Charles Gustin is Chairman and CEO of Gustin Partners, Ltd. Since the formation of Gustin Partners in 1986, he has guided the firm’s global focus. He frequently serves as a strategic advisor to CEOs and Boards within his client portfolio, and is called upon to support the decision process in M&A activity, corporate growth and realignment issues, and organizational strategies. In addition, he has directed the successful completion of many C Level and Board searches for a wide range of companies.  

Mr. Gustin has driven the firm's commitment to quality, relationship value, and continuous improvement of "best practices." As a result, Gustin Partners has a rich history of long-term client partnerships, delivering significant value beyond its original focus of senior executive recruitment services. Gustin Partners has been successful in leveraging the firm's extensive global relationships in the Energy and Environment, Information Technology, Defense, and Healthcare Technology sectors in support of its clients’ agendas.  

Mr. Gustin led the acquisition of Gustin Partners (formerly Venture PSL) in 1986 and established the firm as one of the leading executive search/executive development firms serving the Technology sector. He later drove the firm's entry into the Defense and Energy markets and, through the years, has been a highly respected advisor to a range of companies from early stage firms to Fortune 50 market leaders.  

In the late 1990's Gustin Partners expanded its focus to accommodate the needs of its broad client base, addressing organizational and transaction related strategic issues in a wider range of markets. This included offering highly specialized transformation program activation utilizing executive coaching, and often providing the advisory talent in support of the implementation of global transformation programs.  

Mr. Gustin established GP Capital LLC to provide specific consulting services and advisory support to Gustin Partners’ clients engaged in a wide range of financial transactions, typically acquisition and/or divestiture related.  

Mr. Gustin is a member of the Institute of Directors in London, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and Mass Technology Leadership Council. He is an Investor and Board member of Iontera, Inc. (Providence) and Viricor, Inc. (Boston). In addition, Mr. Gustin is a member of the Advisory Council for the Norman Price Neurosciences Institute, Rhode Island Hospital/Lifespan.

Since joining Gustin Partners in 1995, Mike has specialized in engagement delivery across executive search, transformation, and advisory initiatives. He has over 24 years experience in senior level executive recruiting and organizational consulting. Mike brings a strong entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial senior management background to the search process. Previously, Mike was President of the Lexington Resources Group, an executive search and consulting firm focused on building the management teams for early stage, venture backed, and technology companies.

Prior to entering the executive search field, Mike successfully served as National Field Marketing Manager with Data General and as Director of Customer Service with Applicon. He has a BA in economics from St. Anselm College, New Hampshire.

Paul joined Gustin Partners in 2005 as Director of European Operations.

He has over 30 years experience working at early-stage technology companies in Europe and the US in management positions. These include: 1900 Programming, the fifth-largest software house in the UK, which he co-founded in 1967 and managed before selling it to Bovis in 1970; and Computer Modeling, which he founded and managed from 1970-80. More recently he has worked at Access Technology, Inc., CompuServe, lnc., and Avid Technology. He was also CEO at POINT Information Systems and at Sendmail.

He is a member of the British Computer Society and is a Chartered Engineer in Information Technology.

Melissa Hathaway, President of Hathaway Global Strategies, LLC, and Senior Advisor at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center.  She brings a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional perspective to strategic consulting and strategy formulation for public and private sector clients. She also serves as a Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Regents at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and she is a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada.  Recently, she was appointed to the Global Commission for Internet Governance (Bildt Commission).  In addition to these initiatives, she serves as a member of the board of directors for CyrusOne, a NASDAQ listed company; a member of the Intelligence Advisory Board for Sandia National Laboratory; a member of the University of Maryland University College Cybersecurity Think Tank; a member of the Council of Experts at the Global Cyber Security Center in Italy; a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Advanced Cyber Security Center in Boston, Massachusetts; a member of GovInfoSecurity.com's Board of Advisors, a member of the Advisory Board for Mission Link, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the National Economic Security Grid.  Additionally, Ms. Hathaway serves as a strategic advisor to a number of Fortune 500 companies.   In the government sector, Ms. Hathaway provides strategic advice to the U.S. Government, NATO, and Interpol, as well as numerous governments around the world as they develop and refine their national strategies for cybersecurity.

Formerly, she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Terremark Worldwide Inc., a NASDAQ listed company that was acquired by Verizon Communications in March 2011; a strategic advisor to NetWitness Corporation, which was acquired by EMC Corporation in April 2011; a strategic advisor to Six3Systems, which was acquired by CACI International Inc. in November 2013; and a member of the Board of Directors of EastWest Institute.

At Harvard, Ms. Hathaway is participating and contributing to the joint MIT-Harvard Project Minerva. She is contributing to the interdisciplinary research program by developing methods to measure, model, interpret and analyze challenges and responses in cyberspace. She is also a regular guest lecturer at both universities.

