Michael Barak

Founder / CEO

Mr. Barak's passion for weather and keen interest in its economic impact on the private sector led him to assemble a team capable of the most accurate forecasts. He developed a close relationship with two meteorologists, Joe Bastardi and Joe D'Aleo, whom he believed to be second to none in forecasting ability.

Prior to founding WeatherBELL, Mr. Barak was a Vice President at Crossways Consulting Group, an aerospace/defense focused consulting firm. Mr. Barak helped develop channels to market and business opportunities for clients in the United States and abroad. He worked alongside industry leaders where, despite his young age, his input was strongly valued.

Mr. Barak received his Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from Cornell University in 2005.

Dr. Ryan N. Maue

Meteorological Applications

Dr. Ryan N. Maue is a research atmospheric scientist with expertise in synoptic-dynamic meteorology, numerical weather prediction analysis, and tropical cyclone climate interactions. He is adept at the synthesis and visualization of very large datasets including operational deterministic and ensemble weather model output, historical reanalysis products, and observation based archives. Dr. Maue received his Masters and Ph.D. (2010) from Florida State University with a research emphasis on tropical cyclone climatology and mesoscale modeling of explosively intensifying "warm seclusion" extratropical cyclones. Dr. Maue has been an active participant in the academic community most recently as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research at the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey CA in a collaborative effort to improve understanding of weather forecast errors. He has published several peer-reviewed research papers and has served as a reviewer for numerous journals. Dr. Maue's tropical update webpage has been cited numerous times in the media chronicling the recent historical downturn in global tropical cyclone frequency and integrated energy. He grew up in Northern Michigan and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for his undergraduate education.

Joe Bastardi

Chief Forecaster

Formerly the Chief Long Range Forecaster at Accuweather, Joe Bastardi is an institution in the science of weather prediction. Many companies across a multitude of industries, from energy to retail, have profited from his forecasts. His exceptional skills are rooted in a comprehensive understanding of global oscillations and in-depth analysis of historical weather patterns.

Mr. Bastardi's analog approach, which finds similarities between current and historical weather patterns, allows him to make an accurate forecast, sometimes in defiance of computer model consensus. During his 32 year tenure at Accuweather, Mr. Bastardi built a large private client services business.

Mr. Bastardi is also well known for his blog featuring the popular videos "The Atmospheric Avenger" and "The Raging WeatherBull". His reputation for making bold and accurate forecasts has landed him on major television programs including Fox News Live, ABC World News, The O'Reilly Factor, The Colbert Report, CBS' The Early Show, Imus in the Morning, and several others. Mr. Bastardi graduated from Pennsylvania State University and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology.

Joseph D'Aleo

Chief Forecaster

Joseph D'Aleo was a co-founder and the first Director of Meteorology at the cable TV Weather Channel. He has over 40 years experience in professional meteorology.

Mr. D'Aleo is now co-chief Meteorologist with Weatherbell Analytics LLC. Mr. D'Aleo was Chief Meteorologist at Weather Services International Corporation and the WSI Intellicast.com website.

Mr. D'Aleo was a college professor of Meteorology at Lyndon State College. He has authored a resource guide on El Nino and La Nina and papers on how research into ENSO and atmospheric, oceanic and solar oscillations have made skillful seasonal forecasts possible. Mr. D'Aleo has also published papers and made numerous presentations on the roles cycles in the sun and oceans have played in climate change.

Mr. D'Aleo is a Certified Consultant Meteorologist and was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He has served as a member and then chairman of the American Meteorological Society's Committee on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, and has co-chaired national conferences for both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. Mr. D'Aleo was elected a Councilor for the AMS.

Joseph D'Aleo is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with BS and MS degrees in Meteorology. His master's thesis was on explosive development in east coast cyclones.

Antonio G. Riggi

Meteorologist & Weather Programmer

Antonio Riggi's interest in meteorology goes back to the many snowstorms he experienced growing up in northern New Jersey. His desire to learn more about meteorology led him to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2010. Graduate studies followed at Florida State University, where he conducted research using meteorological modeling, including simulations of mesoscale atmospheric conditions in complex terrain, and atmospheric transport and dispersion simulations. Mr. Riggi earned his Master of Science degree from FSU in 2013.

Mike Furlender

Web & Technology Development

Mike Furlender is a 2010 graduate of University of Massachusetts Amherst where he earned a Bachelor's of Science Degrees in Computer Science and Microbiology.

While at UMass, Mike was the recipient of the Intel Award for excellence in computer science. Mike previously worked with FFK International, a New York based investment firm, to create automated trading algorithms for the foreign exchange market.

