About Grayline
We are a strategy and technology advisory firm working at the intersection of innovation and complex operational environments. Our clients operate infrastructure, defend networks, move people, and deploy capital at scale.
Not Consultants. Operators.
Grayline was founded by people who have run programs, led teams, and made high-stakes decisions — not just advised on them. That operating experience shapes everything we do: how we ask questions, how we frame options, and how we stay accountable to outcomes.
Our network spans military, government, transit, technology, and finance. We bring the right expertise to each engagement rather than staffing it from a fixed bench.
We work on the hardest problems — the ones where the answer isn't in a standard playbook and the cost of getting it wrong is material.
Mission
Accelerate innovation in complex, high-stakes environments by providing the expertise and analytical frameworks that turn ambiguity into advantage.
Approach
Catalyst — our proprietary framework — structures every engagement from discovery through delivery, ensuring we solve the right problem in the right order.
Standards
We write what we stand behind and stand behind what we write. No vague strategy decks. Clear recommendations with defined success criteria.
The Team
Joseph Kopser
Mobility & Technology Strategy
Joseph Kopser is a lifelong problem solver committed to building the teams needed to take on our toughest challenges. Specifically, he is a public speaker and consultant hired by companies focusing on building teams and leading change within organizations. He engages audiences with his wide range of experience in sectors such as entrepreneurship, transportation, smart cities, urban mobility, energy, and national security issues (from his service as an Army combat veteran). Formerly, he served as an Executive-in-Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. In addition, he is President of Grayline where he works with people and companies both in board rooms and on stage speaking at conferences to help companies and public institutions manage disruptive change. Prior to co-founding Grayline, Joseph co-founded and served as CEO of RideScout, before it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2014. Joseph served in the U.S. Army for 20 years earning the Combat Action Badge, Army Ranger Tab and Bronze Star. He is a graduate of West Point with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and also received a Masters from the Harvard Kennedy School. He was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for his efforts in Energy and Transportation. In addition, his company, RideScout, won the U.S. Department of Transportation Data Innovation Award. In 2018, Joseph ran for Congress in a race that attracted more voters than any of the 36 districts in Texas. Losing by less than 3 points in a heavily gerrymandered district, Joseph demonstrated that voters want civility and problem solvers in Congress. In his free time, he works with The Bunker, an organization dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurs. Along with Grayline CEO, Bret Boyd, he co-authored the book, Catalyst, which serves as the foundation of his public speaking. Joseph is the inaugural Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the CleanTX Foundation, an economic development and professional association for cleantech. Joseph and his wife live in Austin and they are extremely proud of their three adult daughters. In December 2019, I delivered the Keynote address to students graduating with their BBA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. I shared 30 years of life and leadership lessons. Click to inquire about speaking engagements
Bret Boyd
Strategy & Operations
Bret Boyd serves as the cofounder and CEO of Sustainment, a software platform that helps US-based manufacturers easily find and work with the critical suppliers they need to build and manage their supply chains. Bret also cofounded and serves as a partner in the Grayline Group, an Austin-based advisory and analytics firm that helps companies and public institutions manage disruptive change. Previously Bret served as the CEO of Knoema, a technology company focused on data integration, machine learning, and analytic products. Bret also built and led the enterprise business unit at Stratfor, a geopolitical analysis and forecasting company, where he advised a variety of multinational corporations and investment groups on strategy and international growth issues. Prior to Stratfor, Bret served as an executive in a venture-backed technology company and helped build the strategy practice for a boutique strategy consulting firm. Bret began his career as an infantry officer in the United States Army and served under the U.S. Special Operations Command in the 75th Ranger Regiment. During his military service, Bret had the privilege to lead teams on numerous deployments to both combat and stability operations around the world. Bret is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he studied international relations and systems engineering. Bret has published numerous articles on technology, strategy, and change management and is the coauthor of Catalyst: Leadership and Strategy in a Changing World.
Brandon Thomas
Cybersecurity & Global Markets
Brandon is a seasoned entrepreneur and business consultant with extensive work in finance, global operations, and technology. Through his diverse experiences, he has developed a vast network of government, policy, business, security, and academic contacts around the world. Brandon is the Chief Operating Officer at Pellonium Risk Intelligence – a cybersecurity company focused on comprehensive cyber enterprise risk management. He is also an Advisor to the Grayline Group supporting their cyber practice. Brandon has worked in both startup and corporate environments since he discovered his passion of working among “disruptions.” Brandon co-wrote the initial data strategy that revolutionized campaign politics by creating a record for every US voter (aka a “voter file”) which has been used by each successive Democratic presidential campaign since. He was employee #1 at one of the first software-as-a-services (SaaS) startups in the HR space. He also founded a social media development firm that later garnered 35 million users in partnership with The Washington Post and Facebook. He is co-author of Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Will Transform the Developing World, published in 2021 by Palgrave Macmillan. From the rise of data in politics, to the emergence of SaaS, to the ubiquitous nature of social media, Brandon has labored to build numerous businesses that understand and exploit opportunities spurred by ever-increasing technological change. Brandon began his career working at The White House and advising national political campaigns on communications strategy. He even got to fly on Air Force One a couple of times! He then went on to develop new businesses for RadioShack and The Washington Post Company, among others. He founded his first startup in 2007 which focused on the use of social media in politics and subsequently sold it to The Washington Post Company (now Graham Holdings) in 2009. Brandon received his BA from The George Washington University and his MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Kathryn Seckman
Strategy & International Affairs
Kathryn Seckman is the Executive Director of Strategy and Analysis at Grayline Group where she works with organizations to pursue the “what ifs” of industry disruption, craft strategic communications, and enable informed decision making. Kathryn (Katie) began her career analyzing transnational threats and providing geopolitical risk advisory services to Fortune 100 companies across multiple industries. She has designed, built, and led multiple teams of analysts charged with providing actionable insights to global C-suite executives and Boards of Directors on myriad issues ranging from automotive technologies to military coups. Many of the Board reporting methodologies designed by Katie and her team remain in use today. Katie most recently was with General Motors Company, where in 2017 she joined the Global Public Policy team at headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. She was responsible for leading analysis on global trade policy and tariff impacts, as she worked across business units to align business and policy objectives. She participated in national labor negotiations, wrote strategy alignment briefs for Policy, Legal, Manufacturing, and Labor senior executives, and led critical support and communications for CEO engagement in key business associations and boards. She subsequently developed a Workforce Strategy portfolio for GM’s Global Human Resources team, leading the cross-functional strategy design and implementation of inclusive “future of work” principles, including skills-based, Second Chance, and career re-entry hiring. Katie built local and national networks of public and private sector people and organizations committed to helping GM lead in innovative workforce design, employee engagement practices, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is an astute observer of business and societal megatrends and is passionate about leveraging the opportunities that exist at the intersection of business strategy and economic, education, and workforce policies. Katie is a Fulbright Scholar, holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a BA in International Relations from Drake University. She resides in Colorado and is an avid skier, kayaker, and mountain biker.
