Chris graduated from the University of Evansville in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Through the university's co-op program, Chris worked for production engineering at both Mercedes-Benz and Toyota during the start-up phase of both plants in Alabama and Indiana. Chris was captain of UE's Formula SAE team in 2001 and designed the fuel injection and ignition system for the car. After college, Chris worked for Whirlpool Corporation in Evansville designing and developing built-in refrigerators for 4 years before moving to Savannah, Georgia to design refrigerated semi trailers and other products at Great Dane Trailers. Chris joined Ciholas in 2008.

An avid sports car enthusiast and active member of the local SCCA, Chris enjoys driving and tinkering on his ever-evolving series 3 Lotus 7 clone, Porsche, or Subaru WRX. Chris also enjoys 'homebrew' CNC machinery, jazz piano, and spending time outdoors with his family.