Red Cell Incubation

Dan Kultran is Chief Executive Officer of Claros, a company focused on power management solutions for data centers and AI infrastructure. The platform addresses energy distribution through voltage regulation and DC power distribution technologies designed to reduce losses and improve system reliability.

Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Red Cell Partners, who established the firm to drive technological transformation across healthcare, defense, and cyber industries.

Jeff Sherman is President and CTO at Zephyr AI and Founder and CTO at Red Cell Partners and Adaje Inc. With a background in computer science, he focuses on developing machine learning applications across healthcare, finance, and defense sectors.

Kevin Keaton is the CISO & CIO and a Founding Partner at Red Cell. He previously served as the first Chief of Innovation for the National Security Agency and spent over 30 years at the NSA, holding technical leadership roles in the Signals Intelligence mission and running NSA's Computer Sciences Research in areas such as big data, analytics, and Human Language Technology. He holds a BS from the University of Maryland and an MS in Business with an emphasis in IT Management from Johns Hopkins University.

Marcus Capone is founder and CEO of TARA Mind, which operates a network of vetted mental health providers across all 50 states and works with employers to integrate these services as supplemental health benefits. He is also founder and chairman of VETS Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization providing alternative treatment solutions for combat veterans and their families. Capone brings over 20 years of experience in special operations, entrepreneurship, executive management, and non-profit leadership.

Peter Emigh serves as a Committee Member for Partnering for Health at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care. He brings healthcare market strategy experience across Medicare, Medicare Advantage, ACOs, and home-based care delivery, with background in provider contracting and delegated risk negotiations. His career includes P&L ownership and leadership of clinical and operational teams.

Tim Barone is co-founder of Hunted Labs. He has senior-level experience in IT security and information security governance, with a background in managing cross-functional security initiatives and developing solutions within operational and financial constraints.

Yisroel Brumer is a Founding Partner at Red Cell, and Co-Founder and CEO of DEFCON AI as well as Co-Founder, Executive Vice Chairman, and former CEO of Zephyr AI, both Red Cell portfolio companies. Before joining the firm, he held executive roles in the U.S. Department of Defense, most recently as Acting Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, where he oversaw major investment programs and strategic portfolio reviews. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics and an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Glenn Youngkin is the 74th Governor of Virginia and former Co-CEO of The Carlyle Group. He has joined Red Cell Partners as partner, chairman, and board member, supporting the firm's work building companies in national security, cyber, and healthcare technology.

Hannah Eaves is Chief of Staff at Red Cell Partners and Trase AI, where she directs strategy and execution across product, growth, legal, and operations. Previously, she served as Managing Partner at a professional services firm, scaling it to multi-million-dollar revenue with 89 employees in 18 months, and spent 11 years as a Navy Judge Advocate in roles including General Counsel to the Pacific Fleet Commander, prosecutor, defense counsel, and personnel policy leader. Her background spans national security, law, and technology sectors.

Aly Carbaugh is a Junior Analyst at Red Cell Partners. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Education in Youth and Social Innovation (2023) and a Master of Education in Higher Education (2024), and previously studied abroad at the University of Amsterdam. She volunteers with several community organizations and enjoys traveling, skiing, and reading.

Aniqua Bokhari serves as Legal Counsel on Red Cell's legal team. She is a federal attorney with experience in national security, ethics, and administrative law. Prior to Red Cell, she held senior legal positions at the U.S. Department of Energy, the CIA, and the U.S. Department of the Air Force.

Barrett Yates-Mack is the Chief Financial Officer of Red Cell and also serves as CFO of CrossLead, Inc., a leadership consulting firm. She previously was CFO at McChrystal Group LLC from 2014 and began her career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, working on M&A and financing transactions for REITs. She holds an MS from MIT and a BA from Cornell University, and from 2019-2021 served on the Executive Board of the MIT Center for Real Estate.

Bill Geary, a healthcare-tech investor since the mid-1990s, vets opportunities through a personal traumatic care experience, co-chairs Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit, advises Harvard Medical School, and backed Aetion and HealthVerity.

Borislava Marcheva is Head of Market Engagement at Red Cell Partners, where she works with employers and providers. She has over ten years of experience in market intelligence and strategy.

Brennan Grignon is the founder and CEO of Vantive. He has experience in national security and economic security policy, with background translating technical concepts into strategy and building coalitions across industry, government, and academic sectors. His career includes leadership roles at the C-suite level and engagement with Congress and the White House.