Ali Arabnya
Climate Finance & Sustainable Energy
Dr. Ali Arabnya is an expert leader in climate finance & sustainable energy who works at the interface of engineering, economics, and policy development. He has over 15 years of professional experience working with global financial institutions, top management consulting firms, academia, leading energy companies, public sector, and technology startups. He has led a wide range of strategic engagements in various technical and leadership capacities and advised top executives and industry leaders in the U.S. and around the world. His client portfolio includes top-tier global banks, top U.S. investment banks, federal financial and regulatory institutions, finance & energy ministries around the world, major Canadian and Swiss financial services firms, and a number of Fortune 500 energy companies. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed technical papers in flagship journals and conference proceedings, and has been a frequent speaker at various business forums, conferences, and universities. Ali’s international professional experience includes North America, Middle East, and Southeast Asia regions. He has extensively travelled to all 50 U.S. states which has provided him with a deep understanding of nuances in American culture and local business climates across the country. He is a Senior Member of IEEE’s Power & Energy Society, and holds a Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Houston.
Michael Arustamov
International Operations
Michael Arustamov is an international business executive with over 20 years of experience in global energy and financial markets. He has developed partnerships, led operations, and conducted business in dozens of countries on 6 continents in multiple industries over the course of his career. Michael is an expert in international business issues, political risk, and cross-cultural negotiations, and has dealt extensively with foreign governments and international corporations. He leverages this experience to assist clients with international strategy, M&A, project valuations, negotiations, and partnerships. Additionally, Michael is focused on emerging technologies for clean renewable energy, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and their growing utility in extraction industry and specialized projects. He also is working on a project involving secure communications and corporate network protection. Previously Michael served as a senior executive at Anadarko Petroleum, one of the largest US-based independent oil & gas exploration and production companies, where he was responsible for multiple new country entries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East/North Africa. In addition to developing projects and managing government and local-partner relationships, Michael hired and oversaw the firm’s extensive security and information services providers. Michael maintains an extensive network of international business relationships in various regions of the world, helping his clients thoughtfully evaluate and enter select emerging and frontier markets. He has lived and extensively travelled abroad, speaks fluent Russian, and converses in Spanish and several minor indo-European languages. Michael has degrees in petroleum engineering and business & finance and resides with his family in the Houston area.
Morgan Wright
Cybersecurity & Privacy
Morgan is an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyberterrorism, identity theft and privacy. He currently serves as a Senior Fellow at The Center for Digital Government, and is a national security opinion contributor to TheHill.com. Morgan’s landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information. He’s made hundreds of appearances on national news, radio, print and web including CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, ABC, NPR, NBC and more. Previously Morgan was a Senior Advisor in the US State Department Antiterrorism Assistance Program and Senior Law Enforcement Advisor for the 2012 Republican National Convention. In addition to 18 years in state and local law enforcement as a highly decorated state trooper and detective, Morgan has developed solutions in defense, justice and intelligence for the largest technology companies in the world including SAIC, Unisys, Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco. He’s a contributing author for the 4th Edition Computer Security Handbook, and has been quoted in 2 New York Times best sellers (Stonewalled by Sharyl Attkisson and Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallow). A highly seasoned interviewer and moderator, Morgan has helped the largest companies in the world shape and change markets through effective, engaging interviews with senior executives and newsmakers in the complex world of cybersecurity and cyberterrorism. Whether it’s moderating a product launch panel discussion with the world’s most famous hacker, or interviewing the CIO of the world’s largest security company, Morgan delivers with compelling questions and insight honed by 30 years of expertise. This includes over 400 appearances on national news shows where he’s been interviewed as well by the best in the business. Discussion and interview goals are always to inspire, inform and entertain with just the right amount of humor and wit.
