CASTELLUM - Key Persons


Bernard S. Champoux

Bernie Champoux joined Hanwha in May 2017, formed and led the establishment of their US & Americas business for four years, before moving to Government Relations, May 2021. Prior to Hanwha, he consulted for Lockheed Martin, L3, CENTRA Technology, Analytical Services (ANSER), and the Defense Science Board. He is a founding Director, Korean Defense Veterans Association; a Director for MFSI Government Group, the National Defense Industrial Association, and Vice Chairman, Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. Bernie served nearly 39 years in the US Army commanding from Platoon through Field Army in light, mechanized, and motorized Infantry, with multiple tours in the Rangers, and numerous operational deployments including over three years in combat. He led the 25th Infantry Division as the last Division Headquarters in Iraq during Operation New Dawn. Bernie was the Executive Officer to the Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command and the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also both the Deputy and Chief of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Army. Following in his father's footsteps who served as a company commander during the Korean War, Bernie served almost four years in the Republic of Korea culminating his tour of duty as the Commander, Eighth Army while simultaneously serving as the Chief of Staff for United Nations Command, ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea. He received the Gukseon Medal, Order of National Merit from the ROK government and the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the ROK-US Alliance. Bernie received his BA from Saint Anselm College, is a graduate of the US Army War College, and the Army Strategic Leader Development Program.

Chuck Zingler

Job Titles:
  • Executive Vice President at Guardian Centers
Captain (Retired) Chuck Zingler is an Executive Vice President at Guardian Centers, LLC, a privately owned training solutions company that supports Warfighters and National Security personnel, first responders, casualty assistance and consequence management professionals around the globe. Over the past fifteen years, Chuck has helped lead small and large companies in achieving and sustaining market-leading growth, by developing strategies, mapping processes, coaching executives, account leaders, BD/sales and capture personnel on the leading practices and habits that consistently win. Chuck graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and commissioned in the U.S. Navy where he was trained as an operational intelligence officer, mission planner, and targeteer. He served for 26 years, including leadership positions at sea, ashore and overseas, in peacetime as well as in conflict. Her received his M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College and served as a National Security Fellow at Harvard University, J.F. Kennedy School of Government.

Craig Nixon

Brigadier General Craig Nixon is a successful entrepreneur, retired General Officer and passionate supporter of veteran non-profit organizations. He was inducted into Ranger Hall of Fame and selected for the Auburn University at Montgomery Top Fifty in Fifty Alumni. Over a 29 - year Army career, Brigadier General Nixon served in a wide range of assignments with seven tours in special operations units including tours as the 75th Ranger Regiment Commander, and the Director of Operations for JSOC and USSOCOM during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a highly decorated soldier whose awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart. After retiring from the Army in 2011, he was an original Partner at McChrystal Group and helped create a highly successful leadership consulting company leading engagements with a number of Fortune 500 Companies. He left to become the CEO for ACADEMI and over three years thru a combination of organic growth and acquisitions built Constellis Group - one of the world's largest private security firms. He is currently the CEO of Nixon Six Solutions, a consulting firm focusing on growth and market entry strategy, leadership, and M&A. He is also a board member for a number of defense and technology companies, senior advisor to several capital funds and is an avid supporter of veteran focused non-profit organizations.

David T. Bell - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
David Bell has 28 years of experience in the public accounting profession with both Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, including 14 years as an audit partner with Deloitte. He has a proven track record leading service engagements and advising C-suite and boards of public and private companies in aerospace & defense, technology, and other industries. David has extensive knowledge of revenue recognition, leases, derivatives, consolidation, and internal controls. While at Deloitte, in addition to serving as the lead client service partner for many accounts, David served in Deloitte's national office as an accounting consultation partner and as chief of staff. As a consultation partner, he consulted with engagement teams addressing complex technical accounting issues. In his operational role as chief of staff, David focused on technical and organizational efforts to restructure and refocus the accounting, SEC reporting, and auditing divisions to better serve clients. David graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, summa cum laude, from Harding University, where he also serves on the university's President's Council. David is a Certified Public Accountant ("CPA"), licensed in Illinois and Virginia, and a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Illinois CPA Society, and the Virginia Society of CPAs.

