RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners expands team of former U.S. Federal Government Officials

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Governor of Pennsylvania and first Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Thomas J. Ridge, and financier R. Brad Lane expand RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners with a team of distinguished former U.S. Federal Government Officials:

• Gen. Thomas Bostick: served as the U.S. Army Chief of Engineers and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - the senior military officer overseeing and supervising most of the Nation's civil works infrastructure and military construction, hundreds of environmental protection projects, as well as managing 34,000 civilian employees and military personnel in over 110 countries around the world.

• The Hon. Andrea Thompson: served as Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of State, responsible for cyber security, space, and emerging technologies. She was the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States. Ms. Thompson served as the National Security Advisor for the Chairman, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security and Senior Military Advisor to the Chairman, U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

• The Hon. David Shulkin: served as Secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as Under Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for the nation's largest integrated health care system with 1,200 sites of care, serving over 22 million American veterans and their families. Dr. Shulkin served as CEO Beth Israel Health System, Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, as well as Chairman of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University School of Medicine. 

• The Hon. Gary Locke: served as Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where led the National Export Initiative to double American exports, and the Export Control Reform to make U.S. companies more competitive by easing their licensing burden for high-tech exports to partners and allies. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to China, opening markets for U.S.-made goods and services, as well as shaping policy for trade, regulation, and cross-border investment at the local, state, national, and international levels.

• The Hon. Thomas Vilsack: served as Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he developed policy and initiatives to support farmers, ranchers and growers - making record investments in rural communities to provide a nutritious food supply for the American people. He strengthened the global agricultural economy, created new markets for innovation, and made sustainability a key pillar of focus.

• The Hon. Craig Fugate: served as Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he awarding more than $19 billion in preparedness grants, investing more than $7 billion into hazard mitigation, enhanced technology and innovation that led the federal government to open-source its data for the public to make use of it, which fostered a community-oriented approach to build sustainable and resilient communities.

• Victor Mendez: served as Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), where he was the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for day-to-day operations of the 10 modal administrations and the work of more than 55,000 USDOT employees nationwide and overseas.  He focused on ensuring the safety, efficiency, and modernization of America's transportation system, which plays a key role in economic development.

• Adm. Dennis McGinn: served as Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment at the U.S. Department of Navy (DN), where he led the transformation of naval installations toward greater mission resiliency though energy efficiency, renewable energy, microgrids, and other clean technologies. He served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs, overseeing the development of future Navy capabilities. 

• Jim Williams: served as Acting Administrator at U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which is America's only agency dedicated solely to procuring goods and services across all of the federal government, with an operating budget of $20 billion, annual procurement of $66 billion, including responsibility for management of $500 billion in U.S. federal property. He served as Commissioner of Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), led IRS Procurement, and served as Director of U.S. Department of Homeland Security US-VISIT.

• Dr. Jennifer Ricklin: served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the Air Force Research Laboratory, with responsibility for providing strategic vision and guidance of their $5.2B technology portfolio. She was Chief Scientist & Director of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA), a Program Manager at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and a Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering with a mandate to establish the Defense Innovation Unit (DIUx/DIU).

• Dr. John Zangardi: served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he led initiatives for implementation of advanced cybersecurity technology, cloud computing and data analytics, identity management and telecommunications. He served as Chief Information Officer and Principal Deputy CIO at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), as well as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Information Operations, and Space (DASN C4I, IO, and Space).

• Peter Tseronis: served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), where he developed a technology roadmap that promoted information sharing across public and private sectors, created a technology summit series to foster innovation within national laboratories, DOE program offices and private sector. He served as Federal IPv6 Task Force chair, Energy.Data.Gov co-chair, Cloud First Task Force chair, and led improvements to the acquisition process resulting in advances in policy, mandates, and new initiatives.

• Chris Cummiskey: served as Under Secretary for Management and Chief Acquisition Officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he had department-wide responsibility for budget/finance, security, cyber, information technology, human capital, administration, and $19 billion in annual procurement. He co-led the Executive Steering Committee on the National Cybersecurity Protection System, and the Executive Steering Committee on Cyber Strategy, as well as the oversight committee on the implementation of the President's Executive Order on Cybersecurity.

"The U.S. Federal Government is one of the largest customers of products and services in the world, spending in excess of $600 billion on private sector contracts annually. Successfully navigating that market, including: regulations, certifications, authority to operate, GSA schedules and agency-specific contract vehicles, competitive RFP's, agency priorities and decision makers, as well as legislative mandates and mission requirements – can be a formidable task for emerging growth companies" said R. Brad Lane, CEO of RIDGE-LANE LP. 

"Our distinguished team brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of experience and relationships spanning all Federal agencies – civilian, defense and intelligence – bridging private innovation, public administration and acquisitions expertise, which will accelerate the speed and scale of procurement for our private sector clientele, who have developed novel technology solutions to grand challenges addressing critical needs of the public and society as a whole."

RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners is a venture development firm – focused on root-cause solutions to grand challenges in Education, Sustainability, and Information Technology – with a team of General Partners, Venture Partners, and Senior Advisors who have served at the highest levels of finance, government, and the military. 

We create value for our clients and society by bridging the gaps between private-sector innovation, investment capital, policy and procurement – across the Federal, State, and Local levels: an innovation ecosystem, providing corporate development to commercialize and scale novel technology companies, as well as place-based solutions that improve cities and quality of life.

Innovators tackling grand societal challenges:  [email protected]

For more information visit:  www.RIDGE-LANE.com

SOURCE Ridge-Lane Limited Partners

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