Rollie Cole
Broadband & Economic Development
Dr. Roland (“Rollie”) Cole is a Senior Fellow and Director of Technology Policy at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research (SIPR). In this capacity, Rollie assists in developing SIPR programs and projects related to technology policy; identifies ways in which technology policy impacts existing SIPR research projects; and assists SIPR in effectively leveraging technology (via document management, distance collaboration, outreach, etc.). In addition to technology policy, he has expertise in information technology, energy policy, life sciences policy and intellectual property law. Dr. Cole also does consulting work for other organizations, such as Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA). For instance, he helped lead a TPMA project on community broadband for SW Indiana, and he has worked for private clients large and small in the area of alternative energy through TPMA and other organizations. He is also founder of Fertile Ground for Startups that does work on regional economic development. He also does writing and speaking for Broadband Communities Magazine. He has been a panel speaker at several of the magazine’s national and regional conferences, and has covered SXSWedu and Smart Cities Connect as a freelance industry analyst, producing analytical articles for the magazine about trends likely to influence the demand for fiber-to-the-home. From 1992 through 2008, Rollie served as executive director of the Software Patent Institute (SPI), a nonprofit that operates an online database of key documents and offers courses to clients such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has also served as an attorney at Shughart Thomson & Kilroy in Kansas City, Missouri, and at Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis, where he helped lead the Business and Technology practice. He is a co-founder and was the first president of the International Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG). In addition, Roland has taught at the University of Michigan, Indiana University (Indianapolis), and the University of Washington. He has co-authored a number of books, including Government Requirements of Small Business (Lexington Heath) and The Containment of Organized Crime (Lexington Heath). His latest is a series on regional economic development in US metropolitan areas – Wholesale Economic Development Volumes I-IV (available as Kindle books through Amazon). In addition, his writing has appeared in The Journal of Public Policy and Management and as chapters in several textbooks, most recently on government use of information technology. Rollie holds an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude; a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a J.D. from Harvard Law School; and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Earl Crane
Cybersecurity Policy, Regulation & Technology
Dr. Earl Crane is a cybersecurity executive and trusted advisor to public and private sector organizations, helping them to manage their strategy, risk and cybersecurity programs. He is a prominent cybersecurity veteran, having worked at early security startups, the White House, the financial sector and other Fortune 100s, and founded Emergynt, a digital risk management platform based on his PhD research. He is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon where he has taught cybersecurity to graduate students and executives since 2002, and is a Cybersecurity Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin Strauss Center. He holds a Ph.D. from George Washington University, and a Master of Information System Management and B.S. in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jeff Davis
Innovation & Health Technology
Jeffrey R. Davis, MD is the founder and CEO of Exploring 4 Solutions, LLC, and a visiting fellow of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) at the Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science. In 2017, Jeff joined the board of the nonprofit Girlstart. He is a recognized international leader, educator, speaker, author and consultant in collaborative innovation, human system risk management in health care systems, and space and aviation medicine. He provides deep technical knowledge based on more than 30 years of experience in NASA, commercial aviation and academia. He has strong skills in the risk management of complex healthcare system Prior to his CEO role, Jeff served as the Director, Human Health and Performance, and the Chief Medical Officer for the NASA Johnson Space Center. In these roles he provided technical leadership and management for medical care, biomedical research and technology development for space exploration. Jeff also promoted the use of open innovation in NASA to enhance problem solving and organizational development. He initiated the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) in 2010 and served as its director until 2017. The NHHPC is a major collaborative center for NASA with over 150 members in public, private, academic and nonprofit sectors. Along with partners, Jeff established the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) in 2011 and served as the deputy director until 2017. CoECI provides consulting expertise to NASA and other federal agencies for the use of open innovation. Dr. Davis received his B.S. degree in Biology from Stanford University, an M.D. degree from the University of California at San Diego, and a Master of Science degree from Wright State University. He is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine and holds an active Texas medical license. Past positions include Professor, Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch; Corporate Medical Director, American Airlines; and Chief, Medical Operations, NASA Johnson Space Center. His national board participation included service as the chair of the American Board of Preventive Medicine; chair of the Residency Review Committee for Preventive Medicine; and president of the Aerospace Medical Associations in space flight, aviation and occupational health environments, and organizational change through collaborative and open innovation efforts. Jeff’s unique experience and insights across government, academic, corporate and non-profit settings provide a depth of technical knowledge that builds bridges between various disciplines and partners. Jeff coauthored “Open Innovation at NASA: A New Business Model for Advancing Human Health and Performance Innovations” in 2015, describing his approach and successes in building a culture of innovation at NASA.
Kelly Doyle
Architecture, Engineering & Construction
A highly regarded construction technology professional, Kelly Doyle is known throughout the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry for his ability to integrate new technologies and improved processes to enable more effective teams while increasing the company’s bottom line. With more than two decades of military and industry operations leadership, Kelly brings a unique perspective to innovation and digital transformation at scale within the AEC industry. As a Project Manager, he employed multiple new and emerging technologies in the field, providing him first-hand experience with the pain of duplicative work from disjointed processes and data silos. As a construction technologist, Kelly developed a unique capability to design systems that combine emerging technologies while driving huge efficiency gains. His expertise has afforded him opportunities to deliver programmatic data visibility for multi-site programs serving global clients spanning thousands of locations. Kelly has parleyed these experiences to lead a construction technology consulting practice advising contractors and real estate owners on technology selection, and served as the chief analyst for the JBKnowledge Annual Construction Technology Report, a well-respected and often-referenced industry report. Most recently Kelly served as the chief operating officer of ProjectReady, a technology platform designed to help the AEC work better together by integrating the software platforms they use every day. Kelly began his career as an officer in the United States Army serving in both staff and command roles. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he studied management and computer science. Kelly is a regular contributor on industry podcasts and webinars and serves as the Digital Twin Moderator for the Construction Progress Coalition’s monthly roundtable events.
Eric Greenwald
Cybersecurity, Policy & Law
Eric Greenwald has more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer and policy maker, having served in senior-level positions in government, the technology sector, private legal practice, academia, and news media. In 2018, he established his own law firm, focusing on technology, cyber security, and privacy. Eric spent the preceding four years as the General Counsel of Redacted – a cyber security firm based in San Francisco, CA. He joined Redacted from the White House, where he served as the Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Cybersecurity on the National Security Council (NSC). At the NSC, he was charged with coordinating cybersecurity efforts across the federal government on matters of international policy, national security, intelligence, law enforcement, and incident response. Prior to his work at the White House, Eric served as the Principal Deputy Director of the FBI’s National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force and as the Deputy Director of Operations at US Cyber Command, where he provided legal and policy guidance to senior leadership on defensive and offensive cyber operations. Eric also worked on Capitol Hill as Chief Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and served as an Attorney Advisor with the CIA’s Office of General Counsel. In the private sector, he worked as a litigator and an international trade lawyer with the law firms Steptoe & Johnson and Shearman & Sterling. More recently, he worked as an associate producer for the CBS News program “60 Minutes” and as an editor for National Public Radio. Mr. Greenwald received his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Yale University and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Robert Hansen
Cybersecurity & Technology
Robert Hansen is a 22-year veteran in computer security, known to many in the industry by handle “RSnake”. Robert’s early career was at eBay, where he was responsible for authentication as well as most anti-fraud systems and anti-phishing technologies. His work at eBay was later built into every modern web browser, and is now protecting every Internet user as a result. After eBay, Robert started ha.ckers.org, a web security proving ground that had over twenty thousand hackers and security experts visiting it and attacking it per day. His lab was at one point responsible for developing one third of all the top-ranked web vulnerabilities. Robert later starting a consulting company, where under contract he hacked into the back end of over 2,100 banks, credit card processors, flight control systems, SCADA (water and power) control systems, and other security companies. During this time, Robert also built the most secure web application security hosting platform in the world (Armored Stack), surviving over 15 million attacks in 8 years, and rivaled only by White House networks. Since then, Robert has met regularly with various agencies and private industry on security research and policy issues. Currently, Robert is a floating CISO for multiple companies and sits on advisory boards of multiple technology and security companies, as well as the .trust top level domain. He is a frequent keynote speaker and is on the speaker selection committee for Blackhat and Hack in the Box. He is the Chairman and Founder of OutsideIntel which is focused on corporate discovery and business intelligence. His current passion is for machine learning, building inexpensive big-data solutions and blogging about how to become a completely mobile executive at The Smart Phone Exec.
