Our Experienced Team

Dean is the President and Co-founder of AIC. Dean brings 20+ years of government acquisition experience supporting Army Joint and Special Operations. Key positions included Project Management for supporting Rapid Equipping Force, Project Manager for Medium Altitude Reconnaissance & Surveillance Systems, and Project Manager for Soldier Protection & Individual Equipment. Additionally, Dean served as the Joint Special Operations J8, overseeing a $13.9B dollar portfolio. While serving in these executive level positions, Dean identified several challenges between government and small innovative business. Thus, he founded AIC to bridge the gap between innovative technology and government entities. Dean is a member of the Defense Innovation Network and a Technology scout for several Venture Capital and Private Equity firms. Dean's education includes a MS in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, a MS in System Acquisition Management from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a BA in Business Administration and Economics from Lycoming College.

Blair serves as the Strategic Advisor for AIC. Employing his strategic background, Blair has assembled a wealth of business and financial resource specialists to meet the full spectrum of client needs all in one place. Blair is a Million Dollar Round Table, MDRT®, qualifying member, holds the Certified Wealth Strategist, CWS®, designation and is a perennial Chairman’s Council and Leaders Club qualifier with several institutions. Blair holds BS in Economics and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Patrick Finn serves as a Strategic Advisor. With over 30+ years of experience with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Pepsi Cola International, Cisco Systems, Teradata and Blue Prism, Patrick Finn is a visionary leader with deep expertise spanning the private and public sectors, a successful track record in enabling high employee engagement, customer outcomes, and delivering customer, investor, and stakeholder value. Finn has driven overall planning, strategy, and execution in all aspects of Go-To-Market for various hardware, software, SaaS, and cloud companies. He has participated in the successful sale and transition of Blue Prism to their current owners, SS&C Technologies. Finn summarizes his accomplishments and experience as, “Student of the ‘How’, Observer of the ‘What’ and Practitioner of the ‘Why’.” Patrick Finn has led business, sales and technical teams focused on innovations in areas including AI/ML, Analytics, data strategies, video collaboration, cloud computing, cybersecurity, secure mobility, robotic processing application, and intelligent automation to create solutions for customers. He has been responsible for revenue of $100m-$7B in product, services and solutions utilizing various sales and customer support modalities. Finn has held many senior executive positions with an extensive performance portfolio in enterprise strategy and execution, vertical markets implementation, advanced technology integration, intelligent automation solutions, and leading successful integrated sales organizations. Finn is an active member of both the Private equity and venture capitalist communities and remains on the Spring Mountain Capital and ForgePoint Capital Advisory Councils. He is passionate in assisting the men and women of the U.S. Military in education and employment transitioning efforts. He participated in the Jefferies Conference on Artificial Intelligence and was published in Harvard Business Review. Article: The Go-to-Market Approach Startups Need to Adopt: http://bit.ly/28q5wiE . He is proud of the past support and board work he has done with First Responders Children Foundation, Cisco Foundation, Inwood House, USO and the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. Finn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems from Pace University and a Master of Science degree in telecommunication and computer management from NYU-Polytechnic University.

Royce is an analytical and efficient problem solver. Royce has experience in project management, marketing, defense consulting, business development, and financial data analytics. Royce worked at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels within the Army Special Operations Command where he specialized in information and influence activities to include OSINT activities where he used multiple PAI data scrapping tools to measure sentiment, target acquisition, risk mitigation and military deception. Royce holds a MS in Finance from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Business (Communication) from Arizona State University.

Ms. Jones is a highly networked geopolitical strategic consultant. Throughout the course of her career, she has worked with members of UK Parliament, Arab leadership, and ranking leaders in the U.S. and U.S. military. Kate has advised on emerging technologies, irregular forces, radicalization, counterterrorism, the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process, and facilitated the recognition of Israel in the Abraham Accords (on the Arab side). Ms. Jones works in business development, analyzing leadership strategies, product research/development, marketing, and media while maintaining a focus on innovation, technology, and national security. Kate has been an architect in software technology development. She has also been a White House correspondent and worked in media in the House of Commons. She has spent time in Ukraine, including extensive time on the front lines. She is completing a Masters in Software Engineering at Oxford University, with a special interest in Artificial Intelligence. Kate is a Member of INSA (Intelligence and National Security Alliance) serving on the Innovation Council, Business Executives for National Security, and National Press Club, serving on the International Correspondents Committee DC Embassy outreach. Kate is also a distinguished blue water offshore yacht racer and member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

Hannah serves as the Chief of Staff for AIC. As an experienced US Army military intelligence officer, Hannah brings a wealth of knowledge in tactical and strategic operations and analysis. Her experience in large-scale military logistics operations, combat aviation, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) intelligence collection allows her to recognize the accelerating need for innovative technology today. Hannah's academic background in the field of Emergency Management & Homeland Security reinforces her knowledge of government, industry, and academia.

