Team
Meet our amazing team.

Benson Tsai
CEO & Co-Founder
Benson Co-Founded Motiv Power Systems, which was awarded Fast Company’s “World Changing Ideas Award” for transportation in 2019. He also served as an early member of the Lucid Motors team, where he spent two-and-a-half years designing luxury electric cars. Benson then joined SpaceX, designing and building advanced battery systems for spaceships, rockets, and satellites.
Benson attended Harvey Mudd College, earning a Bachelor’s of Science Engineering, and later, the University of Minnesota for his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering.

Ted Cizma
Director of Culinary Operations
Ted served as the Executive Chef & Director of Food Services at SpaceX for ten years. He garnered critical acclaim at his restaurants in Chicago, Grace, and Elaine, including being named “Best New Chef in America” by Food & Wine Magazine. He attended Loyola University in Chicago and the Culinary Institute of America.

Melody Boyd
Head of HR
Melody has spent the majority of her career in the start-up space, managing Human Resource functions at companies like Hyperloop One, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX. She attended Cal State Dominguez Hills, where she pursued her degree in Human Resource Management.

Josh Villbrandt
Head of Software
Josh spent seven years at SpaceX developing software to automate the design of avionics systems. He later joined inVia Robotics and developed their Automated Storage and Retrieval System. Josh also sits on the board of Blue Robotics.
Josh attended the University of Southern California and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Computer Science.

Alexis Kardias
Chief of Staff
Alexis attended USC, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations Global Business and a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. During her Master’s Degree program, she was a graduate analyst for the USC Marshall Venture Fund, investing in early-stage ventures. After graduating, Alexis was selected as a Fellow of the PledgeLA Venture Capital Fellowship, where she spent the summer interning for an LA-based VC firm that invested in early-stage ventures, and helped founders develop their business models and market strategies. Alexis joined the Stellar team as the first non-SpaceX hire in 2020.