Greg Hiebert
Leadership & Change Management
Greg Hiebert has over 37 years of practicing, studying, teaching and coaching leadership. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1981, Greg served in a host of elite Army units to include two assignments with the 82nd Airborne Division where he served as an infantry unit commander and Battalion primary staff officer. Based upon his leadership academic performance, he was selected to teach leadership and organizational change at the United States Military Academy where he earned the highest educator ratings for teacher excellence and selected as the only non-tenured faculty member to teach the Academy’s graduate program on leadership and organizational change while serving as the Program Director for the Academy’s core leadership course. In 1993, McKinsey & Company, a global strategic consulting firm, recruited Greg to continue his focus on issues of leadership and organizational change in the private sector. BellSouth Telecommunications, a McKinsey Client, recruited Greg to form a small internal strategic consulting and organizational transformation group. As a key operational and strategic executive, he led several large-scale organizational change initiatives to include the creation of a $4 billion Small Business unit that included 22 call centers and 2200 employees serving 1.5 million customers. Greg was recruited away by a startup competitor where as Vice President of Operations he led a team of network and software engineers that developed and delivered e-business and Internet integration solutions to clients. Greg then joined a global executive search firm, Egon Zehnder International, and provided human capital consulting services to clients consisting of senior executive search and assessment, succession planning, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. In 3 years, he conducted over 50 searches at the “C” level serving several Fortune 100 clients. He also implemented several large-scale senior executive assessment projects that provided client CEOs and their Boards with an in-depth assessment of their organization’s senior leadership supply. Following his deep passion for teaching and coaching leadership, Greg started his own consulting company in 2002 to provide clients with results focused leadership education and development solutions at the senior and operational leadership levels. Over the last 16 years at leadershipForward, Greg and his firm have provided executive and team coaching to thousands of executives; organizational assessment and development consulting; leadership assessment, customized curriculum development and delivery of management and executive education, executive team facilitation, strategic planning, talent management and succession planning, rapid cycle improvement engagements, organizational and cultural change. A majority of leadershipForward’s clients are healthcare organizations especially hospitals that embrace the need for serving leadership as an key enabler of organizational success. Greg is the author of the Amazon Best Seller, “You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have: Creating the 7 Habits that Make a Remarkable Life.” In this book, Greg shares the insights he has gained over his career on how each of us can have a more fulfilling and meaningful life by being more intentional and disciplined in our lives through being more purposeful; cultivating greater positivity; deepening our social bonds; reflecting on gratitude; promoting hope and optimism; being mindful and making movement parts of our daily lives. On a personal front, Greg’s father was a career Army Officer to include being a Green Beret. Greg was the 2nd of six children and all eventually went into the military. When one of his brothers retired two years ago, it ended 117 years of his family’s active duty service to our Nation. Greg has been married for 36 years to Claudia, a Pediatric Nurse. They have four children, two grandchildren and reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tyler Johnson
Technology & Global Markets
Tyler Johnson is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years of proven corporate experience in global technology sales and service organizations. With a decade of experience working in Asia, Johnson specializes in developing diverse relationships and building infrastructure in emerging and foreign markets. Johnson has worked with some of the world’s largest foreign and domestic companies to help them execute their business strategies. He has extensive expertise in strategic growth planning, Fortune 50 executive leadership, international expansion, geopolitical enterprise, multicultural leadership diversity and is actively invested in Asian-based start-ups. He has led organizations within the U.S. Public, U.S. Health Care, U.S. Corporate Enterprise, China Multi-National Corporation (MNC), Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) Professional Services and APJ End-User Software General Management. Johnson also served as the Managing Site Director in Shanghai, which was responsible for cross-functional operations, government relations and employee local cultural initiatives. In addition to start-up investments in Asia, Johnson co-founded a US based software start-up which helps military Veterans transition into the civilian workplace called Your6usa. His business acumen and subject matter proficiency extend to a variety of tech-based solutions, including IT consulting and outsourcing, cloud-based platforms, deployment services and point-of-sale solutions. He is skilled at growing business infrastructure, streamlining operations, developing new go-to-market offerings and enhancing customer experience metrics. Johnson was the recipient of two Worldwide Leadership Awards at Dell: the Worldwide Global Business Manager of Year and the Worldwide Executive Inspiring Leader Award. He has a bachelor degree in psychology from the University of North Dakota. In his free time, Johnson tries to keep up with his three kids.
James Jones
Corporate Finance
James provides strategic finance consulting to technology startups by applying the practices learned through more than 20 years of experience in both startups and public companies. His roles included developing corporate and business unit strategies, assisting with fundraising, creating financial models, and improving operational processes. As the interim CFO for early-stage technology companies, James is responsible for strategic and financial analyses, budgeting and planning, cash management, board of directors and investor presentations, human resource management, fundraising, capital structure planning, and business performance measurements and metrics. He has served as the interim CFO for several companies in the following industries: financial technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, Marketing technology, retail and electronic commerce, and robotics. James has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy. He also leads Bay Area support for the Admissions Office of the United States Military Academy.
