A side view of a Zach riding the Civ in NYC.

Our Team

A global team of designers, engineers, and technologists have come together to realize the vision of Civilized Cycles. Our mission is to build the most ‘civilized’ ebikes in the world, for the world.

We are proud members of New Lab, a community of over 800 engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors applying transformative technologies to health, environment, media, cities, and infrastructure.

Zachary Schieffelin

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Zach is a lifelong rider, mechanic, and builder. Founder and CEO of Vespa Soho (largest Vespa dealer in the U.S. after 3 years of operation), he has twelve years experience in scooter, motorcycle, and bicycle retail sales, service and management.

He has eight years experience with ebikes and electric motorcycles and is a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business. Zach is based in Portland, OR and NY, NY.

Marc Liu

Chief Revenue Officer

Marc Liu  spearheads Civilized Cycles’ go-to-market strategy, overseeing all aspects of sales and business development. Marc brings over a decade of brand and marketing experience with brands such as Turtle Bay Resort, Stoli, UFC, and The Halal Guys.

Prior to Civilized Cycles, Marc Liu was Head of Strategy and Operations at ELMNTL, a creative agency serving hospitality, travel, spirits and lifestyle brands. Marc holds an Master in International Affairs from Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris.

Mike Fritz

Director of Production & Engineering

Mike is considered by many to be ‘Father’ of American ebike industry. After 17 years as Director of Engineering at Schwinn Bicycle Company, Mike served as VP of Product Development at EV Global Motors, Lee Iaccoca’s Chrysler backed electric bike initiative in the early 2000’s. He later held similar roles at Ultramotor and WaveCrest, two of the most technically advanced ebike pioneers, and has spent the last 7 years as consultant to top brands. Mike will manage all aspects of production, supply chain, and quality assurance.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University, and a Master of Engineering Management from Northwestern University.

Nick Rau

Advisor

Nick is a senior engineering leader with Nielsen, with extensive experience leading startups and the development of software products. Nick is also an active startup advisor with a particular interest in technologies that have the potential to reshape our world and behavior in ultimately positive outcomes for our long term sustainability.

He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and lives in San Francisco.

Jean-Christian Jung

Advisor

Jean-Christian (“JC”) Jung is a Managing Partner of Global Sustainable Future (GSF). He focuses on financing of clean technologies and large scale projects in Energy, Mobility, Water, Air and Carbon. He also advises Cleantech startups and large corporations with their Net Zero Strategy.

He co-founded Tarform, an electric motorcycle start-up set to disrupt the two-wheeled transportation industry through advanced manufacturing and clean technology. Prior to Tarform, JC led the growth of a number of companies in the technology and business consulting industries. JC is an avid traveler, during one of his trips he crossed South America on a Motorcycle from North to South.

Justine Lee

Advisor

Justine is an early stage tech company operator and investor.  From 2019-2022, she was a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of 25madison, a NYC-based venture studio and Seed Stage venture capital fund. Prior to 25madison, Justine held leadership positions at Lyft (micromobility) and Motivate, where she helped build and scale Citibike and affiliated bike share programs across North America. She is an avid urban cyclist and advocate for sustainable cities and climate solutions.

Anil Swami

Advisor

As a Partner at PwC, Anil Swami has advised the “C” suite of leading global brands and helped them transform customer and service experience capabilities across Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Operations. His cross industry experience includes Automotive, Logistics, Retail, Utilities and Healthcare sectors.

Over the last 25 years, he has served in various senior leadership roles at leading global management consulting firms, including Accenture, Ernst & Young and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. He holds a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and Masters in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Stuart Morrison

Advisor

Stuart is the SVP, Marketing Technology at Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. With expertise in software, communications, and current state of the art, Stuart advises Civilized on advertising technology, marketing, and marketing and communication systems.