Leadership

Chris Davlantes is the founder and CEO of Reach. Chris created Reach while at MIT, where he earned mechanical engineering and electrical engineering degrees. He is considered one of the world’s leading experts on Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), and he was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 as an Energy Sector innovator. Chris has also held the role of industry chair for the IEEE’s annual WPT conference.

Jeff has over 30 years of experience building and investing in technology companies. Before Reach, Jeff led Strategy, Business Development, and Product Marketing for Nokia’s Cable Unit. Jeff came to Nokia as part of their acquisition of Gainspeed, which Jeff co-founded. Prior to Gainspeed, Jeff held executive leadership roles at Hatteras (acquired by Adva), Cognio (acquired by Cisco), Aruba (IPO), Packet Engines (acquired by Alcatel), and FORE (IPO). Jeff also spent five years as a Partner at Columbia Capital.

Chris Davlantes is the founder and CEO of Reach. Chris created Reach while at MIT, where he earned mechanical engineering and electrical engineering degrees. He is considered one of the world’s leading experts on Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), and he was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 as an Energy Sector innovator. Chris has also held the role of industry chair for the IEEE’s annual WPT conference.

Alan brings extensive entrepreneurial and operational expertise to DCVC portfolio companies, particularly in product development, go-to-market, and executive leadership. He is an executive with extensive hands-on experience running large enterprises as well as startup companies. His past three ventures created over $5B in aggregate value. Alan serves on the Board of Directors of numerous DCVC portfolio companies in physical security, med tech, and energy, and is an advisor and investor in multiple billion-dollar companies.

Prior to DCVC, Alan was the Chief Commercial Officer and served on the Board of Directors at Illumio, one of DCVC’s portfolio companies. Before Illumio, Alan was VP of Marketing at Nicira, which was acquired by VMWare for $1.3 billion. Prior to Nicira, Alan served as VP and head of marketing for Cisco’s $25 billion enterprise business, managing over 400 people and 25 product lines. Alan came to Cisco via the $460M acquisition of Airespace, where he was an early employee and served as VP of Marketing and Product Management. Alan received an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University, an MA in International Affairs from American University, and a BA from SUNY Buffalo.

Matt Ocko, with three decades of experience as a technology entrepreneur and VC, in the US and globally, is co-Managing Partner and co-founder of DCVC (Data Collective). Matt’s current investments on behalf of DCVC span from computational drug discovery and synthetic biology to geospatial and space access platforms, robotics, applied AI, anti-terror systems, and large-scale enterprise platforms including quantum computers.

In addition to large IPO outcomes, many of Matt’s prior investments were acquired to become core capabilities of companies like Illumina, Cisco, Google, IBM, Amazon/AWS, VMware, Salesforce, and Akamai. His venture investments prior to DCVC include Zoom (ZM), Fortinet (FTNT), D-Wave Systems, Uber (UBER), AngelList, Xensource (CTRX), and Facebook (FB). Matt founded and was VP of R&D of Da Vinci Systems, a pioneering e-mail software vendor with over 1 million users world-wide prior to its acquisition.

Matt holds a degree in Physics from Yale University, and he is an inventor on over 50 granted or in-process patents in areas as diverse as computer systems virtualization, fraud detection, and AR. Matt has spent decades helping to ensure the engines of American innovation are available to national security missions and is known across the federal government for his proactive investment in capabilities needed for the missions of the future. He is an advisor to (and through his firm, frequent co-investor with) In-Q-Tel, a long-time member of and advisor to BENS (Business Executives for National Security) led by General Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Army (Ret.), a founding sponsor of and advisor to the Defense Intelligence Memorial Foundation, a major donor to and Ambassador for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation led by Major General Clayton M. Hutmacher, U.S. Army (Ret.) and is/has been a frequent pro bono advisor to senior staff of the FBI, CIA, SOCOM, and certain interagency committees on select technology and policy matters.