From February 2009 to August 2009, Ms. Hathaway served in the Obama Administration as Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace in the National Security Council. In that capacity she assembled a team of experienced government cyber experts to conduct the 60-Day Cyberspace Policy Review. In May 2009, the President presented the elegant blueprint of the Cyberspace Policy Review, announced cybersecurity as one of his Administration’s priorities, and recognized Ms. Hathaway’s leadership in conducting the review. In the ensuing months, Ms. Hathaway stood-up the Cybersecurity Office within the National Security Staff to commence the work called for in that blueprint. During the last two years of the administration of George W. Bush, Ms. Hathaway served as Cyber Coordination Executive and Director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task force in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence where she led the development of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). She built a broad coalition from within the Executive Branch and established an unprecedented partnership with Congress to obtain bipartisan support for addressing cybersecurity priorities. She developed and created a unified cross-agency budget submission for FY 2008 and for 2009-13, assembling disparate funding sources into a coherent, integrated program. At the conclusion of her government service she received the National Intelligence Reform Medal in recognition of her achievements.   At the conclusion of her government service she received the National Intelligence Reform Medal and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation Medal in recognition of her achievements.

Previously, Ms. Hathaway was a Principal with Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., where she led two primary business units: information operations and long range strategy and policy support, supporting key offices within the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. Earlier in her career she worked with Evidence Based Research, Inc. and the American Foreign Service Association.

Ms. Hathaway is frequent keynote speaker on cybersecurity matters, and regularly publishes papers and commentary in this field.

Academic Credentials

Hathaway has a B.A. degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. She has completed graduate studies in international economics and technology transfer policy and is a graduate of the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College, with a special certificate in Information Operations.

General William F. Kernan was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas in 1946.  He entered Officer Candidate School as a Staff Sergeant and was commissioned an Infantry Officer in November 1968.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Arts degree in Personnel Administration.  His military education includes the Infantry Advanced Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.

General Kernan has commanded at Platoon through Combatant Command level.  He has commanded two Airborne Companies, two Ranger Companies, an Airborne Infantry Battalion, a Ranger Battalion, and the 75^th Ranger Regiment.  For two years he was an exchange officer to England as a rifle company commander in the 3^rd Battalion, the British Parachute Regiment.  He was the Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver) of the 7^th Infantry Division, followed by an assignment as the Director of Plans, Policy, and Assessments, J5, United States Special Operations Command.  He commanded the 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for two years and the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg for 30 months. 

He has participated in numerous contingency operations.  He has extensive experience in joint operations and warfighting.  Combat tours have included Vietnam, Grenada, and Panama.  During Operation JUST CAUSE, he led the 75^th Ranger Regiment in its combat parachute assault onto Rio Hato, Panama.

General Kernan was appointed to the grade of General in July 2000.  On 5 September 2000, General Kernan assumed command as the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic and Commander in Chief, United States Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia responsible for Joint requirements and training.  He retired from the Army on 1 December 2002 and assumed the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager for International Operations for MPRI, a wholly owned subsidiary of L-3 Communications building the business from $43 million to $575 million in six years.  He retired from MPRI in 2010 and remains on several boards and is a Senior Fellow for AUSA and the Institute of Land Warfare.  He is also an advisor to the Army Maneuver Center and Army Special Operations Command and chairs the Warfighter Focus Board. 

General Kernan’s awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Legion of Merit (with 3 oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal with “V” device, Bronze Star Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal (with three oak leaf clusters), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with four oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge (with combat star), Air Assault Badge and Ranger Tab. 

He is married to the former Marianne Purnell of Alexandria, Virginia.  They have one son, Keith.  They reside in Pinehurst, NC.

Niall has over 23 years of international experience in the Energy, Technology and Services sectors.

Niall started his career in Ireland as a lecturer in Theoretical Physics.

In 1992, Niall moved to the private sector and had a successful 11 year career at Accenture in the UK, where he was a Strategy Partner in the Energy practice. During this period Niall worked on a series of high profile M&A deals for global energy companies in London, Brussels, Moscow, Baku and Houston.

In 2003, Niall was recruited to be turnaround CEO of Intigma Limited in India.  Intigma was a distressed Indian technology company targeting the global content management sector. The business was successfully restructured and sold to a private US technology company. 

In 2006, Niall became CEO of Parkmead Group plc in the UK, with a mandate from institutional shareholders to restructure the company. This involved a multi- year effort to transform the business from a failed Merchant Bank into an Independent Oil and Gas company primed for growth. Over a five year period the market capitalization of the company increased 15-fold and was positioned for further rapid growth.

From 2012 to the present, Niall has been an advisor to Suez Capital Limited. Suez Capital is a boutique advisory firm based in Malta. It provides political, strategy and financial advisory services to governments and large corporations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Niall is also an active investor / Board member in a number of private companies.

Thornton May is a futurist, educator and author. His extensive experience researching and consulting on the role and behaviors of “C” level executives in creating value with information technology has won him an unquestioned place on the short list of serious thinkers on this topic. Thornton combines a scholar’s patience for empirical research, a stand-up comic’s capacity for pattern recognition and a second-to-none gift for storytelling to address the IT management problems facing executives. The editors at eWeek honored Thornton, including him on their list of Top 100 Most Influential People in IT. The editors at Fast Company labeled him ‘one of the top 50 brains in business.’ Thornton has written a book, The New Know: Innovation Powered by Analytics.