Brian Collins leads sales and go-to-market strategy at Red Cell Partners, working on companies in national security, healthcare, and cyber. He previously helped lead Pimly and held senior leadership roles at Screencastify, Jellyvision, Showpad, and LearnCore (acquired by Showpad). He holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and is a former Division I and professional indoor soccer player.

Chip Nash is Co-Founder and CEO of Crux, an employer benefits platform focused on direct-to-employer healthcare payment infrastructure. Previously, he was employee #3 at Rally Health, where he built and led teams that developed products including a consumer incentives engine that processed over $2 billion. Nash has experience in healthcare economics, pharmacy benefit design, and regulated healthcare transaction management.

David An is a Senior Software Engineer at Red Cell. He earned a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and has prior experience building distributed systems, with interests in computer security and platform engineering.

David Silverman is President and a Managing Partner at Red Cell. He founded and leads CrossLead, Inc., a leadership training and services company, and previously co-founded McChrystal Group, serving as its CEO for five years. He co-authored the book "Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World," is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and served as a Navy SEAL from 1998 to 2011.

George C. Barnes is President of Red Cell Partners' Cyber Practice and a Partner at the firm, where he leads new incubations focused on cybersecurity across commercial and government sectors and oversees the firm's cyber investment strategy. Before Red Cell, he served as Deputy Director of the U.S. National Security Agency from 2017 to 2023, acting as the agency's chief operating officer over a 36-year NSA career. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

George Sutherland is a designer at Red Cell Partners with a background in architecture. His work spans graphic design projects including community gardens in Oxford and scientific illustrations for the Smithsonian. He uses drawing and design to translate ideas and solve problems for clients across various sectors.

Advisor; former Chief Strategy Officer at RSA Security.

Heather Stevenson is General Counsel and a Partner at Red Cell. She previously served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Boston Globe Media Partners, advising on intellectual property, commercial, and other legal matters, and earlier worked as a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York representing financial institutions. She also founded and ran Thirst Juice Co., a plant-based juice and smoothie business in the Boston area, and holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, an LL.M. from the University of Amsterdam, and a BA from Columbia University.

Dr. John W. Rowe chairs Red Cell's Healthcare Practice and serves as its Lead Independent Director. He is the Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, and previously served as Chairman and CEO of Aetna (2000-2006) and as President and CEO of Mount Sinai NYU Health. Earlier he was a Professor of Medicine and founding Director of the Division on Aging at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Gerontology at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital.

Jacqueline Hurley is Chief of Operations at Red Cell, which she joined in May 2022. She previously spent 22 years at SAIC, where she held roles in service delivery, operations, project management, and cybersecurity, including six years as a Senior Director and Program Manager for the U.S. Department of State's $2.4B Vanguard contract, overseeing over 900 staff and a budget above $200 million. She holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, a Master of Science in Project Management from George Washington University, and a bachelor's degree from The Catholic University of America.

Jasmine Essalat is a Senior Recruiter at Red Cell Partners with experience in talent acquisition in high-volume, fast-paced environments.

Jazmine Garland is a Legal Operations Manager at Red Cell Partners with over a decade of experience in legal, hospitality, and corporate operations. Her work focuses on optimizing contract workflows, vendor management, cross-departmental initiatives, and implementing operational tools to improve performance and accountability. She brings a cross-functional approach to legal operations problem-solving.

Jennifer Miranda is the Design Director at Red Cell Partners, where she leads brand strategy and creative development across industries including wellness, sports, fashion, and automotive. With 14 years of experience, she has collaborated with brands such as Burton Snowboards, Under Armour, New Balance, Canada Goose, and Butcher Box on brand identity and visual systems. Previously, she spent nearly a decade at Soldier Unlimited as Design Director, overseeing creative teams in branding and digital work, and holds a BFA in Graphic and Interactive Communication from Ringling College of Art and Design.

Jessica Sammons is a Senior Staff Accountant at Red Cell Partners with over 16 years of accounting experience. Her work focuses on budget administration, expense tracking, and financial forecasting.

John Hrivnak is a Principal focused on National Security at Red Cell Partners, where he analyzes, executes, and manages investments in technology-enabled concept, seed, and early-stage startups. His work includes deal syndication, portfolio management, and advising entrepreneur and military veteran founders. An Army veteran and military spouse, Hrivnak supports startup community building and leadership development within the veteran entrepreneurship space.

