12.5 million to date from investors, including most recently an $11 million Series A last February led by Intel Capital and Walden Riverwood Ventures.

“Martin and Andy are great people and an excellent addition to the leadership team,” said Skully CEO Marcus Weller in a statement. “Both bring the tools and methods to facilitate our next phase of growth.”