Scott Orton brings in-depth defense industry experience to the role of Owl’s Chief Executive Officer. Scott has an extensive background in anti-tamper and has managed programs developing and fielding the latest in secure processing technologies for militarily critical weapon systems. Prior to joining Owl Cyber Defense, Scott led Mercury Systems’ edge processing business and held multiple roles with Raytheon.

Awards

• 2025 | NVTC Cyber50 Executive
• 2024 | NVTC Tech Executive Honoree.

Jeff Leong is a strategic executive leader who serves as Chief Financial Officer.  He oversees company financial management and accounting functions and assists in developing and executing the company’s strategic vision.  Jeff is also a founding Board Member for CFO Rising, a non-profit in the northern Virginia area focused on identifying and developing future finance leaders.  Prior to joining Owl, he has held CFO roles at numerous companies across the government contracts space.  He earned Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Sciences degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Michele joined the Owl team in August 2024, bringing with her an extensive background in senior leadership roles in Operations, Supply Chain and Program Management within DoD and Commercial Sectors.  Prior to joining Owl, Michele held a General Manager position leading a wholly owned subsidiary within L3Harris. Michele brings experience in operational execution, strategy development, leadership, and continuous improvement to the Owl team.

Timothy (Tim) Fahl serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Owl Cyber Defense, where he oversees the development of the company’s advanced cross-domain solutions and data diodes technologies, designed to exceed mission requirements. Previously, Tim served as Chief Architect and Product Manager for Owl Cyber Defense, and Lead Software Engineer for Tresys Technology prior to the companies' merger in 2019. This strategic move created the number one boundary security product and services company in the world with a continued focus on the U.S. government, defense and global critical infrastructure markets. Tim’s expertise carried over as he now leads the charge in meeting the needs of customers that demand absolute assurance and uncompromising security.

Awards

• 2026 |  NVTC Cyber50 Executive
• 2025 |  Tech Executive Honoree
• 2025 | 40 Under 40 honoree

Rick Shafer brings over 25 years of leadership experience in technology and cybersecurity. He has held key roles at Swish, Mercury Systems, Riverbed, Cisco, and Worldwide Technology, with expertise spanning sales, services, hardware, and software solutions. A former Chief Army Warrant Officer, Rick’s military background provides a strong foundation in leadership and strategic thinking.

James (Jim) Gallagher has over 30 yeas of extensive software, FPGA, and tactical hardware engineering leadership experience. Before joining Owl, Jim successfully implemented transformative practices such as DevSecOps, Agile methodologies, CMMI, and lean manufacturing to drive digital evolution in engineering. Jim has expertise in secure product development and anti-tamper solutions that prevent the compromise of technology products from assembly through delivery. Prior to his tenure at Owl Cyber Defense, Jim held engineering leadership positions at Mercury Systems, as well as General Motors and its subsidiaries.  

LtGen, USMC (Ret.)

Dan joined Owl after serving as the Commanding General of the Marine Forces Cyberspace Command, the first Deputy Commandant for Information (responsible for all USMC Cyber, Intelligence, Information and Space capabilities), and, most recently, the Joint Staff Director who designed, developed, trained, educated and adapted the Joint Force for 21^st Century warfare.  As the Director of Marine Corps Capability Development, he led requirements for all USMC ground programs and the Commandant’s Force Structure Review for the 21^st Century Marine Corps.  As an infantry leader, Dan led a main effort Task Force in the attack into Iraq, stabilized the second largest Iraqi province, served as the Operations Officer for Afghanistan, and commanded the 1^st Marine Division, the USMC’s largest.

Awards

• 2025 | MeriTalk Cyber Defender

Deb is a seasoned Human Resources professional with diverse experience across communications, technology, defense, and government contracting sectors. Her expertise spans organizational effectiveness, talent acquisition, and employee development. Deb is skilled at implementing strategic HR initiatives that enhance performance and foster inclusive workplace cultures.

Carolyn brings over two decades of experience as a marketing leader in global high-tech firms, with 15 years focused on public sector marketing. Carolyn entered the cybersecurity space in 2009 with Raytheon Cyber Products, where she held multiple roles and communicated the vision of secure information sharing and insider threat strategies to government agencies. In 2021 she established Dynatrace’s public sector marketing team.  She also spent several years as a product manager in the technical and online industries and ran her own consulting company, as an instructional designer and trainer for over a decade. Carolyn is the creator and host of the successful podcasts "To the Point Cybersecurity" and "Tech Transforms," that engage with thought leaders in industry and government to discuss critical issues. “To the Point Cybersecurity” was named one of the top 30 Federal IT influencers in 2019 and 2020 by FedTech magazine.

Awards

• 2026 | GAIN Innovation in B2G Marketing

Scott joined the Owl team in 2014, bringing with him a strong technical background with 30+ years of experience working for high tech, B2B companies that ranged from startups to large multi-nationals. Starting as a software engineer, Scott’s career progressed to leadership positions in both product management and marketing.  His experience centers on real-time network solutions covering several industries including critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, wiretapping, healthcare, telecommunications, logistics, and call centers for both the private and public sectors.

With over 25 years of hands-on experience in the software industry, Michael Blake is a visionary IT professional known for driving the planning, architecture, deployment, and management of cutting-edge smart systems. His expertise extends to incorporating the latest technologies, including cyber defense, to develop innovative solutions. Michael has played a pivotal role in the acquisition of the ACS business unit by DC Capital, integrating it into Owl Cyber Defense's SPAC. Leading a team of 30 professionals, he oversees product roadmaps, sales strategy, technical engagements with certification boards, and corporate strategy.

Ralph J. Spada has over 20 years of experience designing and deploying cutting-edge, DoD-grade security solutions. He possesses deep technical knowledge of system architecture, applied cryptography, development life cycles, secure System-on-Chip (SoC) development, and the ASIC fabrication process. Ralph has been a key leader in the architecture and deployment of four generations of secure processing product lines across multiple companies within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), addressing a diverse range of platform needs—from low-cost, low-SWaP systems to enterprise-class processing with the highest levels of DoD Anti-Tamper and Cybersecurity. Truly multidisciplinary, Ralph has led system engineering from requirements development through validation; guided software development from BIOS, OS kernels, and drivers to multi-node networking protocols and applications; and directed hardware design from ASIC test chips and SoC design and fabrication across multiple foundries, through to mechanical design, assembly, advanced semiconductor packaging, and full-system environmental qualification. Ralph is an experienced driver of successful DoD programs, holding certifications in both Earned Value Management and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). He is a proven collaborator across the DIB, having established multiple partnerships in pursuit of national security objectives. He has also managed dozens of subcontracts to deliver customer value—advancing the state of the art in processing and securing our nation’s technology.