Kevin Landtroop
Defense, Military & Technology
Chief Growth Officer, SBIR Advisors Co-Founder of the Texas Defense Innovation Forum Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences Startup Mentor, Advisory Board Member, and former VP of Defense Innovation, Capital Factory Kevin Landtroop is a leader and entrepreneur with 20+ years of National Security experience. Through interrelated business, academic, and non-profit efforts, Kevin helps industrial-era systems find, validate, and integrate emerging technology at the scale and speed of relevance. Having founded, designed, and executed programs connecting startups, DoDX, VC, academic research, and defense industry, including the Center for Defense Innovation at Capital Factory and the Texas Defense Innovation Forum, Kevin has emerged as a plankholder for the national security innovation ecosystem centered in Austin Texas (ATX). Kevin currently leads Growth and Partnerships at SBIR Advisors, a technology consultancy helping startups understand national security use cases, access R&D and program customers, and scale with capital and partners. Kevin also teaches Hacking For Defense at The University of Texas at Austin and served as the inaugural Managing Director of Grayline Defense. A founding moment for DoDX came in Austin in early 2018: DIUx had completed its first full year, AFWERX was in launch, and the Army announced that Army Futures Command would be activated – all in ATX. Kevin began consulting with emerging tech startups, helping them develop mission applications for commercial technologies and win R&D contracts. Kevin founded the Texas Defense Innovation Forum to scale this effort and bring more educational resources and meaningful connections for the assembling mass of dual-use tech startups. In early 2019, Capital Factory opened the Center for Defense Innovation and Kevin joined Vice President, providing greater reach to core programs he designed, such as Defense Academy and SBIR Accelerator. Almost as a capstone, Kevin left to help launch SGS, the DoD-focused spinout of applied Artificial Intelligence powerhouse SparkCognition. Leading Business Development and Sales, Kevin helped quadruple both sales and headcount in their first year. Prior to coming to ATX, Kevin served the Army as a Soldier, lawyer, strategist, and leader. Kevin served as Director of Operations and Strategy for Legal Command, the DoD’s largest legal organization, leading their pivot from counterinsurgency to multi-domain conflict. Kevin served as the lead National Security Law expert at the National Training Center, the world’s largest and most realistic proving ground for combat simulation training. Kevin held multiple successive positions in National Security Law, criminal investigations, and litigation, which included leading a joint FBI, Navy, and Army counter-intelligence investigation and jury-trial of a senior intelligence officer at Pacific Command for multiple violations of the Espionage Acts. Kevin holds a B.S. from West Point (1998), a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Texas School of Law (2005), and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School (2010) (concentration in National Security and government contracts). Kevin has two operational deployments, leading a platoon of cavalry in Srebrenica, Bosnia in 2000 and serving as National Security Law advisor to an Army Brigade in Al Anbar, Iraq from 2007-2008. Kevin helped rebuild Iraqi criminal justice institutions for Al Anbar Province and performed National Security Law reviews for over 500 detained terrorist suspects. Kevin was born and raised in South Texas and lives in Austin. In addition to being “cool dad” for two young kids, Kevin is an avid reader of history, a golfer, and an enthusiastic chef.
Alex Larzelere
Advanced & Exascale Computing
Alex Larzelere has over 30 years of leadership experience in developing and executing programs ranging from U.S. Coast Guard operations to the development of advanced modeling and simulation capabilities for nuclear energy. This experience has been marked by success in the ability to identify problems of national significance, create a vision to address the issue, build a team to execute the vision, and then marshal the resources (people, money, time) necessary for success of these ventures. His specialties include: High Performance Computing, Advanced Modeling and Simulation, Energy Security, Program Development and Management. Mr. Larzelere is currently the Founder and President of Larzelere & Associates LLC. This is a consulting enterprise that provides expert advice and project support in the areas of: Public-Private Partnerships; Advanced Computing and Modeling and Simulation; Technologies for Innovation and Nuclear Energy. Alex is also a Senior Fellow at the Council on Competitiveness, which is is a non-partisan leadership organization of corporate CEOs, university presidents, labor leaders and national laboratory directors committed to advancing U.S. competitiveness in the global economy and a rising standard of living for all Americans. Alex Larzelere previously worked for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) where he served in a variety of positions. These ranged from the Co-Chair to the Advanced Computing Tech Team to the Federal Director of the Nuclear Energy Modeling and Simulation Energy Innovation Hub. Alex also was involved with the start-up of the DOE Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) that was part of the U.S. response to the nuclear weapons Comprehensive Test Ban by creating unprecedented levels of modeling and simulation capabilities. Mr. Larzelere also has experiences in the private sector where he worked for SAIC as the Executive Director for Advanced Computing. Alex also founded and operated a small system engineering company known as Exagrid Engineering. Alex is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and served 10 years as a commissioned officer on three cutters and in three operations centers.
Dave Lyon
Intelligence & People Risk
Dave Lyon is a global intelligence and security executive with extensive experience in the private sector as an international business consultant advising clients on issues relating to people risk / insider threat, intelligence and security issues, and geopolitical risk and strategy. He is intent on leveraging his experiences, networks, and access to cutting-edge technology to do good in the world. Dave brings the strength of his global network of professional intelligence operations practitioners – a private sector CIA of sorts – to the table for his Clients, and serves as the Chief Intelligence Advisor for a number of organizations. Dave served for over a decade as an undercover operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s Directorate of Operations / National Clandestine Service. He completed multiple overseas field tours where his missions focused primarily on counterterrorism, foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, counterespionage, cybersecurity, and political-military issues. Additionally, Dave served as a commissioned intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy and is qualified as an Information Dominance Warfare Officer (IDWO), all-source intelligence analyst, and subject matter expert in human intelligence (HUMINT). The bulk of his military service was with a naval intelligence unit attached to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He is the recipient of various military decorations, as well as a number of awards from his time at CIA. Prior to joining CIA and being commissioned in the Navy, Dave was an Assistant Country Director for China within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) at the Pentagon. He also worked at OSD’s Office of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, for the Foreign Commercial Service at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, and at the White House. Dave attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and East Asian Studies. He also received a Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in the Analysis of Criminal Behavior from the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, he has taken graduate-level coursework in national security and strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War College. Dave is a member of the Central Intelligence Retirees’ Association and the OSS Society. He was also a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He speaks Mandarin Chinese along with rudimentary Indonesian and Spanish.
