Meet the Vanguard Team

With more than 16 years of leadership experience in the energy industry, Nate currently serves as CEO of VanGuard Pipeline Inspection LLC, where he drives innovation in pipeline inspection technologies and services. His entrepreneurial spirit also shines through his role as Founder and CEO of Interstate Energy Partners LLC, where he continues to expand his influence across the energy sector.
At VanGuard, Nate combines his expertise in team building, sales, and marketing to lead a results-driven organization that prioritizes safety, innovation, and client satisfaction.
Nate began his energy career with Gibson Energy in Calgary as a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Marketer before joining ET Global in West Texas, where he advanced to Vice President of NGL and Crude Oil Marketing. His leadership and strategic acumen led to his appointment as President of ET Global’s subsidiary, Propane Direct, where he successfully guided the company through a sale.
Following that success, Nate founded Interstate Energy Partners, marking the start of his entrepreneurial journey. His work there eventually led to meeting James Aarestad and the founding of VanGuard Pipeline Inspection, where their shared vision for excellence and innovation continues to shape the future of pipeline integrity management.

James Aarestad is a self-taught engineer and technologist specializing in the design, integration, and certification of advanced airborne sensor systems for remote sensing and emissions detection. He has developed and field-tested multiple custom sensor platforms capable of capturing high-resolution optical and spectral data from both manned and unmanned aircraft. With more than a decade of experience deploying aerial technologies across diverse environments, James has mastered the full lifecycle of aerial data acquisition—from system architecture and calibration to data processing and analytics. His work bridges aviation, environmental science, and applied engineering to deliver innovative solutions for infrastructure monitoring and methane detection.

Jonas Johnson brings a unique background to Vanguard. He has a Doctorate in Chiropractic healthcare and co-owned a multi-doctor clinic for nearly 19 years. As the Chief Business Integrator, he helped grow the practice year-over-year for the years he was an owner. Jonas developed a skill for tracking patient-care details for over 5,000 patients, as well as managing the day-to-day business affairs of the clinic. This, combined with his naturally warm “bed-side manner,” has helped him to seamlessly integrate into Vanguard. Jonas’ ability to multitask, manage people and see projects to completion has made him an integral part of the life at Vanguard.
Jonas has been married to his wife, Esther, since 2002, and they have 5 kids. He enjoys spending time with his family, sports, and anything outdoors. He also volunteers at his church and a non-profit homeschooling group.
A key phrase to some of the professional success Jonas has had is, “Clarity, Expectation & Direction. Clearly articulating what you need or want helps give you and others the direction that is needed for success.”

Doug, a materials engineer from Penn State, started his career as Naval Flight officer. He brings 30 years of sales experience to the team at Vanguard. The last 20 have found him focused on emissions reduction in the Oil and Gas space. Doug specializes in market research, and business development for startups and smaller companies.

Nick Gunderson got his start in software programming with a C Book found in the discount software bin at Menards. At six dollars, it was a good investment.
He furthered his interest in computing by exploring different operating systems and writing programs for PCs, graphing calculators and video game systems.
After college, he put his programming to use by writing software to test medical devices. Now he pulls all of it together working for Vanguard Pipeline Inspection, where he builds functionality and features in the methane detection pods.

Brian Benz has been a valued member of the Vanguard team since its inception in 2021. His focus is streamlining financial efficiencies and supporting the growth of business activity along with the advancement of Vanguard’s proprietary technologies. His 15 years in the field of financial services is aiding to guide Vanguard’s financial stability. In his free time Brian enjoys spending time with his family and friends.

Jonathan Carl is a self-taught and formally taught designer/fabricator.
From concept sketches to final product shipment, he specializes in all hands-on aspects of the technology built at Vanguard, and everything in between.
Jonathan enjoys outdoor activities, playing musical instruments, and expressing his creativity in many ways.

Nathan Carl is a professional commercial pilot with a bachelors in Aviation Science from Liberty University. He has almost 500 flight hours of experience, including time in complex airplanes. He is well-versed in long-distance flights around the country delivering products for Vanguard, as well as conducting aerial photography flights that require precision flying. New skills in aviation are quickly learned for him, making his skills necessary for the many unique projects that continue arise.

From flight operations to sensor calibration, every aspect of Vanguard’s process is guided by precision and safety. Our technology is built, tested, and certified to deliver accurate methane detection in real-world conditions — not just in theory.

Talk to a Vanguard specialist to explore how our methane detection solutions can enhance your inspection program.