George Lund Chairman

Mr. Lund is an experienced chief executive and successful investor with an extensive background in private equity, commercial banking, and international project finance. As Chairman and CEO of BANKFIRST he directed its growth of assets from $20 million to $1 billion and sold it to a syndicate of Marshall Bancorp and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Lund has worked on a diverse range of transactions from government contracting to consumer finance to petroleum infrastructure. His philanthropic activities include serving on boards of the South Dakota Economic Development Authority, Lapham’s Quarterly, the Leadership Council of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the Special Operations Fund. Mr. Lund is Chairman of Torch Hill Investment Partners and Chairman of its Executive Committee. He is the lead partner and board member for Blue Hackle, LLC. Mr. Lund is a member of Business Executives for National Security, The Atlantic Council and the Threat Finance Working Group.

William R. Sullivan Partner and Investment Committee Member

Mr. Sullivan brings significant financial and portfolio management experience in private equity to the team. He has held senior operating positions in large and small enterprises. He began his career as an Army Intelligence officer. Following graduate school he joined Booz Allen Hamilton followed by management positions with Shearson Lehman Brothers and the American Express Company, where he was a member of the Senior Management Group. For the last twenty years he has served as an operating partner for several private equity and venture capital firms. While his focus at Torch Hill includes deal origination and execution, he is the lead partner coordinating the strategic initiatives involving the portfolio companies as well as being a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Sullivan is a director of Diamondback and the chairman and director of Jameson.

Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold, USMC, Ret. Partner and Chair, Professional Partners Group

General Newbold is a respected former senior military officer with broad experience in military matters, homeland security, anti-terrorism, and force protection. Before retiring from the Marine Corps, he was the Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J-3) where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the 1.3 million members of the active armed services. Previously, he served as Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division. He is a member of the Torch Hill Executive Committee, director of Camelbak, Gapgemini Government Solutions, HemCon, Diamondback Tactical and Jameson. General Newbold also chairs the Torch Hill Professional Partners Group.

David C. Miller, Jr. Partner and Head of Investor Relations

Ambassador Miller served as a Special Assistant to President George H.W. Bush on the National Security Council staff responsible for counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics initiatives as well as Africa. He was appointed Ambassador to Tanzania in 1980 by President Reagan and subsequently to Zimbabwe in 1984 finishing diplomatic service in 1986. He has contributed to a number of books on low intensity conflict and co-authored "The United States and Africa" with David Gordon and Howard Wolpe. Ambassador Miller is the Chairman of the Special Operations Fund and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Council of American Ambassadors and the District of Columbia Bar. He is a member of the Executive Committee and is the lead partner responsible for fund raising and is responsible for Limited Partner relations. Ambassador Miller supports portfolio companies where his national security experience is relevant.

General John Abizaid, USA, Ret. Operating Partner

General Abizaid retired from the U.S. Army as Commander of U.S. Central Command with responsibility for US security interests in 25 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Arabian Gulf region and into Central Asia. He is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable Americans on the Middle East/Gulf region and is highly respected by the region’s leaders. Earlier in his career, he was the 66th Commandant of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also served also Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J5) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Director of the Joint Staff. Previously, General Abizaid commanded the 1st Infantry Division, which provided the first ground forces into Kosovo. His education includes a U.S. Army War College Senior Fellowship at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, a Masters degree in Area Studies from Harvard University and study at the University of Jordan in Amman, where he was an Olmsted Scholar. Currently, General Abizaid serves as a director for Blue Hackle.

Stephen R. Kappes Operating Partner

Mr. Kappes retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the Deputy Director in May 2010 after 30 years of service.  From 2006 to 2010 he was directly involved in the leadership and management of all elements of the Agency under two different Directors and two Presidential administrations.  From 2005 to 2006 he was the Chief Operating Officer of ArmorGroup International and a member of the Board of Directors of ArmorGroup International plc.  From 2002 to 2004 Mr. Kappes served as the Associate Deputy Director of Operations and then the Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA.  Mr. Kappes also served during his career as the Associate Deputy Director for Counterintelligence.  Mr. Kappes was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps before joining the CIA. Currently, he serves as a director for Diamondback Tactical.

Brian Nugent Operating Partner

Along with General Abizaid, Brian anchors the west coast presence for Torch Hill and is leading Torch Hill’s outreach efforts with companies in the important Southern California Defense and Intelligence region. Most recently he helped play an important role in the acquisition of Zephyr Photonics, a world-renowned optical networking supplier and is now the Chairman of the Board of that company. Mr. Nugent also lends his operational background to assist the broader portfolio. His twenty year technology industry operational experience spans executive leadership posts across public and private companies in general management (CEO/COO), sales, marketing, product management, corporate development, business development and customer service across the security, communications, cloud, social media, telecom and data networking industries. He serves on the Boards of several leading edge technology firms and is a member of the 'Alliance of CEOs', the San Diego Venture Group, and is a frequent lecturer at CEO consortium’s such as the ‘CEO Total Access Series’. He is active in a variety of charitable organizations benefitting disadvantaged and displaced women and children and is a Board Member of PEERS (www.peersnetwork.org). Mr. Nugent is the Chairman of Zephyr Photonics.

Stephen Minor Vice President

Stephen Minor joined Torch Hill in 2005 soon after inception and holds a variety of responsibilities including investment execution, portfolio management, operations, and fundraising. Prior to joining Torch Hill, Stephen worked for a boutique merchant bank in Washington, DC where he focused on transactions involving financial sponsors. Previously, Stephen worked at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown in New York in their structured debt products group. Stephen received his MBA from Georgetown University.