Margaret Newman
Urban Design & Mobility
Margaret Newman FAIA is an independent contributor with Grayline and is currently directing planning, transportation and design work with her firm More Urban/Marren and Newman Architects. More Urban was founded on the premise that projects should leave a legacy as sustainable places balanced with the aspirations of clients and their communities. To accomplish this goal, More Urban can provide a framework and direction for multi-scale projects from early visioning stages through detailed design phases to transform concept into real world solutions. An architect and planner, Ms. Newman has extensive experience building complex projects in urban environments. Able to facilitate the integration of data and analytics into multi-disciplinary projects, she has brought strategic thinking to vital infrastructure projects. With expertise in managing a wide range of project consultants including civil and transportation engineering, structural, MEP, acoustic, lighting, site, landscape, product, and graphic design, Ms. Newman is able to advise both private and public sector clients to maximize their design and operations potential for both on-going and future projects. Most recently a Principal in Arup’s New York office, she led the Integrated Planning team comprised of experienced planners, mobility experts, civil and buildings engineers. Dedicated to creating vibrant, and economically successful places and built environment solutions, her team provided consulting services for campus and property development, mobility and transportation planning, modeling and data visualization services for a diverse group of clients including architects, private industry, cultural institutions and public agencies. Major projects include work for Amtrak at Chicago Union Station, the New York City DOT, MTA and New York State ESD and DOT, Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan Chase and Tishman Speyer. Prior to joining Arup, Ms. Newman served as Chief of Staff at the New York City Department of Transportation under Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Sadik-Khan where she directed major agency projects including the capital construction plan for Times Square, plaza and public realm programs, and implementation of green infrastructure in the public right of way. A frequent participant on panels and design juries including Columbia University, Syracuse University, and the NY AIA Center for Architecture, Ms. Newman has written and lectured extensively on planning and design. Ms. Newman received a Masters in Architecture from Princeton University. She is a certified LEED professional in Building Design and Construction, licensed to practice architecture in New York and Pennsylvania, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Dennis O'Neil
Organizational Design
Dr. Dennis O’Neil is a highly effective executive / leader with over 20 years’ experience in corporate, government and academic sectors. He is a trusted strategic advisor who has provided critical analytical guidance to public company Boards, CEO’s and Pentagon Chiefs of Staff. He has deep expertise mobilizing teams and staffs to action, communicating complex messages, and managing large scale operations. Most recently, O’Neil served as the Chief of Staff of Alcoa / Arconic Inc., a global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering, and manufacturing that delivers value-add products made of titanium, nickel, and aluminum and produces best-in-class bauxite, alumina, and primary aluminum products. The company operates in 30 countries with over 60,000 employees. As Chief of Staff, O’Neil served the Executive Office of the Chairman and CEO and Alcoa business and resource units providing strategic advice, guidance, coordination, and oversight. O’Neil provides leadership and operations management to the Executive Office, including establishing priorities, coordinating, planning, and budgeting, as well as directing administrative, financial, and operational activities. O’Neil joined Alcoa / Arconic from the Eisenhower School for National and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University, Washington, D.C., where he was a Professor of Behavioral Sciences. He served as the Director of Strategic Leadership, Director of the Executive Assessment and Development Program, and Director of the Adaptive and Agile Leaders Networks concentration. Previously, O’Neil served in the White House for the National Security Division, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President overseeing more than $10 billion in discretionary outlays. He provided analysis and recommendations used by the White House to develop and implement critical policies. He was also the Executive Director of the Performance Improvement Council responsible for implementing the President’s approach to improving interagency performance and accountability. As a career Army officer, O’Neil served in strategic roles directly supporting the highest levels of Pentagon leadership, including three Chiefs of Staff of the Army. Earlier, his career included experience as an armor officer and Army strategist in a host of tactical, operational, academic, and strategic level leadership assignments including combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He was a faculty member at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Dennis holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Psychology from Duke University and a B.S. in Management from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Debra Richmond
Public & Government Affairs
Richmond Advisory is led by noted Texas public affairs and fundraising leader Debra Guilford Richmond, PMP, to better serve the needs of organizations and individuals seeking effective representation in Texas and Washington, D.C. A Houston native, Debra began her career in Washington, D.C. and spent several years as political fundraiser with a focus on PAC and high-dollar individual giving. Past leadership positions include Finance Director roles at prominent national and state committees. Through these high-exposure opportunities Debra honed the skills needed to successfully transition to a career in government and public affairs at the state level in Austin. While working at the Texas Department of Transportation, Debra successfully managed several major projects, built coalitions, and represented the agency at all levels of government. Debra’s exceptional drive resulted in improved business process efficiencies, cost-savings, and over $130 million in competitive federal discretionary grant funds being awarded to TxDOT. Seeing a gap in consulting services currently provided, Debra formed Richmond Advisory to represent a variety of interests and leverage her unique network of donors, community leaders, and elected officials on both sides of the political aisle. Debra is passionate about strategic planning, customer service, and community involvement. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Baylor University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®. Debra resides in Austin with her family.