George Hoyem served as EVP of IQT Investments. In addition to leading the IQT investment team, Hoyem has personally managed In-Q-Tel’s relationships with Cylance, D-Wav, Gitlab, Matterport, Phantom, Primer, Swarm Technologies and others. Hoyem joined IQT from Blueprint Ventures where he was a Managing Partner for 10 years. Previously, Hoyem worked at HPE where he ran the Internet Commerce Business unit after helping Verifone merge with HPE. At Verifone, Hoyem managed the Internet Commerce Business Unit, prior to its acquisition by HPE in 1998. Hoyem also served on the Board of Directors of the National Venture Capital Association, the venture capital community’s flagship trade association where he advocated for issues relevant to corporate and strategic investors.

Major General (Ret.) Clayton M. Hutmacher has a distinguished military career spanning over 40 years. As an Army Special Operations Aviator, he commanded at every level during his three tours with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. His leadership experience includes positions such as Regimental Commander, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command, and Director of Operations at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, FL. After retiring in 2018, Major General Hutmacher became the President and CEO of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

A native of Wenatchee, Washington, Major General Hutmacher was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a Master’s Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval Command and Staff College, and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

Jim Smith is the former Acquisition Executive for the United States Special Operations Command where he managed over $6 billion annually in support of global special operations. With more than 30 years of experience in government acquisition, Smith is dedicated to fostering a robust industrial base and a vibrant technology sector for national defense.

Smith began his career as an infantry officer, serving in various leadership positions before transitioning to Army acquisition. In this role, he led the development, procurement, and fielding of state-of-the-art technologies, culminating in his position as a Program Executive Officer. After 27 years as an Army officer, Smith joined the Senior Executive Service and served an additional ten years at Special Operations Command.

Smith has been recognized for his acquisition expertise with the Presidential Rank Award and the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy, a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and a master’s in Strategic Studies from the Army War College.

Ben Richardson is the former Director of the Energy Portfolio at DIU, where he led efforts to deliver strategic energy and materials capabilities to the military by adopting commercial technology. The Energy Portfolio focuses on Installation Resilience and Operational Energy.

Before DIU, Richardson held senior Pentagon roles, including Director of Critical Technology Protection and Director of Global Markets and Investments, developing policies to protect DoD technologies and serving on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

In the private sector, Richardson is currently Chief Commercial Officer at Gambit, has consulted for several defense tech start-ups and was VP of Sales, Business Development, and Program Management at Our Next Energy (ONE). He started his career as a Marine Corps intelligence officer, with multiple overseas tours, and continues to serve as a Colonel in the reserves.

Richardson holds degrees from Georgia Tech (B.S. in International Affairs), Hofstra University (MBA in Finance), the National Intelligence University (M.S. in Strategic Intelligence), and the National Defense University (M.S. in National Resource Strategy). He was also a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Rear Adm. Kirk, a native of Hershey, Pennsylvania, is a 1990 U.S. Naval Academy graduate with a master’s degree in National Security Studies from both the U.S. Naval War College and U.S. Army War College.

A Surface Warfare officer, he has served on destroyers, cruisers, and frigates, including command of USS De Wert (FFG 45) and USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000). His shore assignments include executive assistant to the Chief of Legislative Affairs and roles on the Joint Staff and Surface Warfare Directorate.

As a flag officer, he has served as deputy commander at NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation’s Joint Warfare Centre in Norway, Commander, Carrier Strike Groups Eleven and Fifteen, and most recently as Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3.

His awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and various other unit and service awards.

Patrick B. Roberson holds an M.S. in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, an M.A. in Strategic Studies from the Army School of Advanced Military Studies, complemented by executive coursework in leadership and strategic thinking from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Roberson previously commanded the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS), overseeing the training and education of Special Forces, Psychological Operations, and Civil Affairs forces, and led Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, contributing to the defeat of ISIS’s physical caliphate in 2019.

His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal (DSM), Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and various other unit and service awards.

Dr. Ray Simpkin brings more than four decades of applied research experience across private-sector and government institutions in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, with deep expertise in long-range wireless power transfer, electromagnetics, microwave engineering, and materials science. Since 2019, his career has focused on advancing technologies directly relevant to RF-based power beaming, including system design, applied physics, and the translation of research into practical engineering concepts.

He holds a BSc in physics with first-class honors and a PhD in electromagnetics, both from Imperial College London. He has been a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) since 1996, including the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and Antennas and Propagation Society, and remains an active referee for microwave engineering and physics journals. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 publications and is the named inventor on more than 30 patent applications.