John Tiernan is President of Red Cell's Asset Management Division and a Partner at the firm. He was previously a private equity investor at The Carlyle Group, where he supported senior executives across investment, strategy and operations, and investor relations, and executed private equity transactions. Earlier he worked as an investment banking analyst at Citigroup focused on technology M&A, and he holds a BA in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Julie Frahm is the founder of MyPattern and an AI product leader with experience leading cross-functional teams in healthcare and e-commerce. She has focused her career on understanding user needs and market dynamics to inform product strategy and delivery. Her background includes product team leadership, stakeholder alignment, and translating strategic insights into product decisions.

Karina Donovan is an Operations Analyst at Red Cell. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with honors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she double majored in Linguistics and Hispanic Studies, and completed a semester at the University of Granada's Language and Culture Program in Spain.

Kat Creamer is an Operations Manager at Red Cell, where she works with team members and managers across the firm and its incubations to support recruitment operations and the candidate experience. She has over a decade of experience in talent acquisition, technical recruiting, and university recruiting at various tech companies and startups. She holds a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University.

Katie Griff is Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and a Partner at Red Cell, joining from Griff Consulting, a marketing consultancy she founded and led that focused on cross-channel programs for direct-to-consumer brands. She previously held leadership roles at HATCH Collection and Madewell / J. Crew Group, and worked in strategy and marketing at Gilt, Moda Operandi, and LVMH, beginning her career as an analyst and associate in Blackstone's Hedge Fund Group. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Duke University.

Katie Stapp is a Senior Manager HR Business Partner at Red Cell Partners with expertise in people operations and HR strategy. She holds a degree from the University of California, Irvine, and has experience managing multiple priorities in fast-paced environments.

Kunal Sethy is a healthcare operator and three-time founder with over 20 years of experience in care delivery systems. He previously held operational roles at GE Healthcare, Stanford Healthcare, and Landmark Health (acquired by Optum), where he built the Northern California market to $20M ARR. He currently leads the Rural Health Transformation Program initiative at Red Cell Partners and has founded multiple healthcare technology companies focused on AI-driven clinical support and care delivery for underserved populations with chronic disease.

Léa Bourgade is a Senior Marketing Manager at Red Cell, where she has worked since August 2022 as part of the Brand, Marketing, and Communications team. She serves as the sole social media manager for Red Cell and its incubations, and helps develop brand identities for new incubated companies, including naming, visual design, and messaging. She also acts as her team's de facto project manager and collaborates on website projects for portfolio companies.

Mark T. Esper served as the 27th Secretary of Defense and 23rd Secretary of the Army, overseeing the Department of Defense's nearly 3 million service members and civilians, $740 billion annual budget, and global operations across 4,800 sites in over 160 countries. His career spans military leadership from platoon to departmental level, Fortune 100 corporate executive roles, and senior positions in major trade associations. He currently serves as President of The Esper Group, an international advisory services firm, and works as a board member, corporate consultant, and author.

Masood Qadiry is an IT Manager with 13+ years of experience leading teams and delivering IT services. He holds certifications in ITIL V3, Microsoft Endpoint Administrator, M365 Foundation, Azure Foundation, and CompTIA A+. In his current role as Lead IT Support at Red Cell Partners, he has managed cloud migrations and infrastructure transitions, including implementations of Microsoft Teams Voice and Azure Active Directory.

Michael Anthony-Wood is a Finance Associate at Red Cell, where he provides financial insights and supports business partnership across the firm and its incubations. He previously worked as an analyst in JPMorgan Chase's Global Finance and Business Management Program and at Cisco Systems, where he handled sales finance for Cisco Capital Business and acted as financial lead for the Sales Director of the Americas. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Ohio State University (2020).

Michael Kilberry is Chief Product and Technology Officer at Red Cell, where he identifies market opportunities, defines technical strategies, and supports the firm's incubations as they scale. He previously held senior leadership roles at Google, Amazon, Snowflake, and Microsoft, most recently as Head of Product for AI/ML/Agents, Data & Analytics at Google Cloud, and earlier as a product leader for AWS SageMaker and Geospatial ML and an original architect of Office 365 and Azure. He holds a BS in Mathematics, Economics, and Computer Science from Northern Illinois University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from the University of Chicago.

Michael Sheets is Chief Human Resources Officer and a Partner at Red Cell. He has spent over two decades advising executives and organizational leaders, with experience scaling organizations, managing global expansion, and coaching leaders across North America, Asia, Australia, and Western Europe, and has held HR leadership as well as strategy and operations roles at both private and public companies. He holds a Bachelor's in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master's in Organization Development from American University's AU/NTL program.