Jon Sather
Intelligence & National Security
Jon Sather Served our country for nearly 30 years, the past 25 with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in numerous leadership, management and line positions. He is a retired member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, the leadership team that guides CIA activities around the globe. Mr. Sather’s professional experience is derived from over two decades of leading skilled, motivated and multidisciplinary teams focused on solving challenges of unprecedented complexity. He has worked and led in environments of high physical, geopolitical, and organizational risk and resiliency. Jon has led large globally dispersed teams engaged in complex human and technical espionage operations in dangerous situations under circumstances of high ambiguity and time pressure. He served 10 years in the foreign field in CIA service in Europe and the Former Soviet Union, with extensive additional mission experience with most other geographic areas. He served as a CIA Chief of Station (COS) and senior US Intelligence Community representative in the foreign field. At CIA headquarters, Mr. Sather retired from the top tier of the senior leadership team in CIA that directs world-wide operations, as the Director of CIA’s Counterproliferation Center (CPC) within the Directorate of Operations. During his tenure as Director, CPC developed world-wide capability to adeptly address nuclear and bio/chemical threats. As such, he served as the CIA’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Mission Manager, targeting efforts by our adversaries to proliferate or acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; a threat which represents the gravest existential security vulnerability faced by our country and its principles. He has led large-scale components staffed by highly skilled personnel, and managed critical mission centers and multi-million dollar budgets while bringing together diverse talent in pursuit of common goals and imperatives. He forged and sustained productive relationships with senior US intelligence officials, military leadership, corporate executives, senior diplomatic officials and law enforcement agencies, and created extensive and powerful partnerships with our foreign colleagues. Sather has been recognized as an exceptional clandestine operations officer, leader, communicator, team-builder, mentor; candid, forthright and conversational briefer – friend and colleague, and worked with and learned from marvelous and amazingly talented people every day.
Susan Shaheen
Transportation & Mobility
Dr. Susan Shaheen is an independent contributor with Grayline. Susan’s interest in environmentally- and socially-beneficial technology applications led her to focus her doctoral research on carsharing in the mid-1990s. Her main area of research examines mobility and the sharing economy. She co-directs the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. She is also an adjunct professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. She has a Ph.D. in ecology, focusing on the energy and environmental aspects of transportation, from UC Davis and a M.S. in public policy analysis from the University of Rochester. After completing her master’s degree, she worked as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. She has authored 60 journal articles, over 100 reports and proceedings articles, six book chapters, and co-edited two books. Her research projects on carsharing, smart parking, and older mobility have received national awards. She was named one of the top 10 academic thought leaders in transportation in May 2016 by the Eno Foundation.
Rob Smithson
Transportation & Robotics
Rob Smithson is a proven, innovative business leader, with extensive experience in building high performance teams, business growth financing, and strategic planning and execution in organizations ranging from venture-backed start-ups to Fortune 50 corporations. He has held positions in the aerospace, robotics, factory automation, automotive, and sustainable energy industries. Duties have included global product design & development, new business development, manufacturing engineering, strategic planning, technology roadmaps, engineering management and organization building, investor relations, fund raising, P&L responsibility, budgeting, new technology assessment, and commercialization of new technologies. Rob holds more than 150 U.S. and international patents. He was a cofounder of three startup companies between 1991 and 2003, all three of which are still operating and enjoying commercial successes, having raised a total of more than $150M in angel, venture, and strategic investor capital. He has advised, evaluated, and coached numerous other early stage companies and aspiring entrepreneurs. His education includes a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, he holds an Executive M.S. in Technology Commercialization (named Outstanding Graduate) from the McCombs School of Business and the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also completed substantial graduate coursework in physics. He was named a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers, International in 2009, one of only ~600 members in the SAE’s 100 year history to achieve this honor.
Veronica “Ronnye” Stidvent
Training & Education
Veronica “Ronnye” Vargas Stidvent is the President of Stidvent Partners. Through twenty years of experience building strategic alliances and executing in high-pressure environments, Ronnye has seen the power of connecting organizations and individuals to reach a common goal. She helps her clients identify the nexus among public policy, business initiatives, and philanthropic efforts to develop proposals, leverage public policies to advance their priorities, and execute corporate citizenship initiatives to achieve their results. Her breadth and depth of expertise and network reflect a career that spans the government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. Ronnye developed and implemented policy at the highest levels of the federal government. In 2003, she served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Policy, where she worked with the President’s senior advisors, Cabinet Secretaries, and agency staff to advance the President’s policy agenda. After unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate in 2004, she served as Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she worked on the agency’s regulatory agenda. While at the Department, she was tasked with leading the Administration’s efforts on comprehensive immigration reform. Previously, she served as Special Assistant to the Administrator in the Office of Information Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). She possesses the rare experience of developing and reviewing federal rulemaking at the agency level, the OMB, and the White House, giving her a rare and valuable perspective that she shares with her clients. She has worked extensively with private sector leaders on workforce development and training issues. In 2014, she was appointed Chancellor of WGU Texas, a non-profit online university serving more than 9,000 Texans. As Chancellor, she increased enrollment by more than 75%, working with state policy officials, employers, and community leaders to develop strategies to meet workforce needs. Prior to her time at WGU Texas, Ronnye served as Head of Education and Training at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where she developed a global education and training program for their client-facing personnel. Ronnye Stidvent has also worked in the higher education sector. As the inaugural Director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs, she developed and implemented a strategic plan for achieving the Center’s mission, and she established long-term collaborations and resources with individuals, corporations, and foundations. She designed and launched Subiendo, an intensive leadership program for high school students that continues to enjoy donor and community support. Ronnye has served on numerous boards and commissions. In 2016, she was appointed by Governor Abbott to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs to address the needs of Texas’s changing demographics. In 2009, Governor Perry appointed Ronnye appointed to a six-year term on the Texas Commission on Human Rights, overseeing the management and budget of the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission. She served on the Boards of Directors of The Texas Tribune, the Texas Association of Business, and the North Texas Commission. She has also served on the University of Texas Commission of 125 and the 2009 Travis County Elections Study Group. She has been honored with the University of Texas at Austin Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award. She is also the recipient of the El Paso in Austin Trailblazer Award and the National Association of Hispanic Publications Latina Role Model Award. A native of El Paso, Texas, Ronnye received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from Yale Law School. She and her husband live in Austin with their four children.