Mike Shanahan

Chief Operating Officer

Mike Shanahan received a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from the Cornell University School of Engineering. After graduation, Mr. Shanahan worked as a Project Engineer for American Infrastructure, a heavy/highway contractor in suburban Philadelphia. He then returned to Cornell, graduating with his MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Mike joined WeatherBELL at the company's inception in 2011.

Thomas E. Downs, V

Operational & Forensic Meteorologist

For over 10 years, Thomas Downs served the legal and insurance communities while at Expert Weather Investigations and Weather 2000, Inc. He has provided numerous expert reports for a broad spectrum of legal and insurance cases in various state and federal jurisdictions.

Mr. Downs has been deposed and has appeared in court to testify as an expert in analyzing official weather records. He has been interviewed by various media as a weather and climate expert, and has assisted in the production of various documentaries.

Thomas Downs has earned a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Cornell University and is a member of the American Meteorological Society.

R. James Woolsey

Jim Woolsey is a Board Member with WeatherBELL Analytics, LLC.

Jim is also a Venture Partner with Lux Capital, and a Venture Partner and Senior Advisor to VantagePoint Venture Partners. Previously, Jim served in the U.S. Government on five different occasions, where he held Presidential appointments in two Republican and two Democratic administrations, most recently as Director of Central Intelligence from 1993-1995.

Jim has also been a Vice President and Officer of Booz Allen Hamilton and a partner at the law firm of Shea & Gardner in Washington, DC, now Goodwin Procter, where he practiced for 22 years in the fields of civil litigation, arbitration and mediation. Jim currently chairs the Strategic Advisory Group of the Washington, D.C. private equity fund, Paladin Capital Group, and is Counsel to the Washington, D.C. office of the Boston-based law firm, Goodwin Procter. He also serves as an officer or advisor to a range of government, corporate and nonprofit groups, including the National Commission on Energy Policy, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Clean Fuels Foundation. Previously, he was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents of The Smithsonian Institution, and a trustee of Stanford University.

Jim has also been a member of The National Commission on Terrorism, The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the U.S., The President's Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform, The President's Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, and The President's Commission on Strategic Forces.

Tuvia Barak

Tuvia Barak has served as a Board Member with WeatherBELL Analytics since 2013.
In 1982, Mr. Barak joined Tadiran, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Tadiran, the largest electronics conglomerate in Israel. During his 12-year tenure, over $3 billion in revenue was achieved under his direction, and Tadiran became one of the major suppliers of tactical communications to the U.S. Army. Mr. Barak developed strategic alliances and partnerships with some of the largest aerospace and defense companies. In 1993, Mr. Barak established his own marketing and consulting practice, advising U.S. and international companies on business development, marketing strategies, technology assessment, and mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace and technology fields.

Mr. Barak is a member of the Board of Directors of Skyline Software, WhiteCanyon Software, and Toonimo, a Venture Partner with Lux Capital, and special advisor to Kymeta Corp., and Heller Industries. He previously served as a Board Director at Brashear LP., Fairchild Imaging, and Arinc Corp., all of which were acquired by major companies with exceptional returns to their investors. His many clients have included The Carlyle Group, Boeing, L-3 Communications, ITT, General Dynamics, AAI/Textron, BAE, EDS, DRS, Elbit Systems, Schott, Selex, Ness Technologies, Vought Aircraft, SanDisk, United Defense, Mantech International, NanoSys, MapInfo, Rockwell Collins and Raytheon. Mr. Barak has a M.Sc. in E.E. from the Technion Institute of Technology, Israel.

Steve Pudles

Mr. Pudles has been a Board Member with WeatherBELL Analytics since 2011.

Steve has more than 30 years of electronics manufacturing industry experience. His most recent positions include CEO of Spectral Response, CEO of API Technologies Corp. and API Defense USA and CEO of Nu Visions Manufacturing (OnCore).

Mr. Pudles has been a member of the Board of Directors of the IPC, a leading global electronics manufacturing trade association, since 2000 and has recently served as Chairman, Vice Chairman and headed the Budget & Investment Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and Audit Committee. Steve also serves as co-Chairman of Origo Acquisition Corp., A SPAC in the Aerospace, Avionics and Defense space, a Director for Answernet Inc. and Apex Remarketing Group (ARG), as well as WeatherBELL. Steve has a Bachelor's of Engineering and Master of Science in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Michael Barak

Mr. Barak's passion for weather and keen interest in its economic impact on the private sector led him to assemble a team capable of the most accurate forecasts. He developed a close relationship with two meteorologists, Joe Bastardi and Joe D'Aleo, whom he believed to be second to none in forecasting ability. Prior to founding WeatherBELL, Mr. Barak was a Vice President at Crossways Consulting Group, an aerospace/defense focused consulting firm. Mr. Barak helped develop channels to market and business opportunities for clients in the United States and abroad. He worked alongside industry leaders where, despite his young age, his input was strongly valued.