Mike Ameche leads operations at Red Cell Partners, where he focuses on advancing deep technology through early-stage company creation and venture-backed execution with applications to national security. He has experience in technology maturation, product development, team formation, and business development, with a background of more than 24 years as a Navy SEAL officer. His work centers on building companies from concept through deployment and scaling organizations to align technical progress with commercial objectives.

Naimish Patel is Chief Growth Officer and a Partner at Red Cell. He previously led growth organizations in digital healthcare, served as Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions at Optum (a UnitedHealth Group division), and was a founding member of Rally Health, which was acquired by UnitedHealth in 2017. He is an active venture investor and advisor, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Florida.

Nicole Della Cava is the Director of Finance at Red Cell, with prior experience in corporate planning, operations, and sell-side equity research. She previously worked at Morgan Stanley as an Equity Research Associate covering the insurance sector, spent three years at Equitable Holdings as an FP&A Manager, and began her career in a rotational program at AllianceBernstein that led to a role in its alternatives business. She holds a BA in English and Economics from Bucknell University and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

Oscar Rivera is a Certified Public Accountant with over twelve years of experience in accounting and audit across banking, investment, healthcare, and retail sectors. He has held positions including VP of Finance and Investor Operations at CircleBack Lending, Inc., where he managed accounting operations for an online lending platform that raised over $20M in private equity and originated approximately $480M in unsecured consumer loans, and Controller at ITS Systems Integrators Co., Inc., where he oversaw month and year-end closings, financial reporting, and budget management. His audit experience includes engagements with hospitals, healthcare centers, and retail clients, with responsibilities encompassing financial statement audits, risk assessments, and regulatory compliance reporting.

Paige Morschauser is Head of Operations at Red Cell, with prior experience in product and project management. She worked at McChrystal Group from 2014 to 2016 and then at CrossLead from 2016 to 2020, where she guided the strategic development of the CrossLead Platform, led a team of engineers and designers, and later served as project lead for the company's largest product and services client. She is a Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Product Owner and holds a BA in Military History with a Certificate in Policy Journalism and Media Studies from Duke University (2015).

Rick Barris is the Senior Accounting Manager and Quality Control at Red Cell, where he oversees the accuracy of financial reporting, helps prepare financial statements, and supports incubation companies in developing their accounting platforms. He previously spent about twenty years in accounting, most recently as Senior Accounting Manager at Hello Alice and, before that, as Assistant Controller at 777 Partners. He holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University and a B.S. in Finance and Management from Binghamton University, and passed the CPA exam in 2001.

Ryan Whittle is Director of Communications & Media Strategy at Red Cell Partners, where he works with clients in national security, healthcare, and cybersecurity sectors. His background includes communications and media strategy roles.

Sophie Roney is Director of Recruiting at Red Cell Partners, an incubation firm that builds and invests in technology-led companies operating in healthcare, cyber, and national security sectors. She is responsible for building teams across Red Cell's portfolio companies, which include Eyris, Defcon, Trase, Tara Mind, ZephyrAI, Hunted Labs, Andesite, Crux, and Lightbox.

Tram Doan is an Assistant Controller at Red Cell, where she handles accounting for the firm's healthcare practices. She previously spent 5+ years at Array, most recently as VP of Accounting for a tele-behavioral health company, where she built the accounting function, implemented NetSuite, led audits, supported due diligence for capital raises and mergers, and managed financial close and reporting. Her earlier experience includes corporate accounting at Hyatt Hotels Corporation and public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a Master of Accounting Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and passed the CPA examination in 2009.

Troy Burton is VP of Product Strategy at Crux. He brings over 10 years of leadership experience in health tech and digital product management, with previous roles at Zephyr AI and Rally Health focused on product innovation, go-to-market strategies, and rewards programs. His work centers on product strategy, predictive analytics, user experience, and loyalty marketing across cross-functional teams.

Veronica Daigle is President of Red Cell's National Security Practice and a Partner at the firm. She previously worked in Boeing's Legislative Affairs and Government Operations, and earlier served as the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness at the Department of Defense, along with other DoD and OMB roles beginning in 2008. Before her federal service she spent nearly a decade in the financial sector working on securities lending performance benchmarks. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Fordham University and a Master's in Political Science/International Affairs from George Mason University.