Peter Stone
Machine Learning & AI
Dr. Peter Stone is the David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professor and Associate Chair of Computer Science, as well as Chair of the Robotics Portfolio Program, at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in 1998 and his M.S. in 1995 from Carnegie Mellon University, both in Computer Science. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1993. From 1999 to 2002 he was a Senior Technical Staff Member in the Artificial Intelligence Principles Research Department at AT&T Labs – Research. Prof. Stone’s research interests in Artificial Intelligence include planning, machine learning, multiagent systems, robotics, and e-commerce. His doctoral thesis research contributed a flexible multiagent team structure and multiagent machine learning techniques for teams operating in real-time noisy environments in the presence of both teammates and adversaries. His long-term research goal is to create complete, robust, autonomous agents that can learn to interact with other intelligent agents in a wide range of complex, dynamic environments. Prof. Stone is currently continuing his investigation of machine learning, multiagent learning, and robotics at UT Austin. Application domains include robot soccer, autonomous bidding agents for auctions, and autonomous traffic management. Within the robot soccer domain, he is studying multiagent techniques in reinforcement learning, specifically temporal difference learning, for learning successful policies by a team of cooperating agents. In the context of auctions, he is investigating adaptive bidding policies that are applicable for simultaneous multi-round auctions involving interacting goods. In autonomous intersection management he has developed a novel protocol by which autonomous vehicles can traverse intersections with 2 orders of magnitude less delay than is possible with traffic signals or stop signs. Prof. Stone is a vice president of the international RoboCup Federation, was a co-chair of RoboCup-2001 at IJCAI-01, was a Program Co-Chair of AAAI 2014 and AAMAS 2006 and was General Co-Chair of AAMAS 2011. He has developed teams of robot soccer agents that have won RoboCup championships in the simulation (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015), standard platform (2012), and small-wheeled robot (1997, 1998) leagues. He led tutorials on robot soccer at AAAI-99, Agents-99, and IJCAI-99 and on autonomous bidding agents (AAMAS-07 and AAAI-07). He has also developed agents that have won auction trading agents competitions (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013). Peter has served on various program committees and has co-chaired workshops on learning agents (at Agents-2000, Agents-2001, and the AAAI Spring Symposium in 2002) and on RoboCup (at RoboCup-2000). Prof. Stone is the author of “Layered Learning in Multiagent Systems: A Winning Approach to Robotic Soccer” (MIT Press, 2000), co-author of “Autonomous Bidding Agents: Strategies and Lessons from the Trading Agent Competition” (MIT Press, 2007), and “Intelligent Autonomous Robotics” (Morgan & Claypool, 2007) as well as an author of many technical papers in conferences and journals. Prof. Stone won best-paper awards at the International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR) in 2013, the RoboCup Symposium in 2007, at the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO) in 2006, and at the Agents-2001 conference. Prof. Stone was awarded the Allen Newell Medal for Excellence in Research in 1997. He is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, AAAI Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, and 2004 ONR Young Investigator. In 2013 he was awarded the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and in 2014 he was inducted into the UT Austin Academy of Distinguished Teachers, earning him the title of University Distinguished Teaching Professor. In 2003, he won an NSF CAREER award for his proposed long term research on learning agents in dynamic, collaborative, and adversarial multiagent environments, in 2007 he received the prestigious IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, given biannually to the top AI researcher under the age of 35, and in 2016 he was awarded the ACM/SIGAI Autonomous Agents Research Award.
Chris Treadaway
Marketing & Web3
Chris Treadaway is an accomplished executive, bringing innovation and new technology to the corporate world for over 25 years. With a strong background in marketing, operations and technology, Chris is currently delving deep into Web3 with a particular focus on how these emerging technologies intersect with business operations and strategy. Previously Chris was the CEO of Polygraph Media, an advertising technology company that pioneered brand adoption of social advertising. Polygraph was a Facebook Marketing Partner and Google Partner, and collaborated with senior leadership at major companies such as McDonald’s Corporation, Six Flags, Brinker International, and Planet Fitness. Prior to that, Chris was the Group Product Manager for Web Strategy at Microsoft Corporation where he coordinated the company’s messaging across all web-based products. Chris is a four-time startup founder and a Founding Operating Partner of Third Craft, a seed-stage investment fund focusing on innovations in food. He continues to invest in early-stage companies in cryptocurrency and blockchain. Chris is the two-time author of Facebook Marketing An Hour a Day (Sybex 2010, 2012) and has published articles on marketing, startups, and demand generation across a variety of publications. Chris holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Texas with specialization in Management & Entrepreneurship. In his spare time, Chris coaches his daughter’s sports teams and plays golf and basketball.
Shane Walsh
Capital Strategy & Fund Operations
Shane Walsh is Chief Operating Officer of AQUILA Commercial. As the Chief Operating Officer, Shane wears many hats. He leads the company’s operations and strategy, while also assisting with special projects critical to integration and expansion of AQUILA. Shane has a history of helping others succeed. Prior to joining the AQUILA team, he co-founded venture capital firm Arena Growth Partners, where he worked with leaders of early stage growth businesses to help them scale. During his time at the firm, Shane was responsible for launching the fund, including fundraising, compliance and establishing back office functionality. Additionally, he has advised a number of start-ups and small businesses through mentorships with both Techstars and Bunker Labs. Hailing from Houston, Texas, Shane left his home state to attend Boston College. Immediately after graduation he proudly served four years as a Tank Platoon Leader and Tank Company Executive Officer of an M1A1 Tank Company in the United States Army, before returning to Texas and to civilian life. Shane’s experience spans several industries, from industrial equipment to financial services, and he has a deep background in operating and scaling businesses. Shane has an appetite for competition and has completed over 30 triathlons, including sprint, Olympic and half-iron races. More on Shane can be found here.
The Catalyst Framework
Catalyst is our structured engagement methodology — built over years of delivering complex programs for transit agencies, defense programs, and enterprise technology clients. It gives every engagement a common language and a disciplined progression from discovery to delivery.
01 — Diagnose
Understand the real problem, not the stated one. Map stakeholders, constraints, and the decision environment before recommending anything.
02 — Design
Build a structured solution architecture. Define success metrics, resource requirements, risk mitigations, and sequencing logic.
03 — Deliver
Execute with discipline. Track against the plan, surface issues early, and hold every stakeholder — including ourselves — accountable.
The Book
Catalyst: Leadership and Strategy in a Changing World
The foundational text behind Grayline's analytical framework — identifying the five structural forces reshaping the global economy.
Buy on AmazonStay Informed
Insights on AI, cybersecurity, mobility, and innovation delivered to your inbox.