Emil Kaunitz

Job Titles:
  • Director
Emil Kaunitz was raised in Irvington, New Jersey and graduated from Ohio Northern University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He also earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from Pratt Institute. Emil was employed by Sperry Systems Management in Great Neck, Long Island, where he was an inertial navigation field engineer and spent over two years at sea on Navy ships. He also developed computer systems for the Navy's Polaris Submarine program, Sperry's Shipboard Collision Avoidance System and the Operations Research Simulator for the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Subsequently, Emil was a consultant for the Naval Air Engineering Center at Lakehurst, where he developed the Information Technology Strategy for support of the Navy's Test Programs for Avionic Automatic Test Equipment. In 1978, Emil formed Specialty Systems, Inc. in Toms River, a system and software development company to serve commercial, government and defense clients. In July of 2018, the company celebrated its 40th year in business and continues to provide government and commercial clients the highest quality state-of-the-art automation systems. Today, with a staff of 91, Specialty Systems services Navy and Army clients, the Australian Navy, State, County, Municipal and Local Government agencies, as well as commercial firms. The company has served almost half of New Jersey State agencies and is positioned as the primary supplier of aircraft carrier flight deck management systems for the Navy. Emil served on the Save Lakehurst Base Committee; this group was largely responsible for saving Naval Air Warfare Center, Lakehurst, NJ from closure in the 1995 BRAC. Emil has been the Chairperson of the Friends of Navy Lakehurst since 1995 and has served as the Lakehurst representative of the Governor's Commission to Support and Enhance New Jersey's Military and Coast Guard Installations. He is currently serving on the Governor's Council on Armed Forces and Veterans' Affairs and Defense Enhancement Coalition as the Lakehurst Base representative. Since 1993, Emil has supported the Lakehurst Base and the State of New Jersey in the retention of Military bases. His past and continued service to various organizations that support Joint Base MDL and the Lakehurst community continues today.

Glen R. Ives - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
Captain (Retired) Glen Ives is responsible for establishing and growing Castellum's Navy and Marine Corps Division. Additionally he will identify companies for potential acquisition. In his previous role as President and CEO of Sabre Systems, he brought together a world class team of technology leaders and professionals and transformed the company into a leading technology solutions and services enterprise, providing software and systems engineering solutions for mission critical requirements across the high value domains of Cyber, AI/ML, C5ISR, Data Science and Analytics, Cloud Technologies, and Digital Transformation. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and United States Army War College, he served as a Naval Officer and Naval Aviator deployed throughout the world and across the United States. His last Navy assignment was in Southern Maryland as Commanding Officer of the World's Finest Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the nation's premier Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Center of Excellence for Naval Aviation; representing a $45 billion enterprise of over 22,000 engineering, technology and business professionals. He also served as President of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance and helped lead Maryland's efforts to become a FAA designated UAS Test Site for UAS integration into the National Airspace, and he coordinated and brokered a partnership with the states of Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey and their respective state universities. His leadership while President of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance, also helped to bring the University System of Maryland to the Southern Maryland region with an anticipated $85 million Academic and Research, Development and Technology Innovation complex at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland. This new multi-million dollar center will fuel technology innovation, transfer and commercialization, and new startups. It will also significantly strengthen the Southern Maryland region's work force through education and training opportunities, grow better paying, higher quality professional careers and jobs, and diversify the region's economy and industry base. Glen also served on the Board of Directors of the Professional Services Council (PSC), the leading advocate of the government technology and professional services industry, as well as the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance (Past President). He is a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Mary's College of Maryland and the Advisory Board for the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland.

Jay O. Wright

Job Titles:
  • CGeneral Counsel / Secretary & Treasurer
Jay Wright has over twenty years of experience in finance and public markets. As the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of three public companies over the past eleven years, he has structured numerous private and public financing transactions. He also served as Chief Financial Officer for TAMSCO, a privately held government contractor, which he helped sell for $83.5 million in 2003, and was a founding shareholder of Chesapeake Government Technologies, which was acquired by Widepoint Corporation (Amex: WYY) in 2004. He has expertise in all aspects of structuring private placements and in creating exits via mergers and acquisitions and open market sales. Previously, Mr. Wright worked as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch in New York and a mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Foley & Lardner in Chicago and Skadden, Arps in New York. Mr. Wright received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University, summa cum laude, where he also serves as an adjunct finance professor. Mr. Wright is a member of the Illinois state bar and is Series 7, 24 and Series 66 qualified. Mr. Wright is the co-author of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers, Sixth Edition (Perseus Books, 2010).

John F. Campbell

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
General (Retired) John F. Campbell retired from the US Army on 1 May 2016 after 37 years of active duty service. He was most recently the Commander of all US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan from August 2014 to March of 2016. He also served as the 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; the second highest ranking officer in the 1.1 million US Army. General Campbell has commanded at all levels of the Army, from a company of paratroopers, to a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha, to a light infantry battalion, to a brigade of paratroopers in the 82d Airborne Division to the Commanding General of the famed 101st Airborne Division. General Campbell has deployed multiple times to both Iraq and Afghanistan and has over 54 months in combat. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy and master's degrees in Public Administration from Golden Gate University and an honorary MS in National Security Strategy from the Army War College. During his military service, General Campbell earned a number of individual and campaign awards and decorations to include the Defense Distinguished Service medal, three Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legions of Merit, three Bronze Star Medals, the Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist Badge and the Ranger and Special Forces Tabs. In 2018 he was inducted into the inaugural class of the 82d Airborne Division's Hall of Fame. He currently serves on several corporate boards and veteran non-profit boards and is the Chairman for Army Emergency Relief (AER) and Chairman for NS2 Serves.