Frank previously served 26+ years in the U.S. Army with 20+ years as a senior special operations tactician, strategist, innovator, and Middle East / North Africa expert. During his time with Special Operations, he served in multiple positions including maneuver element team member, team leader, ground force commander, interagency advisor, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Acquisition Advisor, and JSOC Innovation Cell Advisor. Frank culminated his military career as the senior advisor for a global joint task force spanning five continents leading operations, collaborative planning, and policy implementation for two Presidential administrations in Syria.

BT is a recognized leader among the USAF’s most dynamic and capable Airmen and serves as the AIC AFSOC SME. BT has more than 20 years in combat and disaster response operations. BT is well-versed in leading teams, mentoring team leaders and cost-based budget management and accounting. Additionally, BT has an academic background in Aeronautics, Aviation, and Aerospace Science and Technology.

Shane retired as a Special Operations Marine Raider and serves as AIC’s MARSOC SME. During his time, Shane has led high-performing teams from 4 to 800 personnel in training environments. Shane has the ability to enable better, more robust, and more agile teams in any scenery from design thinking negations to final product delivery and even the board room. Additionally, served as the only US Marine Corps and MARSOC enlisted Marine stationed at NATO (SHAPE) Special Operations Headquarters (NSHQ) 2017-2020 in Mons Belgium. Shane holds a MA in Government and Democracy Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Military Strategic Studies from Norwich University.

Brett started his 21+ year Army career as an exceptional Army Aviator as an Attack (AH-64) & Special Operations (MH-47) aviator with over 3600 flight hours, of which 2500+ were in combat. Brett serves as AIC’s Aviation SME. Brett has deployed eight times with over 48 months of combat throughout the globe in support of both conventional and special operations. Brett brings unique skills in identifying creative solutions through diligent insight to organizations by “getting nerd” through discovery learning and an engineering mindset. Brett holds a PMP certification, an MS in Project Management, and a BS in Professional Aeronautics, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Jeremy spent 23 years of service as a Combat Engineer culminating in the rank of First Sergeant. Jeremy has experience in light, airborne, and mechanized units of over three combat deployments and two non-combat deployments. With his vast knowledge and abilities, he was chosen to instruct at Pre Ranger, Sapper, and engineer explosive courses. Jeremy graduated from Ranger, Sapper, Pathfinder, Air Assault, Airborne, EWO, EEOCA, Javelin Gunner, Training Developer, and Instructor Courses. Jeremy holds a MA in History from American Military University, BS in Military History from Park University, and an AS in Construction Management, BS in Military History (CL).

Stu served for over 30 years in the United States Air Force leading diverse US and Partner Nation Special Operations teams focused on complex air-to-ground integration, targeting, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, personnel recovery, and special operations aviation. He has extended experience performing operational and strategic planning at the COCOM level along with leading political-military initiatives at the theater special operations command level. Stu has commanded at the squadron level multiple times in garrison and in combat and successfully designed and implemented the training and equipping of some of the nation’s most technologically advanced teams.

Jerry last served as the Brigade Commander, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) CENTCOM & SOCOM Regional Command. Jerry has served in an array of legislative and strategic assignments to include as a Congressional Fellow for Senator Saxby Chambliss,110th/111th Congress, Washington D.C.; CENTCOM J5 Security Cooperation Officer / Joint Logistics Planner, United States Embassy, Cairo, Egypt; Division G4, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA. and Battalion Commander, AFSBN-Carson, Army Materiel Command / 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. Jerry has a Doctorate from Walden University and is a graduate of the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National and Resource Strategy, National Defense University.

Rick, a seasoned IT professional with over three decades of practical experience, proudly served in the US Navy before embarking on a remarkable career in the corporate world. His most recent role was as an IT executive at a global Fortune 50 company, where he held leadership responsibilities for the company's operations in the southern half of the United States, specifically in the state, local, and education sector. Rick's track record of success in delivering IT solutions spans federal, state, and local government sectors, as well as the commercial industry. He achieved this through a combination of strategic planning, effective leadership, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies.

Meara is an undergraduate student at Colorado Christian University completing a summer internship with AIC. Currently a rising sophomore, she is pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Marketing. Meara has Social Media Management experience and has career aspirations to work as a small business consultant. Meara is originally from Pinehurst, NC, and has been a part of the military community for 17 years due to her father's service. These experiences molded her fierce determination, organization, flexibility, and problem-solving skills.