He serves as: Executive Director and Dean at the IT Leadership Academy in Jacksonville, Florida; Futurist - External Technology Advisory Board at the Olin College of Engineering; and Co-founder of the CIO Solutions Gallery at the Fisher College of Business [the Ohio State University].

Fred currently serves as an independent consultant to Private Equity firms in the US and Europe.  He has developed and executed strategies involving Cyber-security & Critical Infrastructure Protection, Mobile Telecommunications, and other high-technology areas.

Until 2012, Fred Knops served as a Senior Vice Presidents at Booz Allen Hamilton. During his 23 year tenure at Booz Allen, Fred served government clients in the US and Europe; and telecommunications and high-technology clients in the US, Europe, and Latin America.

Starting in 2005 Fred moved to Booz Allen’s US Federal Business as the firm was assembling a new leadership team to serve the newly-created US Department of Homeland Security. Fred led the firm's businesses within DHS HQ, FEMA, the National Protection Programs Directorate including the Cyber-security and Communications (CS&C) Division, the office of Science and Technology, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Organization.  He also played a leadership role in the firm’s centers of excellence on Innovation, IT Strategy, and Cyber-security.

Previously, Fred led Booz Allen’s Telecommunications & IT practice in London. During his seven years in this role, his practice also provided strategic technology services to fixed and mobile telecommunications companies, high-tech and defense industries, and also banks and Private Equity firms across Europe and North America.  He also served high-profile public-sector clients such as the Downing Street Policy Unit (serving Prime Minister Tony Blair), NATO, the European Space Agency, and the UK Department of Trade and Industry

Fred currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and as a Judge for the World Communications Awards.  Fred has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering (University of Michigan) and an MBA (George Washington University).

Spencer provides leadership, management and organizational coaching to executives seeking to achieve extraordinary performance from their teams.  He applies his broad leadership experience from over 30 years in the private and public sectors, and academic and military roles to his engagements.  He is passionate about helping his clients execute organizational, operational and people leadership initiatives.

Spencer headed up the Big Data, digital ad agency, market research and technology database businesses for Harte-Hanks, one of the world’s leading marketing services companies. He oversaw Trillium Software, Mason Zimbler, Aberdeen Group and the Ci Technology Database (CiTDB) operations for Harte-Hanks before leaving the company as Corporate Vice President in the fall of 2012.  During his 23-year tenure at Harte-Hanks, Spencer held sales, marketing, operations and executive management positions in its Direct Marketing division.

Spencer is a graduate of Rutgers College, with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and holds a Masters in Regional Planning. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Massachusetts School of Engineering in civil engineering.  He served in the US Army Corps of Engineers and was honorably discharged as a captain.

As a consultant, Frank's clients include a variety of private equity and small or mid-cap companies facing either extraordinary growth opportunities or restructuring challenges. His areas of emphasis are operations analysis, business planning, financing strategy, and M&A advisory work.

Frank was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Raytheon Company. At Raytheon, he focused on driving improvements in working capital efficiency and operating cash flow and, as a result, in Raytheon's leverage and credit quality. Prior to joining Raytheon, Frank served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wang for the four years following Wang's bankruptcy and reorganization.

From 1986 through 1994, Frank was with United Technologies. During that time, he served as Vice President & Treasurer, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Senior Vice President & Controller and Senior Vice President Strategic Business Planning & Corporate Development. His prior business experiences were largely in finance, corporate development and international business with Exxon, Penn Central and RCA.

Frank earned a BS in chemical engineering from Princeton University and an MBA in finance and international business from the University of Chicago.

Keith is the principal of Keith Powell Consulting Inc. Since leaving Nortel Networks in February 2000, he has been pursuing the "portfolio" approach in his new career. This portfolio is comprised of four main components: consulting, working on company boards, executive coaching engagements and venture capital activity.

In all four, he is taking advantage of his knowledge, experience and extensive network in the high-tech business sector. His clients have included Hewlett-Packard, IBM, BCE, Teleglobe, Excel Communications, Manulife Financial and Group Telecom.

Keith is also a director on five high tech private/public sector companies as well as the Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Center Foundation. As a venture capitalist, he is a partner in XPV Corporation, a venture capital company investing in early-stage private organizations. In addition, he is a keynote business lecturer at the University of Calgary, Royal Roads University and Ryerson University - where he also chairs the CIO Leadership Development Program.

Keith was previously Senior Vice President, Information Services and Chief Information Officer at Nortel Networks, managing a budget of $1.2 billion and a staff of 5000 professionals in 23 countries. He held this position for four years while the company was going through dramatic growth in both revenue and global expansion. He joined Nortel in 1980 and was promoted through various roles in customer service, quality, operations, manufacturing and materials. Prior to Nortel, he held similar management positions with Pratt and Whitney Aircraft of Canada.

Keith served on the board of directors of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and co-chaired Nortel Networks' Institute for Advanced Technology of the University of Waterloo. In 1999, he was inducted into the Canadian Information Productivity Awards (CIPA) Hall of Fame.