David C. Ferst
PRINCIPAL / OWNER
David grew up in a large family that lived in several countries throughout North and South America including Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. After graduating with a degree in Economics and Finance from the University of California Santa Barbara and University of California Santa Cruz, David pursued a sales and business development career with several Hi-Tech companies including Netscape, BEA Systems, and Exodus Communications. In 2005 David joined forces with his best friend Lance to pursue their passion for unique woods and re-build Arc Wood & Timbers, founded by their great friend Aaron Martin. David currently resides in Marin County with his wife Melissa, two boys Logan and Mateo, daughter Evelyn, and his dog Kevin. When he is not hanging out with his family or schlepping wood, David can be found playing guitar or enjoying a variety of sports such as surfing, golfing, skiing, and mountain biking.
Lance R. Karnan
PRINCIPAL / OWNER
A native to Northern California, Lance’s interest in construction and wood started at an early age while working as an apprentice on his Dad’s commercial and residential projects throughout the Bay Area. After graduating from the University of San Diego with a degree in Business & Marketing, he moved to San Francisco where for the next 10 years worked within the high tech sector in contract, sales & management roles at both Oracle Corporation & Exodus Communications. After leaving high tech in 2003, Lance spent the following year traveling through Europe, southern Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. It was during his time abroad that he committed to make a career change to pursue a livelihood that he could be passionate about. Lance wanted to grow a company that at its core produced something tangible that could be appreciated from the moment it was delivered to the client. Upon returning home, he reunited with his close childhood friend David Ferst to pursue a career rebuilding Arc Wood & Timbers which was initially founded by their dear friend Aaron Martin. Lance currently lives in San Rafael with his son Luke and daughter Cassidi. In addition to exploring for rare and cool woods, Lance also enjoys spending time skiing, golfing, mountain biking & paddle boarding in the SF Bay.
Aaron Martin (1971 – 2002)
FOUNDER
In founding the company, Aaron discovered a way to combine his greatest passions in life. Aaron’s greatest love was for the mountains. He was a deeply respected mountaineer with many first alpine ski descents to his credit. He was also a dedicated carpenter and had a background in architecture which inspired his passion for the beauty of wood and its infinite uses. While working as a ski guide for Points North Heli Service in Alaska, Aaron and some friends flew by helicopter to a remote beach in Southeast Alaska. There they discovered a vast coastline that was covered with thousands of gigantic trees that had washed ashore. The thought of salvaging these old growth logs was the beginning of an idea which eventually formed Arc Wood & Timbers. On Monday April 8, 2002, Aaron Martin died on Mount St. Elias in Alaska. Aaron’s goal was not just to summit St. Elias, but to ski the 18,008 foot mountain all the way down to sea level. Aaron reached the summit in the evening of April 8th, and was descending the face of the mountain when he fell 2000 feet to his death. We all miss Aaron greatly and are thankful for having the opportunity to have been a part of his life.
Carlos F. Aguilar
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Carlos is originally from El Salvador but grew-up in San Francisco’s Mission District. After graduating from Lowell High School, Carlos was the first of his family to earn a college degree in Architectural Studies from the University of California in Santa Cruz. Before joining Arc, for almost five years Carlos coordinated communications between contractors and architects at ROMA Design group, as well as handled construction sample submittal shipments and RFIs. Carlos is also the director for his local church’s Pathfinder club, where he leads his church youth on camp-outs, sports, crafts, and community service activities. Carlos and his wife Abigail live in the north bay city of Vallejo with their three children, Sofia Daphne, and Matthew. When Carlos isn’t tending to his vegetable garden, harvesting tomatoes and zucchini, you can find him in his garage working on a new coffee table or bench.
Will Oswald
CONTROLLER
Will was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended college in Southern California. Will also served in the United States Air Force as a firefighter in the first Gulf War. He was awarded the Joint Service Achievement Medal by the United States Secretary of Defense for a heroic rescue of 75 people trapped in a burning aircraft. Will went on to earn multiple awards for life saving measures during his 20 year career in the fire service as a Firefighter Paramedic with the San Francisco Fire Department. The Fire Department’s schedule of working 2/24 hour shifts per week allowed Will to concurrently pursue a career in the construction industry. In 1992 he was hired as the business manager and controller for a highly successful Bay Area construction company and over the next 15 years helped develop and grow it into one of San Francisco’s premier builders in both residential and commercial construction. Will joined Arc Wood & Timbers in February of 2014 as the Controller responsible for managing all financial operations and bookkeeping. Will lives with his wife and three daughters in San Anselmo, California. Outside of the office, Will enjoys golfing, fishing, and hanging out with his family.
Luiz Castanheira Jr
LOGISTICS COORDINATOR
Luiz grew up in a small community in Brazil and came to United States with his family looking for a better life opportunity. Before joining Arc, Luiz worked at Uber HQ as an Account Executive and Operations. Luiz and his wife Luana live in Larkspur with their two children, Nicholas and Noah. Luiz plays competitive soccer and loves to hangout with family and friends on weekends.