Chairman EFI Board of Directors

John Hillen is the CEO of Global Strategies Group (North America) Inc., a leading American defense, intelligence, and homeland security company. Global North America provides sophisticated counter-terrorism, C4ISR, defense technology, engineering, and integrated security solutions to US government agencies in the national security, domestic security, and intelligence communities.

 
From 2005 – 2007, John served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs in the Bush administration. In that capacity he was the senior State department official responsible for coordinating America's diplomatic strategy with its military operations. He was also responsible for overseeing the department's policies in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, weapons removal and abatement, and defense trade. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

 
Prior to his appointment in the administration, John served as the President of what is now CGI Federal Inc, the cleared American subsidiary of Canadian IT firm CGI, Inc. (NYSE: GIB). Previously he was the head of the $415 million defense and intelligence business at American Management Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSY), which was sold to CACI International (NYSE: CAI) in 2004.  Prior to that he was the Chief Operating Officer of Island ECN, Inc., a $500M+ financial services firm in New York City. 

John serves on a number of philanthropic and non-profit boards, is the Chairman of Ericsson Federal Inc., and is a member of the Young President's Organization (YPO). A board member of the Professional Services Council, he is widely recognized as an industry leader in the government contracting field and was recently selected as one of  Top Ten "New at the Top" by ExecutiveBiz magazine.

Prior to his business career, John worked as a military policy expert and also served for twelve years as an Army officer. He is the author or editor of several books on international security and has been published in dozens of leading journals and newspapers. During his time in the Army, John was a reconnaissance and special operations officer in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.  He has been decorated for his actions in combat. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a number of other professional organizations and currently serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, the federal advisory committee supporting the head of the US Navy.

John is a trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, and the Committee on Economic Development in Washington DC.  He graduated from Duke University, holds a Master's Degree from King's College London, a doctorate from Oxford, and received his MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell.

President and CEO, Ericsson Federal Inc.

Doug Smith is CEO and President of Ericsson Federal Inc. an independent Ericsson company. Ericsson is the global leader shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its technology and services leadership. Ericsson provides innovative solutions in more than 160 countries for most of the largest communication companies in the world.

Smith has extensive experience in business leadership, establishment, growth and operations. He has had leadership roles within Ericsson, Nortel and in two successful start up businesses since 1997. The first success was an independent venture capital funded company and the second success is the business he is currently running within Ericsson. Smith participates in corporate Boards, Industry Advisory groups and Government councils.

From 2004 to the present Smith served as the leader responsible for establishing Ericsson as an emerging force in U.S. Government communications. Ericsson Government serves the Satellite, DOD, Intel, Civilian Federal, State and Local markets with a broad range of broadband communications solutions. Ericsson Federal Inc. is established as a foreign owned business able to serve both unclassified and classified customers with leading edge communications technology and services. Smith has led the strategy and growth of this business from inception, driving more than $750M in revenue to date. Strong earnings have enabled one successful acquisition and investment in growth strategies.

Prior to his current role Smith led Ericsson North America's business development activities. Key activities included formation of the team, identification of key markets, potential customers, investments and risk analysis.

Previous to Ericsson Smith was President and General Manager for Broadband Networks Inc. BNI was a venture capital start up focused on the fixed Broadband Wireless market. In 1998 he established BNI as the leader in this space leading to the company's acquisition by Nortel Networks. Prior to 1997 Smith held various Sales, Marketing and Engineering roles in Ericsson Inc.

Smith's education is in fields which remain a strong interest today. International Economics (MBA) with marketing and economics emphasis underlie his continuing interest in business, economics, politics and international trade. His undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis and continuing interest in physics and the sciences. These strong interests underlie his passion for the way technology is used to transform businesses and our economy today.

Director

Lieutenant General Charles (Chuck) R. Heflebower, USAF (Retired) currently serves as one of two Outside Directors at EFI.

In this capacity, he serves as both a member of the Board of Directors and represents DSS assuring adherence to mitigation plans associated with Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence. General Heflebower is an independent consultant and the sole owner of Charles R. Heflebower, LLC.

Chuck retired from the US Air Force in January 2002 after nearly 35 years of distinguished service. His last positions were Commander, 7th Air Force and Deputy Commander, US Forces in Korea. At the same time he served as the Deputy Commander in Chief, United Nations Command and as the Commander, Air Component Command, the standing US-South Korean combined air headquarters. Serving in these positions for over two years, he was responsible for the 35,000 men and women serving in South Korea as well as all U.S. military flying operations within the Republic of Korea. He was also the US Ambassador's representative at Status of Forces (SOFA) and burden sharing negotiations.

Chuck holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy and a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from the University of Arkansas.

Secretary/Treasurer

David Thompson, CFO for Government Business at Ericsson Federal, is responsible for all aspects of finance and accounting as well as developing new and strategic opportunities in Government segments and expanding Ericsson's North-American products and customer base.

David joined Ericsson in 1996 and, prior to joining the Government team, he served as Controller/CFO for Ericsson's account with AT&T where he managed all financial aspects of the relationship. Before joining Ericsson, Thompson spent nine years at a start up Mitsubishi Company as CFO, where he eventually became President.  Prior to the Mitsubishi start up, he spent eight years with Texas Instruments.

David received a Bachelor of Business Administration in both Finance and Accounting from Texas Tech University and is a Certified Public Account.

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