The Concept2 Team

About the Founders

Dick Dreissigacker (Founder) and Judy Geer

Dick started college as a football player. A friend talked him into trying rowing, and he was quickly hooked. He studied engineering at Brown University and went on to earn his Master’s Degree in industrial engineering at Stanford University while also coaching the Stanford crew.  

Dick raced for the US at the PanAm Games in 1971 and was a member of the US Olympic Rowing Team for the 1972 Olympics in Munich. In 1976, Dick and his brother, Peter, were competing for a spot on the U.S Olympic Rowing Team, and they saw a need for a lighter, stiffer, faster oar.  After a series of kitchen experiments with carbon fiber and fiberglass, they developed the first viable, affordable composite racing oar to hit the market.

In 1981, they developed the first Concept2 Indoor Rower, known familiarly as the Erg, short for ergometer, or measure of work. Concept2 now manufactures the RowErg, SkiErg and BikeErg along with custom oars and sculls.

Judy first rowed competitively at Dartmouth College. After she graduated, her coach encouraged her to try out for the 1976 Olympic Rowing Team, which she successfully joined. Geer went on to make the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Teams as well. After earning a Masters Degree in Engineering from Dartmouth College in 1983, she joined Concept2.

The family love of both rowing and Nordic skiing led to the idea of purchasing the Craftsbury Outdoor Center (Craftsbury, Vermont), turning it into a not-for-profit, and providing healthy outdoor opportunities for kids and grownups in the greater Craftsbury area. The Center’s mission focuses on lifelong sports, sustainability, and land stewardship, while benefiting the physical and economic health of the community.

Peter and Bari Dreissigacker, Founders

Peter Dreissigacker moved to California for his Masters Degree in ??? after a competitive career in Track & Field.  The idea for the company grew out of a graduate course Peter and Dick took together at Stanford University – combined with their love of the sport of rowing.

Bari Lane (now Dreissigacker) invested in the start-up company "Concept2" with money earned from her fledgling custom tile business...

The brothers continue to race on the water themselves, using that experience to continue pushing the frontiers of oar design. Peter also backcountry skis in winter, makes time for painting and drawing, and is a closet accordion player.

 The Concept2 "Crew"

The Concept2 team spans the globe, with almost 100 employees living in seven countries. We are proud to serve the worldwide rowing and fitness communities, and all the individuals who have helped build the Concept2 Community since 1976.