Laurie M. Buckhout

Job Titles:
  • Chief Revenue Officer
  • Director
  • Founder and CEO of the Corvus Group
Colonel (Retired) Laurie Moe Buckhout is the founder and CEO of The Corvus Group, a strategic consulting and services group. She served as an Army Officer from 1984 to 2010. She attended James Madison University, commissioned in 1984 and served in Army leadership and staff positions from the 3rd Infantry Division to the White House, and from Platoon Leader to a combat Battalion Commander, ending her career as Chief of Electronic Warfare for the US Army. In addition to a Bachelor of Science Degree from James Madison University, she holds a Masters of Military Arts and Science, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and Masters of Science in Information Systems Management, Webster University, St Louis, Missouri. Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), and several awards of Joint and Army Commendation and Achievement Medals and well as other various service awards. She also wears permanent orders of the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Meritorious Unit Award, as well as the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge, and the Joint Staff, White House and Army Staff Badges.

Mark C. Fuller - CEO, Chairman, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Chairman
  • Manager
  • President
  • Executive Management and Board of Directors
Mark Fuller is an accomplished leader and manager with over forty years of experience in public and private companies, large corporations and start-up ventures with businesses in the commercial and government sectors. He has served in numerous executive roles including Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer. In addition, he has held senior leadership positions responsible for engineering, operations, sales, corporate development/strategy and service delivery. Mark's work history includes commercial companies and government contractors across various industries; telecommunications, Internet, software, cyber security, energy management, renewable energy, real estate and consulting. As part of management teams and as an outside advisor, he has raised over $3 billion in funding for the growth and expansion of businesses. In 2003 he was a founding shareholder of Chesapeake Government Technologies, which was acquired by Widepoint Corporation (Amex: WYY) in 2004 where he served as a Director and CEO. He has also led and been involved in various mergers and acquisitions. Mark is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and has earned FINRA (NASD) Series 7 and 66 licenses.

Patricia Frost

Prior to joining Seagate in 2019 as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Internal Communications and Community Engagement, Patricia had a demonstrated track record of success in change management in large, complex, cross-functional organizations. She was most recently a senior advisor with the Thayer Leader Development Group. In the United States Army, she reached the rank of Major General, serving as the first-ever Director responsible for strategy, budget and policy for the U.S. Army's cyber capabilities. She has led strategic alignment and problem-solving initiatives among interagency and international partners, with three decades of experience in Asia and the Middle East. She holds three masters degrees in the following areas: Human Resources Development, Strategic Intelligence and Strategic Studies.

Tom McMillen

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Advisory Board
Tom McMillen-Olympian, Rhodes Scholar, professional basketball player, Congressman, author, businessman-first received acclaim in high school when he was named the best basketball player in the US, featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A graduate of the University of Maryland, McMillen was a Rhodes Scholar, played eleven years in the NBA, was a member of the 1972 Olympic team, served three terms in the US House of Representatives and was co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness and Sports. McMillen currently serves as CEO and President of the LEAD1, comprising 130 of the premier college athletic programs representing over $8 billion in revenue. During his career, McMillen has been an active investor, principal and board member in many companies, including ten public companies. He was formerly a member of the board of regents of the University of Maryland System and was the Founding Chairman of the National Foundation on Physical Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. His book, Out of Bounds, examines the conflicts between sports and ethics.

Trey Blalock

Job Titles:
  • Chief Development Officer and Chief Legal Officer for Health Care Navigator
Trey Blalock is the Chief Development Officer and Chief Legal Officer for Health Care Navigator and its affiliates. He spearheads all transactional efforts, is responsible for developing, evaluating and executing all acquisition, disposition, construction, and investment and growth opportunities, and leads all strategic initiatives. Trey also provides HCN senior management with counsel and direction regarding significant legal events and oversees a team of lawyers, paralegals and other professionals that supports and assists HCN affiliates in matters related to licensure, litigation, corporate structuring, contract negotiation, survey response and risk management. Prior to joining HCN, Trey was in private practice for over 25 years and was a partner with several major law firms. His practice was primarily transactional, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, securities issuances and structured finance with companies in the financial services, government contracting, health care, energy and technology industries. He worked with companies of all sizes, including early stage, pre-revenue ventures, well-established middle market enterprises, and Fortune 1000 companies, and is familiar with the issues confronting businesses at all stages of development. He advised on matters ranging from negotiation strategy, business implementation and risk assessment to capital formation, corporate governance and disclosure. His broad areas of expertise include strategic planning, restructuring, M&A, problem-solving, management, market development, business growth, and leadership. He was instrumental in developing the securitization market for numerous alternative asset classes, including subprime loans and subordinated debt instruments. In January 2020, Trey was selected to the OnCon Icon Top 50 Corporate Counsel List by a vote of his peers. He currently serves as an Advisory Board Member to Live Oak Endeavors, LLC and Second Act Financial Services. Trey received his bachelor of arts (economics) degree, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1980. He received his juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Tulane Law School in 1983, and served on the Board of Editors of The Tulane Law Review. He is admitted to practice in New York, California, Texas and the District of Columbia, and complies with continuing legal education requirements of the New York State Bar Association. He frequently serves as an arbitrator in customer and industry disputes under the FINRA Dispute Resolution program.